Hollywood: The Dream Factory
Brief Synopsis
Dick Cavett narrates this documentary about the MGM auction and the studio's glorious history.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Mark Woods
Director
Cyd Charisse
Angela Lansbury
Joan Leslie
Bill Tuttle
Ann Miller
Film Details
Also Known As
Inside the Dream Factory
Genre
Documentary
Release Date
1972
Technical Specs
Duration
50m
Synopsis
Documentary going behind the scenes of Hollywood's legendary studio system.
Director
Mark Woods
Director
Film Details
Also Known As
Inside the Dream Factory
Genre
Documentary
Release Date
1972
Technical Specs
Duration
50m
Articles
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
This documentary, patched together by Emmy-winning documentarian Irwin Rosten from newsreels and feature film footage and cemented with soulful narration by Dick Cavett, traces how the merger of Metro Pictures and the Goldwyn Company (under the formidable and iconic leadership of Louis B. Mayer, "the highest paid man in America for 10 straight years") synergized into MGM -- the fullest expression of what the Hollywood studio machine could produce at the apex of its powers and reach. While celebrating the highlights, like the grandiose Ben Hur: A Tale Of The Christ (1925) shoot that set the bar for the kind of unprecendented projects MGM undertook in its golden era, as well as humanizing footage of stars before they were stars -- Joan Crawford as a smiling chorus girl, Greta Garbo pudgy and snaggletoothed -- there's also mournful scenes of artifacts like Judy Garland's ruby slippers slipping into collector's hands at auction. MGM was lost for many years in the New Hollywood heralded by Warner Brothers' Bonnie and Clyde (1967), but this thoughtful, celebratory documentary is more than a funeral wake.
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
This documentary, patched together by Emmy-winning documentarian Irwin Rosten from newsreels and feature film footage and cemented with soulful narration by Dick Cavett, traces how the merger of Metro Pictures and the Goldwyn Company (under the formidable and iconic leadership of Louis B. Mayer, "the highest paid man in America for 10 straight years") synergized into MGM -- the fullest expression of what the Hollywood studio machine could produce at the apex of its powers and reach. While celebrating the highlights, like the grandiose Ben Hur: A Tale Of The Christ (1925) shoot that set the bar for the kind of unprecendented projects MGM undertook in its golden era, as well as humanizing footage of stars before they were stars -- Joan Crawford as a smiling chorus girl, Greta Garbo pudgy and snaggletoothed -- there's also mournful scenes of artifacts like Judy Garland's ruby slippers slipping into collector's hands at auction. MGM was lost for many years in the New Hollywood heralded by Warner Brothers' Bonnie and Clyde (1967), but this thoughtful, celebratory documentary is more than a funeral wake.
