Hollywood is the centre of movie land, an industry town which has created stars and reflected the changing lives of mankind for over one hundred years.
Why Hollywood ?
Blessed with fine sunshine that could be relied upon and varied scenery that could provide believable backdrops for films money walked and money talked in this part of “The City of Angels”.
Hollywood found its movie feet early and has kept it up to this day.
The annual Oscars are held only in one place and every year we all look on in wonder at its galaxy of stars and industry bigwigs.
Hollywood grew out of an early settlement that wasn’t much more than a huddle of a few buildings on a trading route through a mountain path in Southern California.
It only became a distinct district of Los Angeles with the advent of moving pictures and vaudeville entrepreneurs realizing the market potential of this new entertainment medium movies!
Make a movie and charge people everywhere to pay to see it .
Hollywood became a Mecca for this new business and young people with dreams of fame and success made their way there.
Situated in the furthest part of the West of America (before Alaska came on board) American movies was a new empire and Hollywood was its Rome .
In this very fine book writer Williams takes us through the story of the birth of movies and the creation of Hollywood as its home.
Beautifully illustrated and captioned the book is informative and entertaining.
The book’s creation was prompted by the writer’s realization that the Hollywood that he grew up in was being torn down and replaced by bland undistinguished buildings.
History was being lost.
This book is an archive of memories, lost dreams and stardust excitements.
The history of those old buildings and districts told the story of Hollywood.
The early silent films, the legendary comedy stars, gangster mania, revolutionary talkies, the star system and then the rise and fall of the film studios.
Throughout it all colourful people and characters were drawn to this location becoming famous and in some cases infamous by their antics and activities in and around it.
Money and glamour are always the bedfellows of scandal and in this as in everything else Hollywood excelled.
All forms of life walked (or drove) along Sunset Boulevard and Mulholland Drive.
This book is a distinguished record of a frenetic and frantic period in the history of entertainment America.
That country’s greatest export.
This is a book to relish and savour for fan and general reader alike.
A ‘main feature’, a joy of a book to hold and savour.
A bit on the pricey side your investment however in this glorious production will provide a good many returns.
I had hours of fun enjoying the photographs and page turning text.
Read and enjoy the glamour and sparkle of old time Hollywood.
Sometimes dreams do come true.
This is a history of them.