David Wolper documentary series,Hollywood and the Stars.

[BruceGhent]

Hello, Does anyone out there remember a television series from the early to mid-sixties, possibly entitled, HOLLYWOOD AN THE STARS. I believe David L. Wolper was the exceutive producer and each episode depicted a different aspect or genre of Hollywood's golden age.Possibly one episode was entitled,"Monsters we have known and loved" or somesuch name. Could anyone assist me in this task? Thanks,B.G.

[scsu1975]

Welcome aboard, Bruce. Perhaps this is the series?

 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0853119/

[Ray Faiola]

HOLLYWOOD AND THE STARS was produced by Wolper through United Artists. Warners owns the series but I believe there are myriad rights issues that prevent its revival. Elmer Bernstein re-recorded his wonderful main title theme on a CD a few years before he passed away.

[markfp2]

I'm pretty sure that it was indeed HOLLYWOOD AND THE STARS you saw. I don't recall seeing it around since the early 1970's. As Ray pointed out most likely rights problems keeps it from being re-released. It's too bad though, I'd love to see it as a DVD release and on TCM.

[BruceGhent]

Hi Ray, Many thanks for assisting me. It's good to know that my memory is still pretty good after all. I was sure it was "Hollywood and the Stars". Seems a shame that it's not available as a DVD set. It was quite interesting and well done. Hope all the legal problems about copyrights and such will be ironed out eventually. Regards, B.G.

[BruceGhent]

Hello Mark.Thanks for your help regarding "Hollywood and the Stars" It's a shame that the series is tangled in legal red tape. Would be really great to see it again after (45?) years. I'm having the same trouble trying to track down BBC's "The Great War". Available In Great Britain(UK) but not in Canada (where I live) or the United States. Frustrating. Maybe someone can help me to that end as well. regards, B.G.

[lzcutter]

Bruce,

 

The rights issues are likely similar to the ones that keep Kevin Brownlow's wonderful *Hollywood* series from coming to DVD.

 

Many documentaries that used clips of films or stars usually find themselves tangled up in rights issues because in order to bring them to DVD , they have to go and renegotiate the rights to use the clips from the studios and now, often, the estates and/or families of the stars who own the image rights to their deceased loved one.

 

I recall Fred Astaire's widow held up "That's Entertainment" because she wouldn't agree to let Astaire's image be used until her monetary demands were met. But she had no problem selling his image to Dustbuster or Hoover for use in a vacuum cleaner ad.

 

Go figure.

[fredbaetz]

Hi Bruce, There were 31 episodes that ran an half hour and one of them was "Monsters We have Known and Loved". The series ran in 1963 on NBC.

[BruceGhent]

Hello,Izcutter.Appreciate the info you passed on.IT's unfortunate to see how difficult it is for the average person to hope an view again things that were so marvelous and uncomplicated when they aired originally years ago. Now that everyone has access to the internet and computers and all the other marvelous technical wonders of the 21st century, one would think that it would be easier to view these great old historical series like "Hollywood and the Stars". It seems now that nearly evrything and everyone has to have a piece of the intellectual property pie;lawyers, estates,advertisers, etc. Whatever happened to "Art for Art's sake? Well, enough ranting. Hope you didn't mind an old guy spouting off. Regards,B.G.

[Ray Faiola]

I have two episodes in 16mm - THE IMMORTAL JOLSON and HOW TO SUCCEED AS A GANGSTER. The one I really want to find is the episode about the making of IT'S A MAD MAD MAD MAD WORLD.

[BruceGhent]

Hi Ray, How in the world did you come by 16mm copies of these episodes you mentioned. You must be a true cinephile or film historian. I didn't realize individual episodes dealt with actual film making such as IAMMMW and anything on Al Jolson.

Al Jolson is a phantom, a chimera from a lost naive age of entertainment. Few, if any of the current generation would even remember the man,his music, or even his colossal ego. He's been gone nearly sixty years and I don't think any of his stuff is available still. You have any idea what the story is with his estate. I read somewhere that his widow or whoever manages Jolson's estate have kept a tight lid on all his property. The "JOLSON STORY", "JOLSON SINGS AGAIN" and a small bit of him singing in "RHAPSODY IN BLUE" is all I"ve ever seen of him.Anyway, Ray, thanks for the update.Reghards,B.G.

[lzcutter]

Bruce,

 

Keep an eye out on the schedule the next couple of months. I vaguely remember some Jolson movies coming.

 

Can anyone confirm or am I dreaming again?

[markfp2]

> {quote:title=lzcutter wrote:}{quote} I recall Fred Astaire's widow held up "That's Entertainment" because she wouldn't agree to let Astaire's image be used until her monetary demands were met. But she had no problem selling his image to Dustbuster or Hoover for use in a vacuum cleaner ad.

>

> Go figure.

 

I'll bet she got alot more money from the vacuum cleaner ad then she ever got from MGM for THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT.

[musicalnovelty]

Here's more info on the series "Hollywood and the Stars":

(Plus repeating a little already provided by others)...

 

Each episode was a half-hour (26 minutes and 30 seconds to be exact), and in black & white.

Produced by David Wolper Productions in association with United Artists Television.

They were hosted and narrated by Joseph Cotten.

On NBC, September 30, 1963 through September 28, 1964.

 

Following are the titles of the 31 episodes:

Academy Awards - Part 1.

Academy Awards - Part 2.

Anatomy of a Movie.

The Angry Screen.

Birth of a Star: Stefanie Powers.

The Fabulous Musicals.

Funny Men - Part 1.

Funny Men - Part 2.

The Great Directors.

The Great Lovers.

Hollywood Goes to War.

Hollywood, U.S.A.

How to Succeed as a Gangster.

The Immortal Jolson.

In Search of Kim Novak.

Man Called Bogart.

Many Faces of Paul Newman.

Monsters We Have Known and Loved.

Natalie Wood: Hollywood's Child.

Odyssey of Rita Hayworth.

On Location: Night of the Iguana.

The One and Only Bing.

Sex Symbols - Part 1.

Sex Symbols - Part 2.

The Swashbucklers.

Teenage Idols - Part 1.

Teenage Idols - Part 2.

They Went Thataway.

The Unsinkable Bette Davis.

"What a Way to Go": An Extravaganza in the Making.

The Wild and Wonderful Thirties.

 

Publicity summary: "Documentaries covering six areas of the film industry: life stories of stars, great movie makers, film cycles, star types, and human interest features."