Early Universal City
2009
First Published
4.07
Average Rating
129
Number of Pages
Known as much today for its theme park, Universal City is also the largest and the longest continuously operating movie studio in "Hollywood." The Universal Film Manufacturing Company was formed by a dozen independent producers in 1912, and Universal City was designed to provide a single facility in which to make their films. Since its official opening on March 15, 1915, Universal City has served as a training ground for great directors such as John Ford, William Wyler, and James Whale and as home to stars like Hoot Gibson, Deanna Durbin, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Sr. and Jr., and Tom Mix. This evocative volume explores the studio that brought The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923), The Phantom of the Opera (1925), All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), Dracula (1930), Frankenstein (1931), and 100 Men and a Girl (1936) to the screen.
Avg Rating
4.07
Number of Ratings
15
5 STARS
33%
4 STARS
40%
3 STARS
27%
2 STARS
0%
1 STARS
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Author
Robert S. Birchard
Author · 3 books
Robert S. Birchard is an award-winning film editor who brings an insider’s perspective and a great affection for the people who work in the picture business to his chronicles of the movies. He is the author of Cecil B. DeMille’s Hollywood, Early Universal City, Silent-era Filmmaking in Santa Barbara, and King Cowboy: Tom Mix and the Movies and a contributing writer to the omnibus volumes M-G-M When the Lion Roars, Don Miller’s Hollywood Corral, The Encyclopedia of Early Film and Hollywood: The Movie Factory. His articles on Hollywood filmmakers have appeared in American Cinematographer, Statement, Film History, The Moving Image, Griffithiana, Daily Variety and Los Angeles Times Calendar. He is a past president and current board member of the preservation organization Hollywood Heritage, Inc. and is current president of the Cinecon Classic Film Festival which presents the annual Cinecon Classic Film Festival and contributes to film preservation projects.
