Hollywood History

The Hollywood sign, seen as the worldwide symbol of the entertainment industry, was conceived in order to be an outdoor ad campaign for a suburban housing development called « Hollywoodland »in 1923. The sign is lighted by 4 000 bulbs, to be seen for miles, and each letter is 45 feet high and 30 feet wide. But after World War II this icon was destroyed by vandals : it was in the thirties. This sign have evolved over the years and has been modified, by the Chamber of Commerce, to become « Hollywood » in 1949. Now the sign continue to inspire movie makers and nobody can come to the Southern California without going to see the sign. Furthermore the sign is protected by a 24/7 security system, and if there is a problem a police helicopter is immediately dispatched.

This sign is more than just nine white letters spelling out a city's name , it simbolizes the place where magic is possible and where dreams come true.

Hollywood was created by a couple of immigrants : the Wilcox. They bought a little land. Soon the city knew a quick development. A lot of productors came to shoot their movies thanks to the pretty and diversify landscapes and the good weather. At the beginning, the spools were sold at meter and it was cheap . Griffith and his crew "La Biograph" came to begin to shoot short films in 1910 like In Old California. The first long film setting a milestone in the birth of the movie industry is The Squaw Man  directed by Cecil Blount De Mille in 1914. The seventh art began and so the star system : each studio had his own stars under contract. Pastes, sparkles, Hollywood entered in the time of the excessiveness and the actresses became idols and had nicknames :

-Rita Hayworth ->The goddess of love

-Ingrid Bergman-> The stranger

-Ava Gardner -> the most beautiful animal in the world

"Famous Players in Famous Plays" became the slogan of Adolph Zukor, the first one to bet on the good effect idols could cause on people.

The PARAMOUNT was created in 1916 by the fusion of the Zukor society and Lasky society.

The price of production of movies moved from 1 500$ in 1910 to 60 000$ in 1920.

In the thirties during the Great Depression  Hollywood was ruined and some industrials saved it from a totally ruin.

In the fifties, McCarthy, a senator, organized the "witch-hunt" and a lot of Hollywood celebrities were concerned. They had three choices : delete their  friends, immigrate or go to jail (only ten : "the ten of Hollywood"). The ones who stayed in America had a very little wages and some of them worked under covers.

Studios invented the block booking which impose to the developers the purchase of movies by prizes of 10, among which 6 in 7 B-movies even more, if they do not want to miss one or several star movies of moment.

Thank to Lucas and Spielberg, the Hollywood cinema know a rebirth  in the seventies.

Now it’s the most famous cinema industry in the world.