Hollywood & the Stars: The Wild and Wonderful Thirties 

Rt 66 and Wagon Train, etc had many great guest stars.

it was never perfect back then and it took survivors, but the industry served up class to it's audience who got the inside joke of it all even back then. today's Hwood is a horror show. loved this series on tv as a kid.

Actually, they are at last

Film preservation itself preserves the magic of Hollywood..m

@@garyschultz883 , unfortunately , not so !

@@XX-gy7ue no worries if you can't but do you have an example of what magic is missing ?

@@garyschultz883 , maybe the interaction after the fact - I saw all the greats when I was a very young child , completely by myself in the dark , with no one to call , but with this magic burning in my soul - when I became a teenager I found that many other's shared my path ! - in places like New York there should be openings , and popcorn and champagne , and MAGIC ! BECAUSE THEIR WORK IS OF GENIUS !

@Freddie Davis :HA!

@@doncampbell7303 Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Loretta Young, Joan Blondell, Kay Francis, Ginger Rogers, Claudette Colbert, Sylvia Sidney and so many others were gorgeous during those early 1930s. The films: Midnight Mary, Employee's Entrance, Gold Diggers of 1933, The Gay Divorcee, One Way Passage, Dancing Lady, City Streets, Sadie McKee, They Call It Sin, Street Scene and on and on and on. I loved the films and actresses of the early 1930s.

I can recite the whole movie of Gone With The Wind by rote. I have watched it hundreds and hundreds of times. I even called my only daughter Scarlett!. I love old movies and the 'real' Hollywood stars. I would rather watch an oldie than almost ANYTHING made after 1960.

Totally agree.

Hell, I'm so far gone -- I canmot stand any movie in color. I love Black& White.....and totally prefer it !

Then the telly reared its nasty head ... virtually free intertainment ... lots of classic films shown & you do not need to go outdoors!

Hey, I'm also old (born in 1952) and I beg to differ. The studios back in the 1930s covered up PLENTY of "less than wholesome" behaviour that was going on behind the scenes. And I think that there's tons of beauty, talent, and class among today's stars. It's too bad you can't realize it.

@@violamateo-on8pc There is plenty Sir that goes on behind closed doors. That has always been the nature of humanity, we all fall short. The tragedy today is, it's out in public and in front of the cameras. . The quality of our entertainment today is not what we used to get, nowhere near the standard of talent we had in yester years people. Who are we to praise now days, Justine Bieber who likes to hit and abuse photographers, Miley Cyrus who straps on a 4 foot long dildoe to her body and then performs in front of children, and half naked a good deal of the time. The music industry is indeed foul with all its misfits and sound editing experts who try and make these people sound even less than mediocre, because the reality is many of them can't sing at all. How about our movie stars today, shall I go there. Appalling arrogance, bad language and oh yes, they are all political experts. They can't wait to get on some talk show in front of cameras and use 4 letter words to describe presidents, and mock and profane the name of Christ, as Cathy Griffin did when receiving her Emmy award. Have you been living under a rock Sir? Homosexuality is another issue with stars today. Its nobody's business what one's sexual life is about, that is their affair . and yes, there were plenty of homosexuals in the film industry of the past including a multitude of lesbians. However, people were discreet, people showed curtesy, and manners and consideration. Today's lot flaunt it all in our faces publicly. Hec man even our Television shows promote it all, and don't anyone dare speak about keeping all that private. If you do your a hater, a bigot, a homophobic, and all the nonsense they go on with. NO, we are not haters and bigots and homophobes, we just don't want our children seeing all that and hearing all that, at 5 and 6 and 7 years of age....continually. Can't they keep their private lives to themselves and keep a civil tongue in their heads. Now, not every one of them is like that, but unfortunately far far too many are. So yes, I much prefer times past for many reasons. Amazing films, that have stood the test of time. Amazing singers, amazing script writers, and musical composers. A much more polite society. How many of our performers today, is society going to be watching half a century or more from now? How many of today's vocalist and songs are people going to be listening to then. The answer is NONE. Hec man people still cant get enough of Elvis, even today almost 50 years after his death. WHY? because he could sing. SO YEP, ....No talent, no class, no discretion or good manners, no gratitude, just entitled brats, and I can't recall a single actress today that comes even close to the likes of Ava Gardner, or Lana Turner, or Heddy Lamar, or Grace Kelly in the looks department just to name a few . Most of the male stars leave a lot to be desired as well in appearance. NO sorry pal, we have fallen a long way down in many categories in this world of ours. The only progress we have made is in technology, that's where it begins and ends in terms of betterment. Thanks for your reply, we are going to have to agree to disagree. I do apologise, I just noticed your name, I thought you were a man, and I have been addressing you as such. I'm sorry for that.

Hollywood has now sold its soul to Communist China.

You can't just blame Hollywood I don't want to get political but everyday I see rude and frankly discusting behavior. A President bragged about grabbing a woman by the p*ssy. Can you imagine making it ok, that it's ok that a leader does that as long as we get what we want we will overlook....so not only is the leader behavior unbecoming the followers stamp of approval makes it worse. Can you imagine if a star had sad that.

@@violamateo-on8pc Ok then,what will the legacy of the 2020s be the writers strike,the slap seen around the world from Will Smith,all the DEI stuff that is holding every thing back,including making good movies,yeah they really have a great legacy to leave behind,these old movies and stars if you are not so far gone in the future are legends,what will the likes of Smith,Pitt,Di Caprio and theirs leave behind as a legendary movie,name some,oh yeah here's one from today's academy awards Barbie what a great movie for grown young boys to emulate their masculinity,no there is no great ones out there any more,the agents and writers and DEI will see the death of old style movie making and it will die,it was nothing to do with the private goings on making movies that ruined Hollywood and turned it into Hollyweird that is all on the public wanting to know all about them their stars and what they get up to in their private lives that has nothing to do with that,that is the inviduals own choices,not making movies,yeah they had it back then,but why would any one care about what they do if it does not affect the movies that are being made,stars are their own worst enemies been proven time again,but the movies where good and they continued to be good,as stars came and went,the 40s and the 50s and the 60s,started to slide in the 70s,by the time the 2000s came it was well and truly on its death bed,and the DEI and Woke are the final nails in its coffin,they will never recover,from this never,no one want to see their movies,unless you are in a certain minority that seems to be doing its best to destroy every thing from movies to politics,at least in the old movie there was no agenda or identity driven politics being pushed at the audience and movie goers and stars did not blame their fans for not going to see their pictures,no that only belongs to the stars of today,you have to be the right gender,and colour and sex once you have ticked those boxes you can work in Hollyweird today,say what you want about the old movies and stars you did not have to spoon feed the political message of the studio writers or directors and stars of the time,and that is the biggest difference between the era's,today every star is a politician even tv show hosts,politics should have nothing to do with the public's entertainment nor religion either,but all of that is there in today's Hollywierd .

wee32222211

True

As many were still dealing the blow the 1929 wall street crash dealt the allure of Hollywood was great ...

Like the second highest paid person in the U.S. - Mae West in the 1930's after William Randolph Hearst.

aye she was a dick van dyke and batted for the other side

TheRAFfc p

Greatest generation represent!

No offense, but the producer of this docu chose that rejected test because she *wasn't* at all suitable. I thought she seemed dull and unoriginal, with little wit and charm; she was average-looking and had a grating voice. She had nothing to offer Hollywood -- and considering how brutal Hollywood was and is, she was probably better off not being part of it. (B the way, you mean ''fared''; when in doubt, use a dicionary -- en.oxforddictionaries.com )

maria boletsis Everything but the voice. That was high, squeeky and unpleasant at best.

@@JJ21210 "Dictionary".

No! She had no self-esteem and none of the assets required. She apologized for the way she looked, for the atmosphere, for everything and then begged them to hire her so she could “be better.” They’re already supposed to be better (and to think they are!) by the time of the screen test. It was an absolute disaster.

There is some confusion here between 'star' and 'actress'. I think she would've made an excellent Broadway actress - little glam, but solid attitude. With persistence, she could've done quite well on the New York stage.

Yeah because the veil of lies has fallen and we can't fool ourselves anymore. There's people like me, who don't care for pretty lies, and people like you, who can't live with reality as it is and need to be fooled.

THEY WERE TRASH BACK THEN JUST DRESSED UP AND NOT EXPOSED FOR THE PEDOPHILES THEY ARE !

* Dumbed Down for sure and now, Ladies and Gentlemen: Welcome to Donald Trump and the Republican Party!

@@robertrstevens Got that right and hopefully not for long

@@robertrstevens The funny part is that Hollywood and Donald Trump are at odds with each other...so who exactly is "dumbed down"?

Exactly! I agree

Karoline Smail the casting couch was rife!

Gr33n 3ggs Child stars were the most popular. I wonder why? It doesn't leave much to the imagination. Watch some of Shirley's movies and the interview with Larry King. She touched on the subject of the going's on.

Not called the Golden Age for nothing, 'dark and twisted' Sold!

Not much has changed. It's as of wealth remains with a handful of producers controlling ALL narratives, globally. Their heirs will benefit. We'll pay for it. Slaves aka serfs to all these "stars" making an insane amount of money.

@@cindydufala7646 oh ffs grow up

@@Wife_Mother_Failure you grow up the fantasy of follow your heart was a deception exactly from Hollywood 🤦🏻‍♀️🥴

But they are fun to watch.

She's in there- 9:00-9:33

Top of the world Ma!

@@mousetreehouse6833 Orson Welles said that Cagney was the greatest film actor. Not a moment, motion, movement wasted ...

Waddya Tawkin litterally, the way l heard it. ☕🐸

Great ! Knowing this makes me loving him even more!

I think that he kicked Hedda Hopper.

Yeah the good old days of racism, sexism, exploitation of children and no antibiotics. They sure are missed😆

@@annnee6818 all those issues still exist, except the lack of anti biotics has been replaced with an over abundance of them. If you think otherwise, you're living in quite a bubble. Sexism and racism roles have been largely reversed but the problems are still there.

What was the name of this program?

I love watching old movies. They are very entertaining. I binge watch them every weekend.

Stephen bohl

It was even more depraved than it is now but there was no Internet or reporting worth mentioning so it was much easier to make people fall for the lies. To this day, it seems. Read up on what they did to baby Judy Garland and then tell me about "class" again😑

Here we go with these "back when" comments. Hell, you wasn't even alive then.

Even in the 60's and 70's you had to exude a certain amount of class to be a star. Stars were admired, and if you were a total schlump or grossie, you lost favor.

True. I wonder what technology will exist a century from now.

Fata> I know unreal!

Pre code Night Nurse!

He was an alcoholic.

+Steve Weinstein If that was the standard, many a star would've been let go - but weren't...

He also didn't get along with Mayer. It was a combination of factors.

@@steveweinstein3222 Yes, Louis B. Mayer hated him and had a lot to do with ruining his career.

Gilbert once decked Louis B. Mayer in the men's room at some awards ceremony for something he'd said about Gilbert's then-lover, Greta Garbo. From that point on, Mayer did everything he could to destroy Gilbert's career... and succeeded. It's covered in another Hollywood series, the Kevin Brownlaw one from the BBC, narrated by James Mason. THAT series is brilliant and available on youtube. This one is just fun.

We sure have come a long way, baby. Not. Thanks for your insightful post.

phoebephoebo ,sydney don't forget the beautiful HEDY LAMARR

I agree and don't forget the many films made by Loretta Young as a teenager during the early 1930s. Sylvia Sidney was great in the 1930s. Loved her films.

There will never be another like our Bette! She is one of the greatest actresses of all time.

My favorite Bette Davis movies from the 1930s are Petrified Forest, Marked Woman, and The Sisters. That last one The Sisters, is not as well known but is a knock-out.

Bette Davis my all time fav she did it the hard way! 🎥💃

She is in the installment "The Great Stars"...besides, this is 10 years distilled into 25 minutes.