Paul Merton's Birth of Hollywood— Part 1

Overview

Paul Merton's Birth of Hollywood is a 2011 BBC documentary series written, directed and presented by Paul Merton. The three-part series traces the rise of the American film-making industry in Hollywood through from the early years of film-making to the foundation of the major motion-picture studios and the new class of the film star.

Documentary

Current EpisodeSeason 1 • Episode 1Aired: 2011-05-2758 min

1. Part 1

Hollywood is still a sleepy California backwater of orange groves about to be transformed by filmmakers from the East Coast in search of sunny locations and wide open spaces. During this explosive early period, one of Hollywood's most influential and controversial directors was D.W. Griffith. Within the space of a few short years, he went from making short 'cliffhangers' to three-hour epics as Hollywood cinema became a worldwide entertainment medium. Paul Merton retrieves cinema's founding DNA and explores Griffith's career and the beginnings of the star system, which created screen idols like Mary Pickford, star of many of Griffith's movies.