On Labor Day, Turner Classic Movies is broadcasting all seven parts of its series Moguls And Movie Stars: A History of Hollywood. Most histories of cinema emphasize the technical and creative evolutions of film. Instead, Moguls traces the business story – how mostly Jewish immigrants started with the early peep shows in old Eastern cities and wound up building monopolistic empires in the sun and glamor of Hollywood. It’s a great story, and this series tells it very well.
TCM originally broadcast the series in fall 2009. The DVD set is now available for purchase for about $28. Here’s the original TCM promo.