Hollywood: The Dream Factory

This is the best of all the documentaries about Hollywood and specifically about MGM. It is creatively written and edited and wonderfully narrated by Dick Caveat and is so much better than the "That's Entertainment" series which it certainly inspired. It is not a promotional film for the studio but rather an interesting and seemingly honest depiction about this "beehive" of 5000 persons of so many different skills, talents, crafts from practically every industry: accountants, artists, musicians, actors, carpenters, stylists, bankers, writers, publicists, landscapers, historians, teachers (for the child stars), gourmet chefs, mechanics, electricians and on and on and on. The ending line is so tender and touching regarding the amazing theatrical enterprise that the studio was: "And while we can't be sure, the world is likely to never see anything quite like it again"

Hollywood: The Dream Factory (1972)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Decent documentary that takes a look at the history of MGM. I'm really not sure why the title is what it is since you'd think that a film called "Hollywood" would discuss, well, Hollywood but not this one. The 45-minute documentary takes a look at the history of MGM including how the studio was made, it's golden years, their major stars and their current years. Dick Cavett narrates the action as we take a look at countless movie clips and hear a few things about the people involved in the studio. Louis B. Mayer gets the majority of the attention as we hear about how he got his job and eventually lost it. Film clips are countless but they include: BEN HUR, TARZAN THE APE MAN, GONE WITH THE WIND, THE WIZARD OF OZ, MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY, SAN FRANCISCO, BOYS TOWN, NATIONAL VELVET, MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS, SINGIN' IN THE RAIN and ADAM'S RIB among others. The documentary, for its time, is pretty good in giving on the idea of how big the studio was in its heyday and how many terrific stars were under contract there. The most interesting part of this documentary are some clips from an auction where many famous MGM props, including Dorothy's shoes, are being sold. I do wonder how much of this footage is out there because it would make an interesting documentary on its own. For a more detailed look at the history of MGM one should certainly check out MGM: WHEN THE LION ROARS.

This documentary covers the history of Hollywood in something like 51 minutes, focusing mainly on the achievements of MGM, beginning with the forming of the company.

Lots of classic scenes which have been seen countless times are intertwined with an auction of the "Showboat" boat, Judy's red shoes, and the Bounty ship, all at lowball prices since it's 1972.

The problem with watching "Hollywood: The Dream Factory" today is that everything covered is very familiar now, and movie buffs have seen the footage dozens of times.

However, if you want a quick and dirty look at the problems with the way over budget Ben Hur, the discovery of Greta Garbo, how no one but Gable could do Gone With the Wind, and a look at that big MGM luncheon, this is for you.

This documentary started out promising (showing the auction of items intermingled with when they appeared on film), but quickly went downhill.

I am a classic movie buff and had seen nearly all the footage here before, but that's not the problem.

The documentary just seemed to have a lot of filler, especially near the end. Film clips at times seemed random and much too long.

Don't waste your time on documentary. There are much better ones out there.

IMDb requires 10 lines in a review. I can't even think of enough things to say about this documentary. Yes, it was this bad. I only gave it five stars for the auction footage and the footage of the MGM 25th anniversary lunch.

MGM has seen better days. This starts as various props are being auctioned off. Dorothy's ruby red shoes are sold for $15k. Then they travel back to the Golden Age and recount its history. It has plenty of old films and behind the scenes. I'm much more interested in the auctions. That's the hook that they lost after the initial opening. Instead of an avalanche of old movies, I'd rather have each auction item connected to a story of an old film. It has a bit of history but it's more or less a clip show for Hollywood.