Documentaries About Classic Hollywood
All about old Hollywood - the films, studios, performers, writers, artists, technicians, craftsmen, directors, and executives.
There is also lots of wonderful content made by YouTube creators on that platform, but since virtually none of these have IMDb.com entries, they do not appear below. Here are a few individual documentaries that I highly recommend (the channels themselves are great too - check out their content while you're there):
* DeMille Is Hollywood by Cecil B. DeMille Film Series
* Fave Film Fashion: Now, Voyager by The Ultimate Fashion History
* Gail Russell, The Uninvited, and the Creation of the Modern Haunted House on Film by Cinema Cities
* The History of Silent Serial Queens by Miriam's Vintage Classics
* The Short Career and Long Life of Luise Rainer by Fritz and the Oscars
There is also lots of wonderful content made by YouTube creators on that platform, but since virtually none of these have IMDb.com entries, they do not appear below. Here are a few individual documentaries that I highly recommend (the channels themselves are great too - check out their content while you're there):
* DeMille Is Hollywood by Cecil B. DeMille Film Series
* Fave Film Fashion: Now, Voyager by The Ultimate Fashion History
* Gail Russell, The Uninvited, and the Creation of the Modern Haunted House on Film by Cinema Cities
* The History of Silent Serial Queens by Miriam's Vintage Classics
* The Short Career and Long Life of Luise Rainer by Fritz and the Oscars
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- DirectorRobert FischerEckhart SchmidtStarsRock HudsonRobert StackDorothy MaloneThe stars and director of 'Written on the Wind' and 'The Tarnished Angels' talk about director Douglas Sirk's techniques.
- DirectorJohn GriffinStarsChevy ChaseKenneth AngerRichard L. BareThis documentary on the history of short subjects was first shown on the Turner Classic Movies (TCM) cable network. It surveys the genre from the beginning of the movies in the 1890's, when all movies were shorts, through the 1950's, when short subjects virtually disappeared from theaters. Several series of shorts are highlighted, including the The Three Stooges, Joe McDoakes, Robert Benchley, the Pete Smith Specialties, John Nesbitt's Passing Parade, and the Dogville comedies. Animated short films are given short shrift.
- DirectorDavid HeeleyStarsIan HolmErrol FlynnCharles ChauvelA documentary about the life of Errol Flynn, with recollections from friends and family.
- StarsRudy BehlmerDouglas FairbanksShort on the portrayal of Robin Hood as found in the cinema.
- StarsDanny ShoragoH.W. BrandsMichael NeibergA series of documentaries covering a wealth of historical epochs touched upon in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1992).episodes about classic Hollywood-era personalities:
Ben Hecht: Shakespeare of Hollywood (2008)
Erich Von Stroheim: The Profligate Genius (2008)
Irving Thalberg: Hollywood's Boy Wonder (2008)
Paul Robeson: Scandalize My Name (2008)
The Rise of the Moguls: The Men Who Built Hollywood (2008)
The World of John Ford (2008) - DirectorLisa Van EyssenStarsCary Grant
- DirectorJohn CorkDeborah Kerr's husband Peter Viertel expresses his gratitude for their "affair" that turned into four decades of a very happy marriage.
- StarsCarole Bayer SagerGeorge Stevens Jr.Jack NicholsonThe Award is the highest honor for a career in film and celebrates an individual whose career has greatly contributed to the enrichment of American culture.
- DirectorGary SmithDann NetterStarsShirley TempleKevin BaconAlec BaldwinThe spectacular CBS special! Shirley Temple Black hosts the festivities as 50 of today's top stars count down the 50 greatest screen legends of all time. Features Clint Eastwood, Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Kevin Spacey and many others.
- DirectorDavid ShepardStarsGloria SwansonClara BowCalvin CoolidgeA documentary about the film industry, narrated by 'Gloria Swanson', in the period between World War I and World War II. Included are clips from a variety of films of that period.
- DirectorPeter FitzgeraldStarsAngela LansburyKurt RussellWalt DisneyAlong with his legendary cartoons, Walt Disney produced a marvelous array of live action classics that came about through the use of his singular style, hard work and an unwavering belief in this vision.
- DirectorGene FeldmanStarsSue CarolAnthony CarusoJeff CoreyIn the 1942 This Gun For Hire, he was only a supporting actor. But his portrayal of a cold, ruthless killer with a core of gentle sadness had an impact on audiences everywhere. Teamed with diminutive Veronica Lake, he became an immediately saleable commodity, and in the process helped launch the age of film noir. By 1954, Photoplay Magazine voted him the world's most popular male film star; his fellow award-winner was Marilyn Monroe. But Alan Ladd's fabulous success already contained within it the mechanism to self-destruct. A deprived childhood and a family tragedy that marked his young manhood, these would exact their toll. Dogged by a sense of inadequacy over his only average stature, Ladd suffered keenly from cruel jests about co-stars being compelled to stand in ditches. Despite the ardent support of his ever present agent/wife and the genuine affection of film crews and co-actors alike, these inner wounds remained. And though in the end his inner demons would destroy him, Alan Ladd's story is also a positive one. Apart from the legacy of his movies, Alan Ladd left behind a close- knit family which counts among its members some of filmdom's greatest successes. Included in the program are excerpts from some of Ladd's most notable pictures: This Gun For Hire, The Glass Key, The Blue Dahlia, Whispering Smith, The Great Gatsby, Shane and The Proud Rebel. Interviewees include co-actors Don Murray, Lizabeth Scott, Patricia Medina, Mona Freeman, Anthony Caruso, Peter Hensen, Edith Fellows, Director Edward Dmytryk, Producer Sam Goldwyn Jr., sons-in-law Producer John Veitch and Radio Commentator Michael Jackson and Alan Ladd's son, Producer David Ladd.
- DirectorJohn CorkStarsRudy BehlmerIngrid BergmanPeter Bogdanovich
- DirectorPeter VentrellaStarsPatricia HitchcockMary StoneDrew Casper'Making of' featurette about director Alfred Hitchcock masterpiece classic Lifeboat (1944). Narrated by the director's daughter and granddaughter, a Hitchcock scholar and a John Steinbeck specialist.
- DirectorRichard JonesStarsForrest J. AckermanEric BoardmanRay BradburyDocumentary about the life and work of Ray Harryhausen.
- DirectorSusan F. WalkerStarsJodie FosterBette DavisJodie Foster narrates a profile of actress Bette Davis.
- DirectorLuc BéraudStarsMichel CimentJoseph L. MankiewiczJoseph L. Mankiewicz discusses his career in a feature-length interview recorded at his New England home and the 1983 Berlin Film Festival.
- DirectorLaurent BouzereauStarsAlfred HitchcockPatricia HitchcockRobert F. BoyleA wonderfully informative 80-minute documentary combining current interviews with archival materials and scenes from the film. Hitchcock's daughter Pat, production designer Robert Boyle, screenwriter Evan Hunter, matte artist Albert Whitlock's colleagues Syd Dutton and Bill Taylor, storyboard artist Harold Michelson, Hitchcock collaborator Hilton Green, actors Tippi Hedren, Veronica Cartwright and Rod Taylor, filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich, author Robin Wood, makeup artist Howard Smit, and composer Bernard Herrmann biographer Steven Smith all contribute valuable input to Hitch's memorable classic. A terrific documentary that matches the brilliance of "The Making of 'Psycho'."
- StarsDennis MurenJoe DanteLeslie NielsenA documentary about the making of, and legacy of, the Forbidden Planet movie.
- DirectorJohn CorkStarsDrew CasperSarah ChurchwellMarion Shaw
- DirectorRay FerryStarsForrest J. AckermanJohn AgarRick BakerJoin "Mr. Science Fiction", Forrest J. Ackerman, on a star-studded romp through 75 years of classic sci-fi and fantasy film magic.
- DirectorGeorge Stevens Jr.StarsWoody AllenAlan ArkinMartin BalsamA compilation of scenes from 83 films, divided into 5 segments: The Land, The Cities, The Families, The Wars, The Spirit.
- StarsRoscoe 'Fatty' ArbuckleDesi ArnazLucille BallThe movie industry was born in West Orange, NJ in 1893 by Thomas Edison. Within thirty years, Hollywood grew into America's fourth largest, and by far most glamorous, industry. Revisit the Golden Age of Hollywood, when actors became global celebrities, moguls became millionaires, and the entire nation became movie crazy. Using digitally remastered news footage, rare studio archives, and home movie footage, look back on the dawn and meteoric rise of Tinseltown in color.
- StarsJohn LithgowMatthew ModineKathleen TurnerThe history of Hollywood and filmmaking comes alive in this spectacular nine hour celebration of movie magic.