0:00:08 > 0:00:11Hollywood. In the space of 15 years,
0:00:11 > 0:00:13it progressed from filming anonymous people
0:00:13 > 0:00:15standing in front of a barn,
0:00:15 > 0:00:19to huge stars walking through purpose-built sets,
0:00:19 > 0:00:22dodging choreographed traffic.
0:00:22 > 0:00:25Major studios run by charismatic moguls built their own worlds,
0:00:25 > 0:00:29dream factories.
0:00:33 > 0:00:38By the mid-1920s the best films were getting better and better.
0:00:38 > 0:00:40The greatest talents were working here in Hollywood,
0:00:40 > 0:00:42both European and American.
0:00:42 > 0:00:44Film stars directors, cameramen.
0:00:44 > 0:00:49And then almost overnight, films became awful.
0:00:49 > 0:00:51I planted the stuff in Eddie's shop.
0:00:51 > 0:00:55- Yeah?- And Dickson will be there at 10 o'clock.- Uh-huh.
0:00:55 > 0:00:59But they must not find Eddie.
0:01:01 > 0:01:03What, you mean...?
0:01:03 > 0:01:07Take him for a ride.
0:01:24 > 0:01:28The silent film grew from simple fairground novelty
0:01:28 > 0:01:30into a sophisticated art form.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33But at the height of its power, the wheels fell off.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39The cinema industry was wrong-footed by the coming of sound.
0:01:39 > 0:01:41The introduction of talkies
0:01:41 > 0:01:44rushed filming techniques right back to basics.
0:01:44 > 0:01:48The visuals became subservient to sound.
0:01:48 > 0:01:52In times of revolution, wise heads are needed.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55And one of Hollywood's youngest and greatest producers,
0:01:55 > 0:01:59Irving Thalberg, who helped perfect the art of silent cinema,
0:01:59 > 0:02:02would steer the biggest film studio in the world
0:02:02 > 0:02:04through the traumatic change to talkies.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07This is his story.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25These are the old MGM Studios.
0:02:25 > 0:02:27When they were built in the mid-1920s, Metro Goldwyn Mayer
0:02:27 > 0:02:31had ambitions to become the biggest beast in the Hollywood jungle.
0:02:33 > 0:02:35Long before Leo was a lion,
0:02:35 > 0:02:38Hollywood was a small backwater town.
0:02:38 > 0:02:41Then, independent film companies started moving here to enjoy
0:02:41 > 0:02:46California's sunny filming locations.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49In these early days, the industry was dominated by directors
0:02:49 > 0:02:53such as DW Griffith and Cecil B DeMille.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56They created the cult of the all-powerful director,
0:02:56 > 0:02:59but many would be undermined
0:02:59 > 0:03:02by their over-reaching ambition and fiery temperaments.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05Some of them needed adult supervision.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13A new kind of figure needed to step forward.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23Hollywood defined the role of the producer,
0:03:23 > 0:03:26an important bridge between the money men and the creative talent.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29One such individual who was both a good businessman
0:03:29 > 0:03:32and an excellent judge of what made a good movie
0:03:32 > 0:03:34was Irving Thalberg.
0:03:34 > 0:03:36This is the Thalberg Building behind me.
0:03:36 > 0:03:40At the top of his form, he produced cinematic masterpieces.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45Here is Irving receiving the Best Picture Oscar
0:03:45 > 0:03:48for Mutiny On The Bounty in 1936.
0:03:48 > 0:03:53It's obvious, but nevertheless true for me to say
0:03:53 > 0:03:56that I'm happy that Mutiny On The Bounty won this award.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03Although you may not have heard of Thalberg, because he always refused
0:04:03 > 0:04:05to put his name on his films,
0:04:05 > 0:04:08you've certainly heard of the films he produced.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27Irving Thalberg was from the East Coast,
0:04:27 > 0:04:32and grew up in the turn of the century tenements of New York.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41The Thalberg family had emigrated from Germany.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47Irving Thalberg was born to Henrietta Thalberg
0:04:47 > 0:04:49in Brooklyn, New York in 1899.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52His father William imported lace.
0:04:52 > 0:04:54Irving was born with a congenital heart defect.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56Doctors told his mother
0:04:56 > 0:04:59that he was unlikely to live past his 30th birthday.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02Henrietta spent the first seven years of Irving's life
0:05:02 > 0:05:03giving him sponge baths,
0:05:03 > 0:05:06rubdowns and enforced rest periods.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15Irving's health improved,
0:05:15 > 0:05:18although he was never what you would call robust.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20In his teens, he developed rheumatic fever
0:05:20 > 0:05:22and became bedridden for a year.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25Irving sharpened his opinions and storytelling
0:05:25 > 0:05:29by reading classical literature, autobiographies and plays.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42Thalberg gained his introduction to the film industry
0:05:42 > 0:05:43as an 18-year-old boy,
0:05:43 > 0:05:46when he met the owner of Universal Studios, Carl Laemmle,
0:05:46 > 0:05:48on a family holiday.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51Laemmle was a self-made man.
0:05:51 > 0:05:55Born in Germany, he emigrated to the United States as a young man,
0:05:55 > 0:05:59as did a surprising number of the early film moguls.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02He hired Thalberg, whose evident talent
0:06:02 > 0:06:05quickly led the studio boss to make him his secretary.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11In 1919, Carl Laemmle took one of his regular train trips
0:06:11 > 0:06:14from New York to Los Angeles.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17On this occasion he was accompanied by his new 19-year-old secretary.
0:06:17 > 0:06:22After five days they arrived here at the Universal Studios.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27Thalberg impressed the boss of Universal
0:06:27 > 0:06:31with his knowledge and enthusiasm for the movie making business.
0:06:31 > 0:06:35I spoke to Laemmle's niece, Carla, an actress at the Universal Studio,
0:06:35 > 0:06:39about what impressed her uncle so much about Thalberg.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42What was it about him that made him special?
0:06:42 > 0:06:46Well, he seemed to be very aware
0:06:46 > 0:06:48of everything going on,
0:06:48 > 0:06:51and he seemed to be on top of things,
0:06:51 > 0:06:56and just managed things.
0:06:56 > 0:07:01He was very, very gifted, and so young. So young.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04He was astute, that was all.
0:07:04 > 0:07:06He just had it.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11Universal's output of low budget westerns,
0:07:11 > 0:07:14melodrama, and short comedies, needed shaking up.
0:07:32 > 0:07:36Irving Thalberg arrived at a troubled studio.
0:07:36 > 0:07:40Carl Laemmle had a tendency to employ his relatives
0:07:40 > 0:07:43in key positions, whether they could do the job or not.
0:07:43 > 0:07:45This caused a great deal of resentment and anger
0:07:45 > 0:07:47amongst the Universal management.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50Carl Laemmle then really threw the cat amongst the pigeons,
0:07:50 > 0:07:53when he appointed Irving Thalberg as the new head of production.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56This was a complete surprise to everyone,
0:07:56 > 0:07:57including Irving Thalberg.
0:07:59 > 0:08:01Thalberg's first big problem
0:08:01 > 0:08:04was dealing with the massive ego
0:08:04 > 0:08:07of one of cinema's great maverick directors,
0:08:07 > 0:08:10Erich Von Stroheim.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17Von Stroheim, like so many other players in our story,
0:08:17 > 0:08:21was a European immigrant, who arrived in America
0:08:21 > 0:08:23seeking his fortune.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28At the Ellis Island Immigration Centre,
0:08:28 > 0:08:31all the records of these arrivals can be viewed online.
0:08:31 > 0:08:34COMPUTER VOICE: 'First, type the passenger's name.'
0:08:34 > 0:08:36Let's see if we can track Erich down.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42There's his name there, Stroheim, but Erich Oswald.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45There's no Von at that point. So Erich Oswald Stroheim.
0:08:45 > 0:08:47He kept quite about the Oswald, I think!
0:08:47 > 0:08:51And it says here about his distinguishing feature,
0:08:51 > 0:08:54he's 5'5", but he's got a cut on the forehead.
0:08:54 > 0:08:58Born in Austria, arrived November 25, 1909.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01That's definitely our man.
0:09:01 > 0:09:07Erich got himself a job assisting the renowned director, DW Griffith.
0:09:07 > 0:09:12Erich was an expert on uniforms and was employed as a military advisor.
0:09:12 > 0:09:16By the time America entered the First World War in 1917,
0:09:16 > 0:09:21Erich had risen through the ranks to become a noted character actor.
0:09:21 > 0:09:26He was advertised as "The man you love to hate."
0:09:26 > 0:09:30Audiences were horrified by his sadistic roles.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32Here he is in The Heart of Humanity,
0:09:32 > 0:09:35a gruesome World War I propaganda film.
0:09:49 > 0:09:53Von Stroheim craved power.
0:09:53 > 0:09:55If he hadn't made it in Hollywood
0:09:55 > 0:09:59he would undoubtedly have become a dictator of a small European country.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01But he settled for the next best thing,
0:10:01 > 0:10:04being a film director.
0:10:04 > 0:10:08He took an idea to Carl Laemmle for a film to he wanted to direct.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11Nothing was going to stand in Erich's way.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13They spoke through the night.
0:10:13 > 0:10:17Carl agreed that Eric would write and direct the film for nothing
0:10:17 > 0:10:19and be paid 200 a week to star in it.
0:10:19 > 0:10:24The film was made for 42,000 and made a profit of a million.
0:10:34 > 0:10:38Blind Husbands was a stunning directorial debut.
0:10:38 > 0:10:41Audiences were shocked by the erotic charge
0:10:41 > 0:10:44of Von Stroheim's performance.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58In the film's climax,
0:10:58 > 0:11:02terrified by a stuffed vulture, he falls off a mountain.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07I believe you did a screen test once for Eric Von Stroheim.
0:11:07 > 0:11:09- Is that correct?- Oh, I did.
0:11:09 > 0:11:14Can you tell me about him? Was he a severe man or a humorous man?
0:11:14 > 0:11:16Not very much humour.
0:11:16 > 0:11:21This is supposed to be war, death, hell, destruction!
0:11:24 > 0:11:27He was such a talented man,
0:11:27 > 0:11:32but he wanted everything to be actually perfect and genuine.
0:11:32 > 0:11:36I mean, something that you don't need,
0:11:36 > 0:11:39something like ruffles on the underpants,
0:11:39 > 0:11:45and my uncle thought that was going too far, you know?
0:11:45 > 0:11:48You don't need to do that in a movie.
0:11:48 > 0:11:50And he would have, if people in the background
0:11:50 > 0:11:52were drinking champagne,
0:11:52 > 0:11:54he'd be giving them genuine champagne, vintage.
0:11:54 > 0:11:59Well, I didn't hear that but it's most likely that was true.
0:11:59 > 0:12:03For his next film, Foolish Wives, Von Stroheim created
0:12:03 > 0:12:07a full sized reconstruction of the Plaza in Monte Carlo
0:12:07 > 0:12:09on the Universal back lot.
0:12:19 > 0:12:25Von Stroheim demanded complete control to write, direct and star.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28Here he is up to his old tricks again.
0:13:19 > 0:13:21Irving Thalberg grew concerned.
0:13:21 > 0:13:25Erich was a brilliant director but his budget was out of control.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28Thalberg demanded that Erich stopped filming
0:13:28 > 0:13:29or he would be fired.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34Erich replied that if he was fired as director,
0:13:34 > 0:13:37Universal would also lose the star of its film.
0:13:37 > 0:13:39Thalberg backed down.
0:13:39 > 0:13:43Foolish Wives premiered a few months later.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45It made more money than Blind Husbands but,
0:13:45 > 0:13:47as Thalberg pointed out,
0:13:47 > 0:13:49most of that profit was eaten up by Von Stroheim's
0:13:49 > 0:13:52outlandish production costs.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55Von Stroheim's image was ripe for parody. Here's Ben Turpin.
0:14:12 > 0:14:14In Von Stroheim's film Merry Go Round,
0:14:14 > 0:14:18the vintage champagne flows with no thought of cost.
0:14:51 > 0:14:55Thalberg summoned Stroheim into his office.
0:14:55 > 0:14:59Erich said, "You can't throw Von Stroheim off a Von Stroheim picture."
0:14:59 > 0:15:03But Irving replied, "You're not starring in this film."
0:15:03 > 0:15:04He sacked the director.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09This was a pivotal moment in Hollywood history.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13Von Stroheim was a huge star and a big name director.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16Von Stroheim believed the film was his,
0:15:16 > 0:15:19but Thalberg said no, the producer was king.
0:15:20 > 0:15:25Merry Go Round was completed by a Universal staff director,
0:15:25 > 0:15:26exactly as instructed.
0:15:33 > 0:15:39The triumph of the producer led to a debate about art versus commerce.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42If the artist pays no attention to the budget,
0:15:42 > 0:15:45then the money men have to step in.
0:15:45 > 0:15:46Equally, if the money men
0:15:46 > 0:15:49don't have the creative flair of Irving Thalberg,
0:15:49 > 0:15:51they make artistic decisions
0:15:51 > 0:15:53which often end up ruining the film.
0:15:53 > 0:15:57One solution was for the film star to become his own producer.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00Here Douglas Fairbanks signs the agreement
0:16:00 > 0:16:03that created United Artists in 1919,
0:16:03 > 0:16:08together with Charlie Chaplin, DW Griffith and Mary Pickford.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12Douglas Fairbanks had a vivid imagination
0:16:12 > 0:16:14which he transferred to the screen.
0:16:14 > 0:16:19Here he risks indigestion by indulging in a midnight feast.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22This is the food in his stomach.
0:16:30 > 0:16:35Later, bad dreams predictably arrive.
0:16:58 > 0:17:00This is the only film ever made
0:17:00 > 0:17:05where the hero is pursued across open countryside by his own dinner.
0:17:07 > 0:17:09But then it starts to get weird.
0:17:33 > 0:17:37Filming the impossible was a daily occurrence in silent cinema.
0:17:39 > 0:17:42Comedy became increasingly more surreal.
0:18:36 > 0:18:42Distorting reality was a speciality of the actor Lon Chaney.
0:18:42 > 0:18:45He could radically change his appearance to a frightening degree.
0:18:51 > 0:18:54In The Penalty he plays a double amputee.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57His legs, which are painfully strapped up behind him,
0:18:57 > 0:19:00are hidden by his long coat.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12Irving Thalberg greatly admired Lon Chaney's dedication
0:19:12 > 0:19:15and believed he would be perfect casting in the title role
0:19:15 > 0:19:18of one of Irving's favourite novels.
0:19:18 > 0:19:20Chaney's elaborate make-up
0:19:20 > 0:19:25and his physical transformation into the Hunchback was astonishing.
0:19:39 > 0:19:44Here, out of costume, Lon Chaney demonstrates his climbing prowess.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56The Hunchback of Notre Dame made a fortune,
0:19:56 > 0:19:58which Carl Laemmle, as Universal's boss,
0:19:58 > 0:20:03refused to share with Thalberg, who remained on a fixed salary.
0:20:03 > 0:20:04The boy wonder was not happy.
0:20:08 > 0:20:10It was clearly time to move on,
0:20:10 > 0:20:13there were no shortage of offers for Hollywood's wonder boy.
0:20:13 > 0:20:15In early 1923, Irving Thalberg
0:20:15 > 0:20:19became the head of production at Louis B Mayer's studio.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22Within a year, Mayer had been bought out
0:20:22 > 0:20:24by Marcus Loew, who owned the cinema chain.
0:20:24 > 0:20:28He merged three companies - Metro, Goldwyn and Mayer.
0:20:28 > 0:20:30Louis B Mayer became the chairman
0:20:30 > 0:20:34and Irving Thalberg became the head of production at MGM.
0:20:34 > 0:20:37The Hollywood mogul Sam Goldwyn
0:20:37 > 0:20:40was not part of Metro Goldwyn Mayor.
0:20:40 > 0:20:45But he was a close friend of Irving Thalberg, who he admired greatly.
0:20:45 > 0:20:49He admired his education and how he'd used it,
0:20:49 > 0:20:52that he, er...
0:20:52 > 0:20:53he said he had one advantage
0:20:53 > 0:20:55that my father never really had,
0:20:55 > 0:20:57or anybody had to that extent,
0:20:57 > 0:21:02but he'd say, "Irving doesn't just make pictures, he remakes them."
0:21:02 > 0:21:07That might mean bringing a new writer in and rewriting it,
0:21:07 > 0:21:09changing directors, changing cast,
0:21:09 > 0:21:12but if he had a story that he believed in fundamentally
0:21:12 > 0:21:17he stuck with that story and then he'd look for the best way
0:21:17 > 0:21:19to keep doing it and doing it
0:21:19 > 0:21:24and that was one of the reasons why the films were successful
0:21:24 > 0:21:27and why they were able to develop so many stars,
0:21:27 > 0:21:30because the roles were good,
0:21:30 > 0:21:33and if they weren't good he kept reshooting.
0:21:41 > 0:21:45Thalberg set about building MGM's fortunes.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48He chose stories that he believed would make great movies.
0:21:48 > 0:21:52He allocated writers, stars, directors,
0:21:52 > 0:21:54to films that suited their talents.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00Everything needed to make a film was to be found
0:22:00 > 0:22:02within the walls of MGM.
0:22:02 > 0:22:08To ensure top quality, MGM employed only the best directors, actors,
0:22:08 > 0:22:12writers, cameramen, technicians, designers and makeup artists.
0:22:12 > 0:22:16They all worked under exclusive contract to MGM
0:22:16 > 0:22:20and were available to work on any film the studio deemed suitable.
0:22:20 > 0:22:25In his heyday it was a bit like going into Alcatraz.
0:22:25 > 0:22:28It was so boarded up, you know,
0:22:28 > 0:22:32and I remember the entrance on Washington Boulevard
0:22:32 > 0:22:35- not the one going into the Thalberg building
0:22:35 > 0:22:38because that's the executive offices of course,
0:22:38 > 0:22:41and the gate is right there where you drive in -
0:22:41 > 0:22:46but you know, I was nobody so we had to go in through a kind of turnstile,
0:22:46 > 0:22:49which was very heavy metal, believe me,
0:22:49 > 0:22:52it was like getting into jail, and you had to get an OK
0:22:52 > 0:22:55to push the thing, and they released a lock on it
0:22:55 > 0:22:58and you went around this thing and you got in.
0:23:00 > 0:23:05And we were shown to the casting director's office
0:23:05 > 0:23:09which was a small office not far from the entrance,
0:23:09 > 0:23:13and my mother and I met the casting director,
0:23:13 > 0:23:15and at that time he looked at me and he said,
0:23:15 > 0:23:17"Mmm, how old are you?"
0:23:17 > 0:23:21and I told him I was 17.
0:23:21 > 0:23:24I was taken to the character wardrobe first time out,
0:23:24 > 0:23:30and here you had a character wardrobe with all of the costumes
0:23:30 > 0:23:33that had ever been worn in an MGM movie, they were all there.
0:23:33 > 0:23:36Can you imagine walking into that?
0:23:36 > 0:23:39And the woman who was in charge of it, a white-haired lady,
0:23:39 > 0:23:44was smoking away, and she showed me a lot of the dresses.
0:23:44 > 0:23:46She said, "Now, Jean Harlow wore that",
0:23:46 > 0:23:47in such and such.
0:23:47 > 0:23:50They had some incredible bits and pieces there
0:23:50 > 0:23:53in that wardrobe.
0:24:00 > 0:24:03So they had a massive wardrobe department,
0:24:03 > 0:24:06I was reading the other day, that it even had its own foundry so they could...
0:24:06 > 0:24:08Yeah, they could make anything,
0:24:08 > 0:24:11but they usually got the Italians to make the boots and shoes.
0:24:11 > 0:24:13They did the tailoring.
0:24:13 > 0:24:17They did have a tailoring department
0:24:17 > 0:24:20but it was all Italian tailors, I remember that.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23That was an era of a certain naivete, I think, too,
0:24:23 > 0:24:25where people wanted to be
0:24:25 > 0:24:29kind of carried out of the humdrum experience of their own lives,
0:24:29 > 0:24:31and fooled into thinking that there
0:24:31 > 0:24:35was something better out there and they could find it in the cinema.
0:24:41 > 0:24:44The greatest talents in cinema were drawn to MGM.
0:24:44 > 0:24:46Eric Von Stroheim amongst them.
0:24:46 > 0:24:53Here he is on the MGM back lot in 1925 standing next to Stephen Fry.
0:24:55 > 0:24:5825-year-old Irving Thalberg found himself
0:24:58 > 0:25:03in charge of the richest, newest, biggest film studios in the world.
0:25:03 > 0:25:06He'd inherited one problem from Goldwyn films and that was
0:25:06 > 0:25:08a production that was currently filming in San Francisco.
0:25:08 > 0:25:11Its director was Erich Von Stroheim.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15The old adversaries met once again,
0:25:15 > 0:25:18this time there would be a decisive knockout.
0:25:18 > 0:25:23Greed, the greatest film you'll never see.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26A film about humankind's lust for gold.
0:25:37 > 0:25:38The building behind me
0:25:38 > 0:25:42features in one of the most notorious films ever made.
0:25:42 > 0:25:44I'm on the corner of Hayes and Laguna Street
0:25:44 > 0:25:46here in San Francisco.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54Eric Von Stroheim shot interiors
0:25:54 > 0:25:57for his extraordinary epic, Greed, in this very building.
0:25:57 > 0:26:00Here, Erich films from inside a genuine interior
0:26:00 > 0:26:04through the window to the genuine street below.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07This was a revolutionary shot in its day.
0:26:17 > 0:26:21Greed was the latest product of Von Stroheim's passionate vision.
0:26:21 > 0:26:25He spent seven months filming in San Francisco and Death Valley.
0:26:34 > 0:26:39The finale of Greed takes place in Death Valley.
0:26:39 > 0:26:44Temperatures at the time had reached 142 degrees Fahrenheit,
0:26:44 > 0:26:48it was so hot the paint was peeling and curling off the cars.
0:26:48 > 0:26:51The two actors were exhorted by Erich Von Stroheim
0:26:51 > 0:26:53to fight to the death.
0:26:53 > 0:26:55"Fight, fight," he said.
0:26:55 > 0:26:58"Hate each other as much as you hate me."
0:26:58 > 0:27:03The character on the left is guilty of murder,
0:27:03 > 0:27:05the character on the right has tracked him down
0:27:05 > 0:27:07and is about to arrest him.
0:27:07 > 0:27:09But the tables are turned
0:27:09 > 0:27:13and our murderer appears to gain the upper hand, but then...
0:27:39 > 0:27:43Erich Von Stroheim finished filming in October 1923.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46He'd spent over half a million dollars.
0:27:46 > 0:27:50He spent the next few months feverishly editing the picture.
0:27:50 > 0:27:53Its first public screening was in January 1924
0:27:53 > 0:27:57to an invited audience of about ten people.
0:27:57 > 0:28:02His film was eight hours long, completely uncommercial.
0:28:02 > 0:28:03He reduced it by half to four hours,
0:28:03 > 0:28:08and claimed that he couldn't cut another foot to save his soul.
0:28:08 > 0:28:11So Thalberg simply took the film off him,
0:28:11 > 0:28:13it was edited down to two hours
0:28:13 > 0:28:15and released in December 1924.
0:28:15 > 0:28:17Once again, Irving Thalberg
0:28:17 > 0:28:21had demonstrated exactly who was the boss.
0:28:21 > 0:28:26Thalberg had a clever technique for honing his films
0:28:26 > 0:28:29for maximum appeal to cinema audiences.
0:28:29 > 0:28:33When previewing a film, he would sit in the back of the cinema
0:28:33 > 0:28:36making notes of the audience's reaction.
0:28:40 > 0:28:42Irving Thalberg would not release a film
0:28:42 > 0:28:44until it was shown to test audiences.
0:28:44 > 0:28:48Films were edited or re-edited according to public reaction.
0:28:48 > 0:28:50Re-shooting sequences was so common
0:28:50 > 0:28:53that MGM became known as re-take valley.
0:28:53 > 0:28:56Irving Thalberg believed that no film should be released
0:28:56 > 0:28:58until it was as good as it could possibly be.
0:28:58 > 0:29:02His motto was "Films aren't made, they are re-made."
0:29:10 > 0:29:12Another inherited project in trouble that year
0:29:12 > 0:29:14was Ben Hur, which went on to become
0:29:14 > 0:29:18the most expensive film of the entire silent era.
0:29:18 > 0:29:21Goldwyn studios had begun production in Italy,
0:29:21 > 0:29:24but within two months had spent the entire production budget
0:29:24 > 0:29:26of 1.25 million.
0:29:26 > 0:29:30Because the sets had already been built there in Italy, Louis B Mayer
0:29:30 > 0:29:33and Irving Thalberg decided to continue filming.
0:29:33 > 0:29:35But they got rid of three key personnel -
0:29:35 > 0:29:38the writer, the star and the director.
0:29:40 > 0:29:41Thalberg still wasn't happy
0:29:41 > 0:29:44with the footage that was being sent back.
0:29:44 > 0:29:47With costs escalating to 3 million,
0:29:47 > 0:29:50Thalberg knew that if Ben Hur was a flop,
0:29:50 > 0:29:52it would destroy MGM Studios.
0:29:52 > 0:29:57He especially found the climax of the chariot race unexciting.
0:29:57 > 0:30:00Thalberg decided to bring the entire production
0:30:00 > 0:30:02back to Hollywood,
0:30:02 > 0:30:06where he restaged the chariot scene at a cost of 300,000.
0:30:06 > 0:30:09The chariot race was covered by 42 cameras,
0:30:09 > 0:30:13the most ever used by Hollywood before or since.
0:30:35 > 0:30:37Working around the clock,
0:30:37 > 0:30:42Irving Thalberg personally supervised the editing of Ben Hur.
0:30:42 > 0:30:43This was an important picture,
0:30:43 > 0:30:45it needed to be ready for a Christmas release
0:30:45 > 0:30:48and the very future of MGM as a studio depended on its success.
0:30:48 > 0:30:50The strain was enormous.
0:30:50 > 0:30:53Irving had a heart attack.
0:30:53 > 0:30:57Whilst recuperating and bed-ridden he continued to edit the picture.
0:31:07 > 0:31:10All this hard work paid off.
0:31:10 > 0:31:12Ben Hur was a massive box office hit,
0:31:12 > 0:31:16although Irving was too ill to attend the premiere.
0:31:16 > 0:31:20Thalberg understood Hollywood better than anyone.
0:31:20 > 0:31:24He knew that a studio's greatest assets were its stars
0:31:24 > 0:31:27and he took great delight in creating new ones.
0:31:27 > 0:31:31When he heard that a relatively unknown actor called John Gilbert
0:31:31 > 0:31:33was receiving sackfuls of fan mail,
0:31:33 > 0:31:37Thalberg astutely cast him as a handsome Prince in The Merry Widow,
0:31:37 > 0:31:41transforming him into the newest, biggest star in town.
0:31:50 > 0:31:56Thalberg would repeat the success with Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford,
0:31:56 > 0:32:00Greta Garbo, and many others.
0:32:00 > 0:32:06Within a few years, MGM claimed to have more stars than heaven itself.
0:32:11 > 0:32:16Thalberg's productions packed cinemas throughout the country.
0:32:17 > 0:32:20By 1926, Wall Street had invested
0:32:20 > 0:32:23over 2 billion into the American film industry,
0:32:23 > 0:32:26the majority of which went into building new cinemas.
0:32:26 > 0:32:29And with good reason because, at this time,
0:32:29 > 0:32:3360 million Americans went to the movies every week.
0:32:34 > 0:32:38Irving was a young man at the very top of his profession.
0:32:38 > 0:32:41He created new stars that the public adored.
0:32:41 > 0:32:46Everything he touched turned to gold, the future seemed assured.
0:32:46 > 0:32:50But the future doesn't always do what you want it to.
0:32:55 > 0:32:59Behind me are the original Warner Brothers studios.
0:32:59 > 0:33:03At the beginning of 1927 they were not a particularly big concern,
0:33:03 > 0:33:04but by the end of that year
0:33:04 > 0:33:09they had revolutionised the motion picture industry and had struck fear
0:33:09 > 0:33:12into the heart of every other filmmaker in Hollywood.
0:33:12 > 0:33:16NEWSREEL ANNOUNCER: 'In the projection of the motion picture
0:33:16 > 0:33:18'and the reproduction of the sound,
0:33:18 > 0:33:22'the sound record in the form of a large disc
0:33:22 > 0:33:23'is rotated on a turn table.
0:33:25 > 0:33:27'This turntable is geared directly
0:33:27 > 0:33:30'to the motion picture projecting machine,
0:33:30 > 0:33:34'and is driven by a common constant speed electric motor.'
0:33:36 > 0:33:39Two formats had been invented in the early 1920s
0:33:39 > 0:33:42to synchronise sound and pictures.
0:33:42 > 0:33:46One used discs, the other created a visual soundtrack on the film.
0:34:30 > 0:34:33Warner Brothers were in a strong position to exploit
0:34:33 > 0:34:35this new technology
0:34:35 > 0:34:37as they had invested in the dramatic 1920s
0:34:37 > 0:34:40expansion of radio in America.
0:34:40 > 0:34:42For the first time Americans could tune in
0:34:42 > 0:34:45to music and speech broadcasts in their own home.
0:34:45 > 0:34:49Warner Brothers, realising the publicity value of this new medium,
0:34:49 > 0:34:52installed their own radio station here at the studio.
0:34:54 > 0:34:58Radio KFWB was run by Sam Warner.
0:34:58 > 0:35:02Sam used the station to publicise his studio's films
0:35:02 > 0:35:04and sometimes included a feature
0:35:04 > 0:35:08where listeners could hear the sounds of films being made.
0:35:11 > 0:35:14Sam wondered why radio listeners
0:35:14 > 0:35:16could hear his actors but cinema goers couldn't.
0:35:16 > 0:35:19He knew that the technology existed.
0:35:20 > 0:35:23Everybody quiet, please.
0:35:23 > 0:35:26After months of badgering and dozens of tests,
0:35:26 > 0:35:30he persuaded his brothers to let him experiment further.
0:35:36 > 0:35:40This is the first time that I have ever
0:35:40 > 0:35:44addressed a large number of people without being scared half to death.
0:35:47 > 0:35:51Quite a few people have asked me
0:35:51 > 0:35:57if I would not explain how this system of talking movies works.
0:35:58 > 0:36:03I will endeavour to explain in as few words as possible.
0:36:03 > 0:36:08Most of you probably have never seen a piece of moving picture film.
0:36:08 > 0:36:12Here is a piece of the standard film.
0:36:12 > 0:36:15I will hold it against my white shirt front
0:36:15 > 0:36:18and I believe you can see the outline of the picture.
0:36:22 > 0:36:24Maybe you can make out the pictures.
0:36:26 > 0:36:31Now right along here is where we photograph the sound on the film,
0:36:31 > 0:36:37right next to the main picture.
0:36:37 > 0:36:41I'm going to play a piece on the mouth organ.
0:36:41 > 0:36:45PLAYS 'ROCK-A-BYE BABY'
0:36:45 > 0:36:48The tinny sound and squeaky voices
0:36:48 > 0:36:51of the first sound films were wonderfully parodied
0:36:51 > 0:36:54by Charlie Chaplin, in his film City Lights.
0:36:54 > 0:36:56He also wrote the music.
0:36:58 > 0:37:04CRUDE HORN TOOTS MIMICKING SPEECH RHYTHMS
0:37:55 > 0:37:58Silent films spoke a visual language understood
0:37:58 > 0:38:02by millions all over the world, and these films were always
0:38:02 > 0:38:04accompanied by live musicians,
0:38:04 > 0:38:07but silent films were about to become obsolete.
0:38:07 > 0:38:11Warner Brothers had kick-started the manic rush into talking movies.
0:38:11 > 0:38:15They had nothing to lose and everything to gain.
0:38:15 > 0:38:18If Warner Brothers could make sound films commercially acceptable,
0:38:18 > 0:38:22they would have a head start on all the major studios.
0:38:26 > 0:38:28But having to record sound
0:38:28 > 0:38:32took filmmaking right back to its very early days.
0:38:32 > 0:38:37A camera that didn't move, filming popular novelty acts.
0:38:37 > 0:38:41These films were test films, never released to the public.
0:38:41 > 0:38:44HE SINGS
0:38:57 > 0:38:59# He is making eyes at me
0:38:59 > 0:39:00QUACK!
0:39:00 > 0:39:03# He is awful nice to me
0:39:03 > 0:39:04# Oh, Ma!
0:39:04 > 0:39:06# He's almost breaking my heart
0:39:06 > 0:39:08# I'm beside him
0:39:08 > 0:39:10# Mercy, let his conscience guide him!
0:39:10 > 0:39:14QUACK! # He wants to marry me
0:39:14 > 0:39:17# And be my honeybee
0:39:17 > 0:39:21# When he left he shakes your shoulder
0:39:21 > 0:39:22QUACK!
0:39:22 > 0:39:24# He's kissing me! #
0:39:24 > 0:39:25QUACK!
0:39:25 > 0:39:29Silent movies didn't become talkies overnight - for a while silent films
0:39:29 > 0:39:34were produced with a recorded musical soundtrack replacing the job of live musicians.
0:39:34 > 0:39:41One such film, Don Juan, produced by Warner Brothers in 1926, starred John Barrymore.
0:39:41 > 0:39:44This film, with its lavish musical soundtrack, meant that audiences
0:39:44 > 0:39:48even in the smallest cinema would have an orchestral accompaniment.
0:39:57 > 0:40:01Barrymore played the eponymous hero.
0:40:01 > 0:40:06The perfectly-synchronised music thrillingly accompanied the action.
0:40:09 > 0:40:12It became an overnight sensation.
0:40:14 > 0:40:17The premier of Don Juan was accompanied by a programme
0:40:17 > 0:40:21of Vitaphone shorts with synchronised songs.
0:40:21 > 0:40:25# When the rangers come to town They saddle up or saddle down
0:40:25 > 0:40:28# They're in their heyday Because it's pay-day... #
0:40:28 > 0:40:30And a message from Will H Hays,
0:40:30 > 0:40:34the president of the Motion Picture Producers and Directors Association,
0:40:34 > 0:40:37with references that might surprise you...
0:40:37 > 0:40:42Today the screen presents pictures that walk and talk and act and sing.
0:40:42 > 0:40:45There is colour to give them vividness and life.
0:40:45 > 0:40:52There is widescreen projection just out of the laboratory to bring you the spectacles
0:40:52 > 0:40:54of nature and art in their true majesty.
0:40:54 > 0:41:00There is the promise, too, of three-dimension projection to give lifelike perspective.
0:41:05 > 0:41:11The writing was on the wall for Thalberg and his vast operation at MGM.
0:41:11 > 0:41:17None of the studios, cameras and cutting rooms were equipped to handle sound.
0:41:17 > 0:41:21But of course Thalberg hadn't seen anything yet!
0:41:26 > 0:41:31On 6th October 1927, The Jazz Singer was premiered.
0:41:31 > 0:41:37It was a sound film in that it had recorded musical accompaniment, but also featured its star
0:41:37 > 0:41:41Al Jolson singing a couple of songs and adlibbing a few words of dialogue.
0:41:41 > 0:41:45It was these moments that caught the audience's ears.
0:41:45 > 0:41:46'Wait a minute, wait a minute,'
0:41:46 > 0:41:48you ain't heard nothing yet.
0:41:48 > 0:41:51Wait a minute, I tell you! You ain't heard nothing.
0:41:51 > 0:41:53You want to hear Toot, Toot, Tootsie?
0:41:53 > 0:41:54All right, hold on, hold on.
0:41:54 > 0:41:58Listen, play Toot, Toot, Tootsie - three chorus, you understand?
0:41:58 > 0:41:59And the third chorus, I whistle.
0:41:59 > 0:42:01Now give it to 'em hard and heavy - go right ahead.
0:42:06 > 0:42:08# Toot, toot, tootsie, goodbye
0:42:08 > 0:42:11# Toot, toot, tootsie, don't cry... #
0:42:11 > 0:42:14The Jazz Singer was a huge box office sensation.
0:42:14 > 0:42:20Warner Brothers made so much money, they were able to buy one of the big three film companies at the time,
0:42:20 > 0:42:25First National, and move into their vast studios here in Burbank.
0:42:25 > 0:42:31It would take nearly three years to convert all the studios and cinemas in America for sound.
0:42:34 > 0:42:41When sound came in, when The Jazz Singer was released and became the huge box office smash that it did,
0:42:41 > 0:42:47what was your father's attitude to it, because most people it seemed, intelligent film makers of the day,
0:42:47 > 0:42:50thought that talkies were just a passing novelty...?
0:42:50 > 0:42:58My father and mother and, er, Mr Thalberg and his wife, Norma,
0:42:58 > 0:43:02all went to the premier of The Jazz Singer together.
0:43:02 > 0:43:07And my father just sat and watched this, and that old survival instinct
0:43:07 > 0:43:11- was there and he knew this was what was coming.- Oh, really?
0:43:11 > 0:43:16Yeah. And he walked out, and my father just couldn't say anything
0:43:16 > 0:43:19and Thalberg didn't say anything, and...
0:43:19 > 0:43:20"Irving, isn't this terrific?"
0:43:20 > 0:43:24He says, "It's just a passing fancy."
0:43:24 > 0:43:29And my father was stunned by that, he couldn't believe that,
0:43:29 > 0:43:32and he often told me that story.
0:43:32 > 0:43:35But what Thalberg was really concerned is that
0:43:37 > 0:43:43they were a factory, a mass-produced factory, and an invention had come along that had made
0:43:43 > 0:43:49- 35 pictures that they had sitting on the shelf for release obsolete.- Yes.
0:43:49 > 0:43:54So they had to go back and redo it, and he didn't want this thing.
0:43:54 > 0:43:59Silent film may have seemed obsolete but it didn't go quietly.
0:43:59 > 0:44:06One of the best films of the entire silent era was released among its dying embers - Sunrise.
0:44:06 > 0:44:11Directed in Hollywood by the noted German director FW Murnau,
0:44:11 > 0:44:15Sunrise featured his trademark moving camera.
0:44:15 > 0:44:19Here it is used to stunning effect, as Murnau mimics the core nature
0:44:19 > 0:44:24of cinema - a journey through the dark that takes us into spectacular visions.
0:44:36 > 0:44:40Irving Thalberg, like so many other wise heads at the time,
0:44:40 > 0:44:43dismissed the talking picture as a passing novelty.
0:44:43 > 0:44:46It's easy to see why he thought this.
0:44:46 > 0:44:50By the mid-1920s, the finest films of the silent era were being made,
0:44:50 > 0:44:55not just big box office hits, but also prestigious experimental films.
0:44:55 > 0:45:01One such movie was The Crowd, produced by Irving Thalberg and directed by King Vidor in 1928.
0:45:01 > 0:45:06This was not a star vehicle - in fact its subject matter was literally a face in the crowd.
0:45:40 > 0:45:44I told Thalberg, this may not pack the theatres as much as we hope.
0:45:44 > 0:45:47I said, "We can't tell, but it may not."
0:45:47 > 0:45:50And he says, "Well, I think MGM
0:45:50 > 0:45:53"are making enough pictures, enough money,
0:45:53 > 0:45:56"they can afford an experimental film every once in a while.
0:45:56 > 0:45:59"It'll do something for the studio
0:45:59 > 0:46:02"and it'll do something for the whole industry."
0:46:02 > 0:46:06So that was a pretty good attitude for a top production executive.
0:46:08 > 0:46:15Irving Thalberg's creative commitment manifested itself in other ways as well.
0:46:15 > 0:46:21The studio didn't know, they were lost,
0:46:21 > 0:46:23what sort of...how to end this picture happily.
0:46:23 > 0:46:28So we made actually seven endings and tried it out, seven previews
0:46:28 > 0:46:30with the various endings,
0:46:30 > 0:46:33and finally I came up with the ending where he's lost again
0:46:33 > 0:46:37in the crowd, and the camera moves back, back, back.
0:46:42 > 0:46:45King Vidor was just one of the prominent American directors
0:46:45 > 0:46:49heavily influenced by Murnau's moving camera.
0:46:49 > 0:46:56Hollywood was still under the influence of the stationary camera, shooting into a set.
0:46:56 > 0:47:00And they used to say, long shot, medium shot, close-up.
0:47:00 > 0:47:04And they'd just move straight into the set - that was the way a lot of
0:47:04 > 0:47:08fellas were working and had been working and continued to develop.
0:47:08 > 0:47:16Just camera stop, move up to a closer shot, move closer, without panoraming the actors
0:47:16 > 0:47:20through the set, without following them, without moving up
0:47:20 > 0:47:23with them, moving the camera up.
0:47:23 > 0:47:25And I remember producers saying,
0:47:25 > 0:47:29"Don't keep moving the camera all over, I don't like it, I get dizzy."
0:47:29 > 0:47:31I planted the stuff in Eddie's shop.
0:47:31 > 0:47:37There was no chance of getting dizzy with the static camerawork of the early talkies.
0:47:37 > 0:47:40But they must not find Eddie...
0:47:40 > 0:47:43Here you may be wondering why the actor in the background is
0:47:43 > 0:47:47completely masked by the actor in front of him.
0:47:47 > 0:47:49It's because the actor in front of him is trying to make sure the telephone,
0:47:49 > 0:47:54which is in fact a microphone, can hear every word he says.
0:47:54 > 0:47:56What, you mean...?
0:47:56 > 0:48:01An amazing coincidence running into you accidentally like that.
0:48:01 > 0:48:04Especially as we had parted for ever three months ago.
0:48:04 > 0:48:05You know it wasn't a coincidence.
0:48:05 > 0:48:09Here, the microphone has been skilfully hidden in the set.
0:48:09 > 0:48:12But why didn't you telephone if you wanted to see me?
0:48:12 > 0:48:14I was afraid you might be in.
0:48:14 > 0:48:19And the film-making ability has also been skilfully hidden...
0:48:19 > 0:48:23Clare, did he kiss you?
0:48:23 > 0:48:24Yes.
0:48:26 > 0:48:28And did you kiss him?
0:48:28 > 0:48:30Oh, stop it, stop it - this man means nothing to me.
0:48:30 > 0:48:33Go ahead and ask your questions,
0:48:33 > 0:48:37but, oh, Jim, you've got to believe me.
0:48:38 > 0:48:43Cameras were now encased in huge boxes to muffle their sound,
0:48:43 > 0:48:49so it wouldn't be picked up by the static microphones hanging above the static actors.
0:48:49 > 0:48:54And suddenly a voice test could make or break a Hollywood star.
0:48:54 > 0:48:58A few of the silent film stars, such as Greta Garbo,
0:48:58 > 0:49:04John Barrymore and Joan Crawford, survived the transition to sound, but the majority didn't.
0:49:05 > 0:49:09John Gilbert was one high-profile victim.
0:49:10 > 0:49:14It was an image of the great lover, the intensive lover.
0:49:14 > 0:49:20You couldn't put this image he had established into words - it becomes funny.
0:49:20 > 0:49:24Your eyes told me so, your heart told me so, your lips told me so.
0:49:24 > 0:49:30The people were waiting - what was he saying all the time in the silent films?
0:49:30 > 0:49:33And then they hear these words and they laugh!
0:49:33 > 0:49:37I love you. I've told you that 100 times this week - I love you.
0:49:37 > 0:49:41And I've told you not to tell me that again.
0:49:41 > 0:49:44Others were hampered in less obvious ways.
0:49:44 > 0:49:50Douglas Fairbanks had created the action-hero film, a cinema genre still thriving today.
0:49:50 > 0:49:57His first hero was Zorro, a caped crusader - Batman with a fag on.
0:50:00 > 0:50:06Silent film allowed the luxury of superhuman action - a sword fight could be speeded up.
0:50:06 > 0:50:09Here is Douglas in Robin Hood...
0:50:20 > 0:50:23Audiences were stunned by the sheer scale of the production.
0:50:28 > 0:50:32In the Black Pirate, Fairbanks brought a new dimension
0:50:32 > 0:50:35to the screen - Technicolor.
0:50:37 > 0:50:41Critics compared scenes in this film to paintings by the old masters.
0:50:41 > 0:50:45But visuals were no longer enough - sound had arrived.
0:50:47 > 0:50:52In Fairbanks' first sound film, with his wife Mary Pickford, he was more or less rooted to the spot.
0:50:53 > 0:50:57Let him that moved thee hither, remove thee hence!
0:50:57 > 0:51:01Oh, ho, ho, ho! Oh, come, Kate, come!
0:51:01 > 0:51:04You must not look so sour!
0:51:04 > 0:51:07It is my fashion when I see a crab.
0:51:07 > 0:51:09Why? Here's no crab!
0:51:09 > 0:51:11Come, Kate, come, sit down...
0:51:11 > 0:51:14Fairbanks is deprived of exuberant
0:51:14 > 0:51:18movement, but he still manages to inject some into this scene.
0:51:22 > 0:51:25Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!
0:51:25 > 0:51:30Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!
0:51:30 > 0:51:34Oh, come, come, you wasp!
0:51:34 > 0:51:39- You are too angry.- If I be waspish, then beware my sting!
0:51:44 > 0:51:49Eric Von Stroheim embraced sound in a way you would never guess.
0:51:49 > 0:51:52# And my best gal said, sho-lo!
0:51:52 > 0:51:55# Ha-ha-ha!
0:51:55 > 0:52:00# Hee-hee-hee! Woah-ho-ho, I'm laughing... #
0:52:00 > 0:52:04After a year and a bit, sound films improved dramatically.
0:52:04 > 0:52:08Filmmakers rediscovered cinema and were no longer a slave to the microphone.
0:52:08 > 0:52:13Comedic performances were enhanced by well-written dialogue.
0:52:13 > 0:52:15I was reading a book the other day...
0:52:17 > 0:52:19Reading a book?
0:52:19 > 0:52:22Yes, it's all about civilisation or something.
0:52:22 > 0:52:26Do you know that the guy said that machinery is going to take the place of every profession?
0:52:26 > 0:52:28Oh, my dear!
0:52:28 > 0:52:31That's something you need never worry about.
0:52:31 > 0:52:36MGM'S first talking film was the all-singing, all-tap-dancing
0:52:36 > 0:52:40extravaganza Broadway Melody, which in 1929
0:52:40 > 0:52:44set the style for future MGM musicals.
0:53:00 > 0:53:05Another talkie that year was The Hollywood Review of 1929.
0:53:05 > 0:53:08Irving Thalberg produced a picture which featured almost every one of
0:53:08 > 0:53:15MGM's stars in either a singing or talking role - the notable female exception being Greta Garbo.
0:53:15 > 0:53:20Garbo's first sound film for Thalberg wasn't released until 1930.
0:53:20 > 0:53:22Public curiosity was at fever pitch.
0:53:22 > 0:53:26What would the Swedish goddess sound like?
0:53:26 > 0:53:27The answer?
0:53:27 > 0:53:29Swedish!
0:53:30 > 0:53:34Give me a whisky - ginger ale on the side.
0:53:34 > 0:53:41Irving Thalberg continued to exhibit his acumen at MGM by signing the Marx Brothers in the mid-1930s.
0:53:41 > 0:53:44He produced their biggest every picture - A Night At The Opera.
0:53:44 > 0:53:47As Irving described to Groucho, women didn't particularly like
0:53:47 > 0:53:51uncontrolled horseplay - they liked a little romance thrown into the mix.
0:53:51 > 0:53:53I love you.
0:53:53 > 0:53:56Difficult to believe when I find you dining with another woman.
0:53:56 > 0:53:57That woman?!
0:53:57 > 0:53:59Do you know why I sat with her?
0:53:59 > 0:54:02Because she reminded me of you.
0:54:02 > 0:54:06- Really?- Of course! That's why I'm sitting here with you - because you remind me of you!
0:54:06 > 0:54:11Your eyes, your throat, your lips - everything about you reminds me of you.
0:54:11 > 0:54:13Except you. How do you account for that?
0:54:13 > 0:54:15She figures that one out, she's good.
0:54:15 > 0:54:23Thalberg had the Marx Brothers road-test the film's comedy routines in front of live theatre audiences.
0:54:23 > 0:54:27This allowed them to time their filmed scenes for the cinema crowd.
0:54:31 > 0:54:36Thalberg was keen to work in this way again on a new Marx Brothers film.
0:54:36 > 0:54:37But he ran out of time.
0:54:39 > 0:54:44Irving Thalberg didn't see the next Marx Brothers film, A Day At The Races.
0:54:44 > 0:54:47He died in 1936 at the age of 37,
0:54:47 > 0:54:52not after all from a weakened heart, but from pneumonia.
0:54:52 > 0:54:59His wife, the film star Norma Shearer, and his mother, Henrietta, were at his bedside.
0:55:13 > 0:55:19MGM employed the factory system to make their films, although Irving always found time
0:55:19 > 0:55:25and room for the personal, artistic movie - films that didn't insult the intelligence of the audience.
0:55:25 > 0:55:32He believed in the power of the story and also making films as good as he possibly could.
0:55:32 > 0:55:34But for now,
0:55:34 > 0:55:36the young man in a hurry,
0:55:36 > 0:55:38he's reached the finish line.
0:55:45 > 0:55:49Thalberg's dedicated pursuit of excellence
0:55:49 > 0:55:52created a special kind of legacy. The best of his films
0:55:52 > 0:55:56are as enjoyable now as when they were made.
0:55:56 > 0:56:02And his insight, skill and dedication made MGM the gold standard for the industry,
0:56:02 > 0:56:05not merely in Hollywood but throughout the world.
0:56:05 > 0:56:11Amidst the studio system Thalberg stood for individuality, for the higher aspirations of filmmaking.
0:56:11 > 0:56:16Irving Thalberg always believed cinema could be art.
0:56:16 > 0:56:20And the past 100 years have demonstrated that.
0:56:22 > 0:56:25Cinema is now well into its second century.
0:56:25 > 0:56:32When it began in 1895, moving photographs on a large screen were considered a sensational novelty.
0:56:32 > 0:56:35But now the moving picture is everywhere.
0:56:35 > 0:56:38Compact devices which access the internet
0:56:38 > 0:56:43give us a vast visual library that we can carry around in our pocket.
0:56:43 > 0:56:47But the ubiquity of the moving photograph does not mean the end of cinema.
0:56:47 > 0:56:50As human beings we like to sit in audiences,
0:56:50 > 0:56:52having the communal spirit,
0:56:52 > 0:56:56being entranced by the story, laughing at the same gags.
0:56:56 > 0:57:00As long as cinema entertains, then we will be entertained by cinema.
0:57:03 > 0:57:07# Toot, toot, tootsie, goodbye
0:57:07 > 0:57:10# Toot, toot, tootsie, don't cry
0:57:10 > 0:57:15# The choo-choo train that takes me away from you
0:57:15 > 0:57:18# No words can tell how sad it makes me
0:57:18 > 0:57:21# Kiss me, Tootsie, and then
0:57:21 > 0:57:24# Do it over again
0:57:24 > 0:57:29# Watch for the mail I'll never fail
0:57:29 > 0:57:32# If you don't get a letter then you'll know I'm in jail
0:57:32 > 0:57:35# Toot, toot, tootsie, don't cry
0:57:35 > 0:57:39# Toot, toot, tootsie, goodbye! #
0:58:12 > 0:58:18Do you know there are various composers that fit various parts of the country?
0:58:18 > 0:58:23- HE SAYS NAMES IN LOCAL ACCENTS: - For example Liverpool is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
0:58:23 > 0:58:26Cardiff is, Johann Sebastian Bach.
0:58:26 > 0:58:29Birmingham is Rimsky Korsakov.
0:58:32 > 0:58:34The Irish is Beethoven.
0:58:36 > 0:58:39And to move to the philosophers, for Newcastle, Schopenhauer!
0:58:41 > 0:58:43And I don't mean how long you've got to do your shopping.
0:58:45 > 0:58:50# Goodbye, Tootsie, goodbye! #