Here is an outline of each of the five episodes:
-“My Four Years in
-Success of Rin Tin Tin movies, written by Daryl Zanuck
-John Barrymore and “The Sea Beast”
-Director Ernst Lubitsch
-Experiments with sound, the signing of Al Jolson, and the success of “The Jazz Singer”
-“Noah’s
-“Lights of
-Zanuck setting tone with tough talking films in the 30s
-The studio pushing pre-code boundaries with risqué films like “Babyface”
-“Heroes for
-“Wild Boys of the Road” captivated audiences with story of depression kids
-FDR figures appear in many films as Warner’s is known as the Democratic studio
-Paul Muni and the realism of “I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang”
-Edward G. Robinson and “Little Caesar”
-“The Public Enemy” and the ferocity of Cagney
-The extravagance of the Busby Berkely musicals
-Forgotten star Geoge Arliss, benefitting off his stage name, and introducing Bette Davis to the movies
-Hal Wallis replacing Daryl Zanuck
-Michael Curtiz
-Bette Davis, her contentions with the studio, and her comeback that made her a top star
-B-Picture star Ronald Reagan
-Swashbuckler Errol Flynn
-Olivia de Havilland
War and Peace (1937-1949)
-“Black Legion” and “They Won’t Forget”, films about xenophobia and anti-Semitism
-“Confessions of a Nazi Spy”, first film to take on Nazi threat, followed by anti-fascist films, Jewish biographical films, and conflicted soldier movies.
-Humphrey Bogart, “High Sierra”, “The Maltese Falcon”, “
-War films consisting of a collection of types, anti-war films, war films that went too far, and patriotic films
-"To Have and Have Not", "The Big Sleep", and Lauren Bacall and Bogie
-Commitment to America films, "Yankee Doodle Dandy"
-Film Noir
-"Mildred Pierce" and Joan Crawford
-violent postwar strikes lead to the HUAC testimonies which in turn lead to the blacklist
-John Huston's "Key Largo" and "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" with Bogart
-Cagney, "White Heat", and the end of a movie era
Age of Anxiety (1950-1969)
-Cold War fears begin to rise
-Marlon Brando and "A Streetcar Named Desire"
-the huge popularity of Doris Day
-television poses serious threat to the film industry, studio gets into TV production, WB cartoons find new life
-foray into increasingly popular science fiction with Vincent Price's "House of Wax", "The Fog Horn", "Them"
-use of widescreen, Elian Kazan's "East of Eden", and the discovery of James Dean
-"Rebel without a Cause", "Giant", and the death of Dean
-John Wayne in John Ford's "The Searchers" and Howard Hawks' "Rio Bravo"
-Alfred Hitchcock's "Strangers on a Train" and "The Wrong Man"
-Kazan's "A Face in the Crowd" as an indictment of television
-the brothers sell their shares in the company and Jack goes beyond their back and buys his back
-musical adaptations such as "Auntie Mame" and "My Fair Lady"
-Mike Nichols' "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"
-Arthur Penn's "Bonnie and Clyde"
-Paul Newman in "Cool Hand Luke"
-Jack Warner finally gives up shares, Sam Peckinpah's "The Wild Bunch" is made, and as the studio falters
Starting Over (1970-1990)
-"Woodstock" helps the faltering studio
-"Dirty Harry", "McCabe & Mrs. Miller", "A Clockwork Orange", and "Deliverance" show varying views of violence and aid the studio's turnaround
-The studio picks up "Mean Streets" and gives Martin Scorsese his break
-"The Exorcist" becomes an unforeseen hit, the studio's biggest to date
-Mel Brooks' bawdy and uproarious "Blazing Saddles"
-Sidney Lumet's "Dog Day Afternoon" pushes boundaries
-"All the President's Men"
-Stanley Kubrick's "Barry Lyndon", "The Shining", and "Full Metal Jacket"
-Clint Eastwood, "The Outlaw Josey Wales", "The Enforcer", "Every Which Way but Loose", "Bronco Billy"
-Warner Bros. enters the blockbuster age with "Superman"
-the studio begins to contract independent producers and make sexier films like "Body Heat" and "Risky Business", the latter making Tom Cruise a star
-Steven Spielberg, "The Color Purple", and "Empire of the Sun"
-beloved mogul Steve Ross dies
-huge successes "Driving Miss Daisy" and "Batman"
A Living Tradition (1988-2008)
-Clint Eastwood's "Bird", biopic on jazz legend Charlie Parker
-Martin Scorsese's "Goodfellas"
-Eastwood's "Unforgiven"
-"The Fugitive"
-"L.A. Confidential"
-Stanley Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut", his death, and Steven Spielberg continuing his project "A.I. Artificial Intelligence"
-The success of "The Matrix" and its sequels
-the tremendous success of the "Harry Potter" series
-George Clooney films "The Perfect Storm", "Ocean's 11" and its sequels, "Three Kings", "Good Night, and Good Luck", "Syriana", "Michael Clayton"
-films that hold a greater appeal to the world market, "The Last Samurai", "Troy"
-Eastwood's "Mystic River", "Million Dollar Baby"
-"North Country" as a return to Warner's working class roots
-Paul Haggis' "In the Valley of Elah"
-Clint's "Letter from Iwo Jima"
-Scorsese's "The Departed"
-Reviving the Batman series with "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight"
-"Mildred Pierce" and Joan Crawford
-violent postwar strikes lead to the HUAC testimonies which in turn lead to the blacklist
-John Huston's "Key Largo" and "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" with Bogart
-Cagney, "White Heat", and the end of a movie era
Age of Anxiety (1950-1969)
-Cold War fears begin to rise
-Marlon Brando and "A Streetcar Named Desire"
-the huge popularity of Doris Day
-television poses serious threat to the film industry, studio gets into TV production, WB cartoons find new life
-foray into increasingly popular science fiction with Vincent Price's "House of Wax", "The Fog Horn", "Them"
-use of widescreen, Elian Kazan's "East of Eden", and the discovery of James Dean
-"Rebel without a Cause", "Giant", and the death of Dean
-John Wayne in John Ford's "The Searchers" and Howard Hawks' "Rio Bravo"
-Alfred Hitchcock's "Strangers on a Train" and "The Wrong Man"
-Kazan's "A Face in the Crowd" as an indictment of television
-the brothers sell their shares in the company and Jack goes beyond their back and buys his back
-musical adaptations such as "Auntie Mame" and "My Fair Lady"
-Mike Nichols' "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"
-Arthur Penn's "Bonnie and Clyde"
-Paul Newman in "Cool Hand Luke"
-Jack Warner finally gives up shares, Sam Peckinpah's "The Wild Bunch" is made, and as the studio falters
Starting Over (1970-1990)
-"Woodstock" helps the faltering studio
-"Dirty Harry", "McCabe & Mrs. Miller", "A Clockwork Orange", and "Deliverance" show varying views of violence and aid the studio's turnaround
-The studio picks up "Mean Streets" and gives Martin Scorsese his break
-"The Exorcist" becomes an unforeseen hit, the studio's biggest to date
-Mel Brooks' bawdy and uproarious "Blazing Saddles"
-Sidney Lumet's "Dog Day Afternoon" pushes boundaries
-"All the President's Men"
-Stanley Kubrick's "Barry Lyndon", "The Shining", and "Full Metal Jacket"
-Clint Eastwood, "The Outlaw Josey Wales", "The Enforcer", "Every Which Way but Loose", "Bronco Billy"
-Warner Bros. enters the blockbuster age with "Superman"
-the studio begins to contract independent producers and make sexier films like "Body Heat" and "Risky Business", the latter making Tom Cruise a star
-Steven Spielberg, "The Color Purple", and "Empire of the Sun"
-beloved mogul Steve Ross dies
-huge successes "Driving Miss Daisy" and "Batman"
A Living Tradition (1988-2008)
-Clint Eastwood's "Bird", biopic on jazz legend Charlie Parker
-Martin Scorsese's "Goodfellas"
-Eastwood's "Unforgiven"
-"The Fugitive"
-"L.A. Confidential"
-Stanley Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut", his death, and Steven Spielberg continuing his project "A.I. Artificial Intelligence"
-The success of "The Matrix" and its sequels
-the tremendous success of the "Harry Potter" series
-George Clooney films "The Perfect Storm", "Ocean's 11" and its sequels, "Three Kings", "Good Night, and Good Luck", "Syriana", "Michael Clayton"
-films that hold a greater appeal to the world market, "The Last Samurai", "Troy"
-Eastwood's "Mystic River", "Million Dollar Baby"
-"North Country" as a return to Warner's working class roots
-Paul Haggis' "In the Valley of Elah"
-Clint's "Letter from Iwo Jima"
-Scorsese's "The Departed"
-Reviving the Batman series with "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight"
