Movies About L.A.
- Harris Newmark’s Los Angeles is the PBS video which was an LA history project in several segments made in 1988. This 30-minute segment shows Theodore Bikel as he plays Newmark walking through various old sites and narrating bits from his book. He does mention a plot by another merchant to drive Jews out of business, which inspired Newmark to form a secret alliance with Banning, who controlled deliveries to the port, in opening a new store to rival the anti-semitic merchant. He also mentions the Hebrew Benevelent Society.
- Hollywoodism: Jews, Movies, and The American Dream (1998)Bernard Avishai, Judith Balaban, Walter Bernstein
This program is based on the acclaimed book of the same name written by Neal Gabler. The men who created Hollywood, men like Adolph Zucker (Paramount founder), Carl Loemmle (Columbia founder), and Louis B. Mayer (MGM founder) had a lot in common. They were all born or grew up within 500 miles of one another, all renounced their Jewish faith and ties, and all helped create Hollywood as it is today. This program is based on the acclaimed book of the same name written by Neal Gabler. The men who created Hollywood, men like Adolph Zucker (Paramount founder), Carl Loemmle (Columbia founder), and Louis B. Mayer (MGM founder) had a lot in common. They were all born or grew up within 500 miles of one another, all renounced their Jewish faith and ties, and all helped create Hollywood as it is today. Never-before-seen home movie footage, interviews with family, and extensive movie clips explain the rise of the American film industry, the lives of these important men, and the impact of the values still upheld by Hollywood. This program was the winner of the Best Jewish Experience Documentary award presented at the 1998 Jerusalem Film Festival.
~ Nicole Jones, All Movie Guide
- Meet Me at Brooklyn and SotoHarold Gould narrates this nostalgic celebration of the Jewish community of Los Angeles from the 1920’s to the 1950’s, radiating from the lively corner of Brooklyn Avenue (now Cesar Chavez Avenue) and Soto Street, in East L.A.’s Boyle Heights neighborhood. Utilizing archival film footage, vintage photos and interviews with former residents of the neighborhood, major landmarks such as the Breed Street shul, the Soto and Michigan Jewish Community Center, and the Old Jewish Home for the Aged in Boyle Heights, are fondly remembered. In its heyday, the largest Jewish community west of Chicago was centered here. Sponsored by the Southern California Jewish Historical Society, this video is guaranteed to evoke nostalgia, even if you’ve never before heard of Boyle Heights!
ISBN 1-56082-204-X
70 min., #426, Color