Hollywood the Golden Years: The RKO Story

RKO only existed as a motion picture studio for 30 years, founded in late 1928 solely for the purpose of making talking pictures at a time when many studios were still releasing silents, but the transition was in progress. Thus RKO never released a silent film. The story itself sounds like the plot of a motion picture. Birthed by one financial titan - Joe Kennedy - pretty much annihilated by another - Howard Hughes. The documentary is divided into six parts:

1. Birth of a Titan (Struggling through the first five years)

2. Let's Face The Music and Dance (Astaire and Rogers)

3. A Woman's Lot (RKO's many female stars and women's films)

4. It's All True (Orson Welles' time at RKO)

5. Dark Victory (The war years, film noir, and the Hollywood blacklists)

6. Howard's Way (Howard Hughes uses RKO as a plaything and breaks it)

Probably the most questionable move was to devote an entire episode to Orson Welles since he only made four films at RKO with only three released and two of those heavily cut and edited by someone not himself.

The series comes full circle with one of RKO's early contract players, Lucille Ball, buying the studio in 1958 to serve her rapidly growing Desilu production company. Since Lucille Ball's commentary is plentiful on these episodes, she gets to comment about what it was like to buy the place where her acting career started in the 1930s. Ed Asner narrates the series, and shows great enthusiasm for the subject.

I'd highly recommend this for film history fans.

I had much of this recorded on VHS way back when, but I caught part of the It's All True segment in 1992. I do not recall what station, but it might have been PBS as I do not remember seeing any commercials during the time I was watching. What was important was there were snippets I had not seen due to the commercials on the original US airing. I hope that if it ever does see the light of day, it's sourced from the original BBC material instead of the A&E version. Although that might also involve that the narrator may no longer be Ed Asner (Similar to the Planet Earth that had Sir Richard Attenborough replaced by Sigourney Weaver for the US run.)

I don't understand why they need to mess with these programs when they are fine as they were. Maybe I am wrong thinking that most people do not notice who narrates when choosing to watch a documentary.

This is a documentary much needed of a DVD release (like MGM: When The Lion Roars). I have yet to see this since the 80's when 1st aired and historical images and facts like these should be available for all fans to own or rent in this information age. If anyone out there has access to a copy I would love to gain a copy. If anyone out there has influence over getting this or the MGM title released on DVD, please see that it gets done. If a throwaway sitcom like "Ned & Stacey" can see a DVD release, why can't a quality documentary such as these see the light of day? Come on fans...let your voice be heard and seek out the things worth seeing again, and again and again!

'The RKO Story' is almost as good as 'MGM: When The Lion Roars' and benefits from a large array of interviews with RKO stars and directors such as Katharine Hepburn, Lucille Ball, Ginger Rogers, Fred Astaire, Jane Russell, and Robert Mitchum.

Each episode of six touches on a different aspect of the studio (beginnings, women in leading roles, Fred and Ginger, Orson Welles, the McCarthy trials, and the decline of the studio with Howard Hughes at the helm), mixing comments, clips, and interviews.

Well worth watching if you're interested in the history of the big studios, and this story is well told. My only quibble would be that focusing one whole episode on Citizen Kane is a bit much when the rest of the studio's output is taken into consideration: but still, it is often slated as the greatest film ever made and this episode gives it honest discussion time.

This BBC series was made back in the 1980s...and fortunately many of the RKO actors, writers, directors, etc. were still alive and participated in the show. However, despite being very well made and important for film historians and fans, "Hollywood the Golden Years: The RKO Story" is not currently available on DVD nor videotape. I think the only way to see it is to go to YouTube. There is a slight problem with this option, however, as in a few of the episodes portions are missing....and in its place is an announcement that these parts were removed for copyright reasons! Grrrr!!! How annoying but fortunately it was NOT a major problem.

The show is broken into six episodes--following the studio from its creation in the late 20s until it was bought and ultimately destroyed by Howard Hughes in the 1950s. Well worth seeing and fascinating throughout.