Jean Harlow
This documentary explores the mystery surrounding the death of movie icon Marilyn Monroe through previously unheard interviews with her inner circle.
We are drowning in celebrity culture and certainly no tabloid topic has been as big as Paris Hilton. Her incarceration and subsequent release, then re-incarceration and her ultimate release once again-left us submerged knee-deep in the twists and turns of her life. Famous for doing nothing, she's the ultimate manifestation of our obsession with celebrity culture and the massive profits that it wields. As long as we are willing to watch and read, who can resist feeding our habit?
A look at the forces that shaped Pre-Code Hollywood and brought about the strict enforcement of the Hays Code in 1934.
Before the G, PG and R ratings system there was the Production Code, and before that there was, well, nothing. This eye-opening documentary examines the rampant sexuality of early Hollywood through movie clips and reminiscences by stars of the era. Gloria Swanson, Mary Pickford, Marlene Dietrich and others relate tales of the artistic freedom that led to the draconian Production Code, which governed content from 1934 to 1968. Diane Lane narrates.
As Hollywood biographies go, Judy Garland's story is one of the saddest success stories you'll ever hear. The sanitized studio version of her life presented a smiling kid with the big voice, who, alongside Mickey Rooney, just wanted to put on a show. But drugs, overwork, even psychological abuse at the hands of the studio is now part of the Garland legend. But despite the number of Garland books and documentaries, one account has always been missing -- Garland herself never managed to write a memoir. She did make several attempts at an autobiography, often recording stories on a tape recorder. Judy Garland: By Myself (2004), finally fills in the blanks - using Judy's personal recordings to tell the story in her own words.
A look at actresses who starred in films with thought-provoking subjects made between 1930 and July 1934, before the Hollywood Production Code —the infamous Hays Code— was enforced.
HBO (in association with the American Film Institute) presents this 1997 anthology, narrated by Liev Schreiber, which looks at sports in cinema from the earliest silent films until the nineties. Watch not for dramatic scenes but for the glimpse of historical figures shown both cinematic and athletic- in this tribute to the merging of sports and Hollywood.
A documentary reflecting on women in film and the entertainment industry through the ages led and hosted by some of its most beloved female icons.
An unprecedented anthology of never-before-told true stories by and about some of Hollywood's most interesting stars, legends, and wannabes, and takes readers inside Hollywood's inner sanctum to show how casting decisions are made, who makes them, and who has the final word.
Some of MGM'S musical stars review the studios history of musicals. From The Hollywood Revue of 1929 to Brigadoon, from the first musical talkies to Gene Kelly in Singin' in the Rain.
Actress Sharon Stone hosts this documentary about the life and career of 1930s sex symbol Jean Harlow. Included are clips from many of her films, photos and stories about her life before she became a movie star, and accounts of her troubled personal life, including a domineering mother, the failure of her three marriages and the suicide of her second husband.
Documentary about James Stewart's long career as an actor and positive personal life.
In this tribute to her frequent co-star and longtime love, Katharine Hepburn hosts a behind-the-scenes look at Spencer Tracy's personal and professional life that features intimate personal accounts, interviews and clips from his most acclaimed work on the silver screen.
Out-takes (mostly from Warner Bros.), promotional shorts, movie premieres, public service pleas, wardrobe tests, documentary material, and archival footage make up this star-studded voyeuristic look at the Golden age of Hollywood during the 30s, 40, and 50.
Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire present more golden moments from the MGM film library, this time including comedy and drama as well as classic musical numbers.
Period music, film clips and newsreel footage combined into a visual exploration of the American entertainment industry during the Great Depression.
Various MGM stars from yesterday present their favorite musical moments from the studio's 50 year history.
This insightful documentary features some of the major and most beautiful actresses to grace the silver screen. It shows how the movie industry changed it's depiction of sex and actresses portrayal of sex from the silent movie era to the present. Classic scenes are shown from the silent movie, True Heart Susie, starring Lillian Gish, to Love Me Tonight (1932), blending sex and sophistication, starring Jeanette MacDonald (pre-Nelson Eddy) and to Elizabeth Taylor in, A Place in the Sun (1951), plus much , much more.
Ken Murray narrates his 16mm home movies shot over 35 years in Hollywood.
Film clips highlight the funniest scenes and brightest comic stars in MGM's history.
A compilation featuring comedic stars of the silent era including Laurel and Hardy, Buster Keaton, W.C. Fields and Harold Lloyd.
The edition of Screen Snapshots celebrates 25 years of production. It looks at the content of edition #1, then a tribute to movie people who have died in those 25 years. Finally there are tributes to the Screen Snapshots series by Cecil De Mille, Walt Disney, Louella Parsons and Rosalind Russell.
Raymond Dabney returns to his family after trouble with the law. He convinces the sheriff to give him a job watching the house and furniture of widow Crystal Wetherby without knowing she is engaged to his brother.
When a major newspaper accuses wealthy socialite Connie Allenbury of being a home-wrecker, and she files a multi-million-dollar libel lawsuit, the publication's frazzled head editor, Warren Haggerty, must find a way to turn the tables on her. Soon Haggerty's harried fiancée, Gladys Benton, and his dashing friend Bill Chandler are in on a scheme that aims to discredit Connie, with amusing and unexpected results.
Magazine publisher Van Stanhope is a hard-working, dynamic executive very happily married to his beautiful wife Linda. Although their relationship is built on unconditional trust, friends, and even Van's mother, caution Linda about the dangers of allowing Whitey, her husband's extremely sexy secretary, to continue to have access to him. Although Whitey has a faithful boyfriend, she secretly harbors unrequited feelings for her boss. When they take a business trip to Havana, circumstantial evidence convinces Linda that the rumors she's heard may have a basis in fact.
Captain Alan Gaskell sails the perilous waters between Hong Kong and Singapore with a secret cargo: a fortune in British gold. That's not the only risky cargo he carries; both his fiery mistress and his refined fiancee are aboard!
Leaving Missouri to find a wealthy husband in New York City, Eadie Chapman becomes a chorus girl and soon entertains at the lavish home of millionaire Frank Cousins. Cousins proposes to Eadie, only to then commit suicide due to bankruptcy. Fellow millionaire T. R. Paige defends Eadie when the police question her for having Cousins' jewelry -- but when she becomes enamored with his son, Tom, Paige declares Eadie a gold digger.
An ambitious New York socialite plans an extravagant dinner party as her businessman husband, Oliver, contends with financial woes, causing a lot of tension between the couple. Meanwhile, their high-society friends and associates, including the gruff Dan Packard and his sultry spouse, Kitty, contend with their own entanglements, leading to revelations at the much-anticipated dinner.
Ruby falls in love with small-time con man Eddie. During a botched blackmail scheme, Eddie accidentally kills the man they were setting up. Eddie takes off and Ruby is sent to a reformatory for two years.
Lil works for the Legendre Company and causes Bill to divorce Irene and marry her. She has an affair with businessman Gaerste and uses him to force society to pay attention to her.
Romantic comedy drama about three friends in New York. Cassie has come to New York and goes to work as a model where her friend Gladys works. She falls in love with wealthy young Jerry who is already married. Gladys has the same probelm with her man Phelps.
Police Chief Jim Fitzpatrick is after gangster Sam Belmonte. He uses his corrupt brother Ed to watch over Daisy who was associated with Belmonte.
Stan and Ollie join the French Foreign Legion after Ollie's sweetheart rejects him. The title Beau Hunks is both a reference to Beau Geste and a pun on the mild ethnic slur Bohunk (a portmanteau of "Bohemian" and "Hungarian.").
This short, not seen by audiences since 1931, features rare footage of Jean Harlow and Bela Lugosi discussing Dracula, as well as Walter Huston performing a musical number. It exists solely in fragmentary form.
Two young Chicago hoodlums, Tom Powers and Matt Doyle, rise up from their poverty-stricken slum life to become petty thieves, bootleggers and cold-blooded killers. But with street notoriety and newfound wealth, the duo feels the heat from the cops and rival gangsters both. Despite his ruthless criminal reputation, Tom tries to remain connected to his family, however, gang warfare and the need for revenge eventually pull him away.
Bootlegger/cafe owner, Johnny Franks recruits crude working man Scorpio to join his gang, masterminded by crooked criminal defense lawyer Newton. Scorpio eventually takes over Frank's operation, beats a rival gang, becomes wealthy and dominates the city for several years until a secret group of 6 masked businessmen have him prosecuted and sent to the electric chair.
Anne Schuyler is an upper-crust socialite who bullies her reporter husband into conforming to her highfalutin ways. The husband chafes at the confinement of high society, though, and yearns for a creative outlet. He decides to write a play and collaborates with a fellow reporter.
In this sound-era silent film, a tramp falls in love with a beautiful blind flower seller.
Sailor Spike dates girls whose names he finds in an address book. Each girl has the same tatoo, placed there by another sailor Bill. When Spike meets Bill they become friends. In Calais Spike meets Goldie. Bill warns him against her, but Spike ignores the warning until he finds Bill's tatoo on Goldie as well.
In this aerial spectacle, brothers Roy and Monte Rutledge, each attending Oxford university, enlist with the Royal Flying Corps when World War I breaks out.
The queen of mythical Sylvania marries a courtier, who finds his new life unsatisfying.
Mayme and sister Janie are salesgirls in Ginsberg's Department Store. Mayme is in love with store clerk Bill, but Janie tries to steal him from her. Hazel, another salesgirl, is Jean Harlow's first credited role.
Show girl Jill Deverne is married to song writer Fred Deverne, and everyone is involved in the Broadway night life and endless parties. Jill is being pursued by a gangster, and she leaves her husband after he spends the night with a floozie. Jill ends up as the gangster's moll, but she soon gets tired of the lifestyle.
Nightclub singer Alice Carroll is found in the office of club owner Al Barrow, who is lying dead on the floor. Alice has been overheard threatening to kill Barrow rather than give in to his advances. She protests her innocence, but the District Attorney doesn't believe her and charges her with Barrow's murder. However, things aren't quite as cut-and-dried as the D.A. believes them to be.
Stan and Ollie wreak havoc at an upper class hotel in their jobs as footman (Hardy) and doorman (Laurel). They partially undress blonde bombshell Jean Harlow (in a brief appearance) and repeatedly escort a stuffy nobleman into an empty elevator shaft.
A romance runs into difficulties because the girl has seen a great deal of the turbulence in her sister's household, and has no illusions about married bliss.
Dave Finkel's family and friends take him out to a Speakeasy for a birthday celebration. Many distractions prevent him from enjoying his meal, including a seductive Jean Harlow who tries to pick him up.
Masquerade is a 1929 American drama film directed by Russell Birdwell. It is based on the 1907 novel The Brass Bowl by Louis Joseph Vance.
When a woman accidentally kills her detested husband, a selfless young man takes the blame and goes to prison. Complications ensue when he is provisionally released.
