Goldwyn: The Man and His Movies (2001) (TV)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Directors:

Mark A. Catalena
Peter Jones

Writers:

A. Scott Berg (writer)
Peter Jones (writer)

Release Date:

13 June 2005 (Mexico)

Genre:

Documentary | Biography

Plot:

Documentary on the legendary Hollywood movie mogul, who created his own independent production company to produce such classics as Dodsworth...

Plot Keywords:

Producer | Film Maker | Character Name In Title

Cast

Dustin Hoffman	...	Himself / Narrator
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ruth Capps	...	Herself
Bette Davis	...	Herself (archive footage)
Peggy Elliott	...	Herself (as Peggy Goldwyn)
Samuel Goldwyn Jr.	...	Himself
Samuel Goldwyn	...	Himself (archive footage)
Tony Goldwyn	...	Himself
Farley Granger	...	Himself
Howard Hawks	...	Himself (archive footage)
Lillian Hellman	...	Herself (archive footage)
Leonora Hornblow	...	Herself
John Huston	...	Himself (archive footage)
Danny Kaye	...	Himself (archive footage)
Rouben Mamoulian	...	Himself (archive footage)
Merle Oberon	...	Herself (archive footage)
Laurence Olivier	...	Himself (archive footage)
Cecilia DeMille Presley	...	Herself
Harold Russell	...	Himself
Melville Shavelson	...	Himself
Sylvia Sidney	...	Herself
King Vidor	...	Himself (archive footage)
Teresa Wright	...	Herself
William Wyler	...	Himself (archive footage)

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Certification:

Australia:PG

Goofs:

Factual errors: The film claims that Louis B. Mayer won the Best Picture Oscar for Gone With the Wind (1939)_ , when it actually went to the film's producer, David O. Selznick. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer distributed the film, but it did not make it, and Louis B. Mayer did not produce it. Mayer was therefore not eligible for an Oscar.

Movie Connections:

Features Porgy and Bess (1959)

A fascinating look at a fascinating man

Goldwyn: The Man And His Movies tells the mesmerizing true story of Samuel Goldwyn who worked his way out of a destitute ghetto in Poland, made his way to America and become a self-made Hollywood mogul. The documentary takes a thorough look at both the good and the bad qualities of Goldwyn. There is much archive footage here along with more recent interview clips with the people who worked closely with Sam Goldwyn.

The documentary also provides us with interesting clips of some of the very best moments from many of Goldwyn's best films. We get a few clips from Wuthering Heights, The Little Foxes (Bette Davis' and William Wyler's finest work and the clips from The Best Years Of Our Lives - the only film that ever earned Goldwyn himself an Oscar - are outstanding. We learn how Goldwyn was able to come back despite failures; he was a clever albeit neurotic man who knew how to reinvent himself as time passed.

Loved or hated, Goldwyn was certainly a Hollywood luminary who went to amazing lengths to insure that he had the final word on what went up on the screen. Considered by most to be a phenomenal success, Goldwyn always seemed to be fighting an uphill battle against insurmountable odds. A true film genius who is known for the mantra "make less films, make better films", Goldwyn always seemed to be at war with everything around him, while constantly doing what he could to fit in.