An Empire of Their Own
The men who would later run Hollywood all came from poor immigrant families. Their humble beginnings drove each of them to prove themselves. Nearly all made their start by owning nickelodeons in the early 20th century. Most made their fortune thru sheer will while others almost lucked into it by circumstance. The first half of the book deals with their rise to power. We meet Adolph Zuckor (Paramount), Carl Laemmle (Universal), Harry Cohn (Columbia), Louis B. Mayer (MGM) William Fox, Jack Warner and Harry Warner (Warner Brothers).
Gabler seeks to understand what drove these men. He argues that because most of them felt rejected (not only for being Jewish, but by their own families in some instances) they were more willing to jump on the risky venture that was the motion picture. While the establishment thumbed their noses at what they considered to be an art form beneath them, these early movie Jews saw potential. Because of the Edison Trust they soon became film producers in addition to theater owners, so they didn’t have to worry about paying royalty fees. After a fairly short time these “independents” broke the vaunted trust and moved their enterprise to California where they could oversea the creation of a new movie empire.
These early chapters, as the moguls are brought vividly to life, are fascinating. Zuckor is shown to be an egotistical power monger. Laemmle on the other hand was such a kind man, most of his employees referred to him as “Uncle Carl” (even his son). Cohn was a man who succeeded by bending everything to his will by sheer force and fear. Then there was Mayer, a man who so desperately wanted to be loved, he treated his studio like one big family. The Warner brothers were always at each other’s throats with Jack (the younger) always resenting the way Harry treated him as an inferior. Fox got a the short shrift in this book as he isn’t explored nearly as much, but his burning resentment at the gentiles he believed tried to take over his studio is discussed.
The second section of the book details their time in power up until the fall of the studio system as it then existed, in the mid 1950’s. Their approaches to films are discussed (back then every studio had a unique fingerprint, mostly absent from today’s features) at length. Gabler also examines how these first Jews dealt with the succeeding generations of men like Thalberg and Selznik (not to mention the many writers of the day) who from the beginning tried to remake Hollywood. Their varying approaches to Judaism are also explored as is their approach to the Second World War Later, the hearings by the House Committee on Un-American Activities is mentioned along with the blacklist.
While this section of the book is also interesting I felt that some of these chapters ran a bit long. I was more intrigued by the moguls themselves so some of the more periphery information was a chore to go thru. Nonetheless, for a history lover or a movie lover this is a must read.
