Tag Archives: Movie Studios
Metro Pictures main entrance at 6300 Romaine St, Hollywood, circa early 1920s
Before they merged with Goldwyn Pictures in 1924 to become Metro-Goldwyn (L.B. Mayer didn’t get his name added until a year later) Metro Pictures had a four-block studio lot in Hollywood at Romaine St. and Cahuenga Blvd, which opened in … Continue reading
Universal City movie studio backlot, San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, circa late 1910s
The movie studios were (and still are) so vast that they’re almost cities unto themselves, with their own post office, fire department, police force, and power generators. Universal Pictures went one step further and called their studio lot Universal City. … Continue reading
Color photo looking south down Gower St toward RKO studios at Melrose Ave, Hollywood, 1954
From Dave DeCaro’s glorious archive comes this vibrant (Kodachrome, I assume) photo looking south down Gower St toward RKO studios at the Melrose Ave corner. It was taken in 1954, when the studio was still producing movies, albeit chaotically under … Continue reading
Mother Goose Pantry restaurant, 1959 E. Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, as seen in MGM’s “Los Angeles: Wonder City of the West” Fitzpatrick’s Traveltalks short (1935).
I was recently watching an old movie on TCM, and after the closing credits ran, a Technicolor short from MGM started playing. It was from the popular travelogue series, called “Fitzpatrick’s Traveltalks.” The series goes all over the world, but … Continue reading
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Tagged Color photo, Memetic architecture, MGM, Movie Studios, Pasadena, Restaurants
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Three soundproof camera booths on the set of “Showgirl in Hollywood” at First National (Warner Bros) studios, Burbank, late 1929
This shot gives us a glimpse into what it was like to film one of those new-fangled talkie pictures. Back then, cameras were so noisy that the microphones needed to record dialogue would pick up the racket they made (which … Continue reading
Striking unionized motion picture workers clash with authorities outside Warner Bros movie studios, Olive Ave, Burbank, October 1945
Starting in the late 1930s and continuing during the WWII years, the two main unions operating in Hollywood—the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IASTE) and the Confederation of Studio Unions (CSU)—slowly headed toward heated conflict. One of the most … Continue reading
Looking north up La Brea Ave from around De Longpre Ave toward the Charlie Chaplin Studios on a rare snow day, Hollywood, January 22, 1921
Los Angeles rarely sees snow these days, but for most of its existence, it has gotten snowed on roughly once every ten years or so. Friday, January 22, 1921 was one of those special days, and thankfully some quick-thinking photographer … Continue reading
The MGM front gate and Thalberg Building, Culver City, as seen in “The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Story” 1951
Last night, I watched an hour-long film on TCM called “The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Story” in which a very wooden MGM production chief, Dore Schary, promoted upcoming MGM films for 1951. It was like an hour-long buffet of trailers for black-and-white and … Continue reading
Warner Bros soundstages, Burbank, California, 1937
For those of you have never been on a movie studio lot, this photo of the Warner Bros. studio lot gives you an idea of how cavernous the soundstages are. And they need to be. One week they could be … Continue reading
Filming on the munchkin village set during the production of “The Wizard of Oz,” Stage 27, MGM studios, Culver City, Los Angeles, circa 1939
Here’s a marvelous behind-the-scenes shot of movie history in the making. Some intrepid photographer climbed up into the rafters of Stage 27 at MGM during the production of “The Wizard of Oz” when they were filming Judy Garland’s Dorothy talking … Continue reading