Ebook: MGM: Hollywood's greatest backlot

Going behind the scenes at one of Hollywoods greatest movie studios, this extraordinary history reveals the untold story of the soundstages and outdoor sets where many of the worlds greatest films were produced. Featuring candid, previously unpublished photographs from the studios archives and exclusive interviews with actors and staff, this detailed exploration of MGMs backlotthe setting for more than a fifth of the films produced prior to 1980takes film buffs back to Hollywoods golden age, offering an insiders look at the movie business and celebrating many of its best films and the leading actors of the studio system. Today, when a film set can be anywhere at anytime, this treasure trove of information reveals the creativity and ingenuity of a bygone era when the studio system, coping with the limitations of space and technology, produced screen gems such as The Wizard of Oz, Gone with the Wind, and the Our Gang shorts.;Lands of make-believe. Mister Culver and the movies ; Lot one: kings and queens and beggars in rags -- Potemkin's villages. False fronts ; Lot two: an illusion on an illusion -- Mythic landscapes. That roaring lion ; Lot three: ghosts of a thousand Bountys -- Backlot Babylon. Insubstantial pageants.