Movie Pioneers

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VOICE ONE:

I'm Sarah Long.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember with People in America in VOA Special
English. Today we tell about three people who helped make Hollywood
the center of the movie industry.

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VOICE ONE:

When you hear the name Hollywood, you probably think of
excitement, lights, cameras and movie stars. Famous actors are not
the only important people in the entertainment business. Directors
and producers are important, too. Today, Hollywood is full of
producers and directors. However, very few are as famous and
successful as Hollywood's first motion picture businessmen, Cecil B.
DeMille, Samuel Goldwyn and Louis Mayer.

((("There's No Business Like Show Business", CDP-8244)))

VOICE TWO:

Cecil Blount DeMille was born in Ashfield, Massachusetts in
Eighteen-Eighty-One. Both his parents were writers of plays. His
father died when he was twelve years old. His mother kept the family
together by establishing a theater company. Cecil joined the company
as an actor. He continued working in his mother's theater company as
an actor and a manager until Nineteen-Thirteen. That year, he joined
Jesse L. Lasky and Samuel Goldfish to form the Jesse L. Lasky
Feature Play Company. Goldfish later changed his name to Samuel
Goldwyn.

VOICE ONE:

The three men started making motion pictures immediately. They
loved working in the movie business. They were deeply interested in
its creative and financial possibilities. DeMille, Lasky and
Goldfish began working on a movie version of the popular American
western play, "Squaw Man." DeMille urged that the movie be made in
the real American West. He chose Flagstaff, Arizona. DeMille and the
company traveled to Flagstaff by train. When they arrived, DeMille
thought the area looked too modern. They got back on the train and
keep going until they reached the end of the line. They were in a
quiet little town in southern California. The town was called
Hollywood. DeMille decided this was the perfect place to film the
movie.

"Squaw Man" was one of the first full-length movies produced in
Hollywood. It was released in Nineteen-Thirteen and was an immediate
success. DeMille is considered the man who helped Hollywood become
the center of the motion picture business. He quickly became a
creative force in the new movie industry. His success continued with
"Brewster's Millions," "The Call of the North" and "The Trail of the
Lonesome Pine."

VOICE TWO:

Cecil B. DeMille was among the very few filmmakers in Hollywood
whose name appeared above the title of his movie. His name was more
important to movie-goers than the names of the stars in the movie.
DeMille's movies were known to be big productions. He combined a lot
of action, realistic storytelling and hundreds of actors to make
some of Hollywood's best movies. He made many kinds of movies
including westerns, comedies, romances and ones dealing with moral
issues

DeMille gained a great deal of fame with the kind of movie known
as an epic. An epic tells a story of events that are important in
history. DeMille's epic movies were based on the settling of the
American West, Roman history or stories from the Bible. His first
version of the historic film "The Ten Commandments" was a huge
success among silent films in Nineteen-Twenty-Three. In
Nineteen-Fifty-Six, he released a new version of "The Ten
Commandments" to include sound. It is broadcast still on American
television during the Christian observance of Easter.

VOICE ONE:

Cecil B. DeMille produced and directed seventy movies. In
Nineteen-Forty-Nine he received a special Academy Award for
"thirty-seven years of brilliant showmanship." He died of heart
failure in Nineteen-Fifty-Nine.

One of DeMille's last films was "The Greatest Show on Earth." It
won the Academy Award for best picture in Nineteen-Fifty-Two. It was
about people who performed in the circus. Some people say it was a
fitting subject because Cecil B. DeMille often was called the
greatest showman in Hollywood.

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VOICE TWO:

In Eighteen-Ninety-Five, a thirteen-year-old boy from Warsaw,
Poland found his way to the United States. Samuel Goldfish was
alone. He had no money. He found work as a glove maker. He continued
working in the glove-making industry until he was almost thirty
years old.

VOICE TWO(cont):

In Nineteen-Thirteen, Samuel and his wife's brother, Jesse L.
Lasky, and Cecil B. DeMille formed the Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play
Company. It produced the movie, "Squaw Man."

In Nineteen-Sixteen, Goldfish started a business with Edgar
Selwyn. They combined their names Goldfish and Selwyn and called the
new company Goldwyn. Samuel Goldfish liked the name and changed his
to Samuel Goldwyn in Nineteen-Eighteen. The Goldwyn Company made
many successful motion pictures. Yet, the company was not a
financial success.

In Nineteen-Twenty-Two, Samuel Goldwyn was forced to leave the
company. The Goldwyn Company then joined with Metro Pictures and
Louis B. Mayer Productions to form Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, known as
MGM. Samuel Goldwyn was not part of the deal. He promised never to
be a joint owner of another company. He formed his own company
Samuel Goldwyn Productions.

VOICE ONE:

Samuel Goldwyn was one of the great independent producers during
the "Golden Age" of Hollywood. Most of his films were successful
financially and popular with critics. He insisted that his films be
well made and of high quality. This became known as the "Goldwyn
Touch."

Goldwyn usually paid for his films himself. He bought the best
stories and plays to be made into movies. He employed the best
writers, directors and actors. And he discovered new actors
including Lucille Ball, Gary Cooper, Susan Hayward and Will Rogers.

Goldwyn was extremely independent. He had a strong desire to
control every element of the production and marketing of his films.
He made all decisions concerning his films including choosing
directors, actors and writers. His best films include "The Little
Foxes," "The Best Years of Our Lives" and "Porgy and Bess." His
movies received many Academy Awards.

VOICE TWO:

Samuel Goldwyn was known also for his sense of humor. He created
funny expressions. In Hollywood they are known as Goldwynisms. One
of his most famous expressions was "Include me out."

In Nineteen-Forty-Six, Goldwyn received the Irving Thalberg
Memorial Award for his excellent movie productions during the
Academy Award ceremonies that year. He died in
Nineteen-Seventy-Four.

Samuel Goldwyn was in the movie business for almost sixty years.
He is considered one of the most influential film producers ever.

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VOICE ONE:

Louis B. Mayer began as a theater operator in Havermill,
Massachusetts in Nineteen-Oh-Seven. Over the next several years he
bought more theaters. Soon he owned the largest group of theaters in
New England. In Nineteen-Seventeen, Mayer formed his own movie
production company. In the early Nineteen-Twenties, Louis B. Mayer
Pictures joined two other companies to form Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Mayer was appointed vice president and general manager of
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. He had a strong fatherly way of supervising the
company and actors.

The company had some of the biggest names in show business
including Judy Garland, Clark Gable, Katherine Hepburn and Elizabeth
Taylor. A popular expression used at the time was M-G-M had "more
stars than there are in heaven." M-G-M produced some of the most
popular movies of all time including "The Wizard of Oz," "Gone with
the Wind" and "The Philadelphia Story."

VOICE TWO:

In the Nineteen-Thirties and Nineteen-Forties, Louis B. Mayer was
the most powerful businessman in Hollywood. He earned more than
one-million-two-hundred-thousand-dollars a year. He was paid more
than anyone else in the United States.

In Nineteen-Fifty, Mayer received a special Academy Award for
"excellent service to the Motion Picture industry." He died in
Hollywood, California in Nineteen-Fifty-Seven. He was seventy-two
years old.

VOICE ONE:

Cecil B. DeMille, Samuel Goldwyn and Louis B. Mayer are
remembered for their excellent movies and their continuing influence
in the motion picture industry. They led the way for movie producers
and directors of today and those still to come.

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VOICE TWO:

This program was written and directed by Lawan Davis. Our studio
engineer was Keith Holmes. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Sarah Long. Join us again next week for People in America
in VOA Special English.