HOLLYWOOD (1980) B/W & C 60m x 13 episodes dirs: Kevin Brownlow, David Gill

Narrated by James Mason

from the TCM viewer's guide:

"Most audiences think of silent films as a series of jerky, flickering images that tell corny stories to the tune of a tinkling piano. The real silent screen, however, employed beautifully shot, smoothly flowing scenes that told sophisticated stories, often backed by a full symphony orchestra. TCM celebrates the real glories of Hollywood's silent past with one of the most acclaimed series on filmmaking ever, Kevin Brownlow and David Gill's Hollywood. The series ... features a musical score by Carl Davis."

The individual episodes (thirteen, in all) are:

HOLLYWOOD: THE PIONEERS (1980) B/W & C 60m dirs: Kevin Brownlow, David Gill

Narrated by James Mason; interviews with Lillian Gish, King Vidor, and others

From the TCM viewer's guide: "From the first story films through the controversial epic Birth of a Nation, silent films were much more sophisticated and technically accomplished than most people think."

HOLLYWOOD: IN THE BEGINNING (1980) B/W & C 60m dirs: Kevin Brownlow, David Gill

Narrated by James Mason; interviews with Allan Dwan, Colleen Moore, and others

From the TCM Viewer's Guide: "The influx of filmmakers from the East turns a sleepy country town into the world's film capital."

HOLLYWOOD: SINGLE BEDS AND DOUBLE STANDARDS (1980) B/W & C 60m dirs: Kevin Brownlow, David Gill

Narrated by James Mason; interviews with Gloria Swanson, Colleen Moore, and others

From the TCM Viewer's Guide: " A series of scandals forces Hollywood's studios to police behavior on- and off-screen."

HOLLYWOOD: GOES TO WAR (1980) B/W & C 60m dirs: Kevin Brownlow, David Gill

Narrated by James Mason; interviews with Lillian Gish, King Vidor, and others

From the TCM Viewer's Guide: "World War I turns Hollywood into the world's film capital."

HOLLYWOOD: HAZARD OF THE GAME (1980) B/W & C 60m dir: Kevin Brownlow, David Gill

Narrated by James Mason; interviews with Viola Dana, Leatrice Joy, and others

From the TCM Viewer's Guide: "Hollywood stuntmen of the silent era risk their lives to capture the most thrilling scenes ever filmed."

HOLLYWOOD: SWANSON AND VALENTINO ( 1980) B/W & C 60m dirs: Kevin Brownlow, David Gill

Narrated by James Mason; interviews with Gloria Swanson, Alberto Valentino, and others

From the TCM Viewer's Guide: "Hollywood's star-making machinery turns Gloria Swanson and Rudolph Valentino into two of the screen's greatest attractions."

HOLLYWOOD: AUTOCRATS ( 1980) B/W & C 60m dirs: Kevin Brownlow, David Gill

Narrated by James Mason; interviews with Gloria Swanson, Agnes De Mille, and others

From the TCM Viewer's Guide: "Directors Cecil B. De Mille and Erich von Stroheim are absolute monarchs on the set, with wildly different results."

HOLLYWOOD: COMEDY --- A SERIOUS BUSINESS ( 1980) B/W & C 60m dirs: Kevin Brownlow, David Gill

Narrated by James Mason; interviews with Harold Lloyd, Jackie Coogan, and others

From the TCM Viewer's Guide: "From Max Sennett's earliest slapstick shorts through the work of Charles Chaplin and Buster Keaton, comedy remains one of the silent screen's greatest legacies."

HOLLYWOOD: OUT WEST ( 1980) B/W & C 60m dirs: Kevin Brownlow, David Gill

Narrated by James Mason; interviews with John Wayne, Yakima Canutt, and others

From the TCM Viewer's Guide: "The 'Wild West' spelled big profits on the silent screen, which often captured events just a few years old."

HOLLYWOOD: THE MAN WITH THE MEGAPHONE (1980) B/W & C 53m dirs: Kevin Brownlow, David Gill

Narrated by James Mason; interviews with Janet Gaynor, King Vidor, and others

From the TCM Viewer's Guide: "Hollywood's silent directors ruled the screen, creating a visual language that went beyond words."

HOLLYWOOD: A TRICK OF THE LIGHT (1980) B/W & C 60m dirs: Kevin Brownlow, David Gill

Narrated by James Mason; interviews with Lillian Gish, Allan Dwan, and others

From the TCM Viewer's Guide: "The silent screen's top cameramen invented the art of cinematography, often at the risk of their own lives."

HOLLYWOOD: STAR TREATMENT ( 1980) B/W & C 60m dirs: Kevin Brownlow, David Gill

Narrated by James Mason; interviews with Louise Brooks, Leatrice Joy, and others

From the TCM Viewer's Guide: "Studio publicists and fan magazines made John Gilbert and Clara Bow into cinema royalty, then destroyed them when sound came in."

HOLLYWOOD: END OF AN ERA ( 1980) B/W & C 60m dirs: Kevin Brownlow, David Gill

Narrated by James Mason; interviews with Lillian Gish, Frank Capra, and others

From the TCM Viewer's Guide: "Hollywood's greatest stars fight to survive the coming of sound."