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Hollywood U.S.A!
Hollywood has more than just celebrated stars: its industry is respectable and prosperous, says Leslie Howard.
Overview
Hollywood is more than just the celebrities adorning the fan mags - or so says March of Time, as it looks behind the scenes at the studios. Beyond the gaze of the tourists, veteran Leslie Howard thinks Hollywood is akin to a cathedral town with a "conservative, respectable, very well managed and prosperous" film industry. This issue also looks at steel production as war looms, and New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia.
In-depth screen articles covering the controversies of the day were the speciality of March of Time, which often covered three or four stories in its cinematic, overtly political 20 minute format. A British film unit contributed to the American newsreel from 1935, with some stories only screened in Britain. Contemporary audiences and critics occasionally complained, though, that its choice of worthy subjects made the newsreel more of an endurance test than entertainment. Judge for yourself!
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