Hollywood the Indestructible

in the 1920s, Hollywood was flush with money and they started building these fantastic movie palaces; it offered people who lived in tenements who were crowded and non air-conditioned a wonderful escape to a place that was beautiful – vaulted ceilings, ornate chandeliers, intricate murals and, of course, air conditioning. And all this for the price of a 30 cent ticket.

So they could see a cartoon, a B-movie, an A-movie and often there would be live performances, which was Hollywood’s way of sneaking in some Vaudeville performance as well. And things were going fine until the Depression hit and then, suddenly, the Big Five studios had to manage the huge debt that they had underway of converting the theaters from silent to sound.

Directors : Clara Kuperberg & Julia Kuperberg
Production : Wichita Films
Producers : Clara Kuperberg & Julia Kuperberg
Network : Ciné + Classic
Year : 2014
Running Time : 52 min

Casting

Denise Mann
Author of Hollywood Independents: the Postwar Talent Takeover and teacher at UCLA

Dana Harris
Editor in Chief and General Manager of IndieWire