Moguls & Movie Stars: Warriors and Peacemakers (2010)
*** (out of 4)
The fifth episode in Turner Classic Movies series start off with a quick look at Orson Welles and the making of CITIZEN KANE, which Welles would later joke that he started at the top in Hollywood then worked his way down. We then move to the war kicking in and the release of CASABLANCA, which turned Humphrey Bogart into a star. Chaplin's THE GREAT DICTATOR is discussed as well as the countless other war films that would follow. As the documentary ends there's a brief discussion of a lawsuit that would make agents more powerful against the moguls as well as the decision that the moguls couldn't own the theaters that their movies were being shown. After a rather slow start to the series these last two entries have actually been pretty good. I think this one benefits from some of the lesser known stuff mainly that dealing with the agents and some of the behind the scenes stuff that was taking place at the studios when it came time to do stuff for the war. The biggest problem here, like the rest of the series, is that 55-minutes simply isn't enough time to tell the story that needs to be told. If you're completely unfamiliar with Hollywood and its history then there's no doubt you're going to learn the basic information. Other, more knowledgeable people, are probably going to know the majority of things that are discussed. What's also strange is how out of order this entry is because the film at one point starts to discuss the post-war Hollywood only to then flash back to some events that were taking place in the 30s.