Movie Studios of Culver City (Images of America)

In keeping with the IMAGES OF AMERICA SERIES, this book follows the general formula which combines a narrative with archived photos to tell a story. And what a story it is. Culver City was little more than a farming community stuck between Los Angeles and the Pacific Ocean when a real estate developer/promoter named Harry Culver realized that the area had immense potential in linking it to Los Angeles. As it turned out, with Culver's drive and determination the newly minted city became an attractive choice for the film industry (then in its infancy) to locate studios there. Just as California attracted film makers with its favorable weather conditions, Culver City provided the industry with an abundance of cheap land, a congenial atmosphere, ample good weather, and close proximity to LA.The focus of this book is as a historical record of the movie studios which have operated out of Culver City and the changes that have occurred due to business and economic conditions over the years. The studios are broken down in sections that look at the first Thomas Ince Studio (more commonly identified as MGM which resided there for decades), the second Thomas Ince Studio (known as Selznick International, Desilu, Laird, and Culver through the years), the now defunct Hal E. Roach Studio, and a series of lesser known studios that were eventually absorbed by the larger studios or abandoned.Crammed with pictures that illustrate the changes that have taken place and captions which describe those changes and serve as a meaningful point of reference, this book does a great job of telling an interesting story that has yet to have a final chapter. For me, it offered a new perspective regarding how films are made and crosses the thin line between fantasy and reality. The pictures are great and combined with the text/captions do an effective job of documenting the movie studios of Culver City.

Hollywood studios were not just in one area. All around Los Angeles are sites of many studios of yesteryear and today host network TV studios or have been developed into housing or business districts. This book looks at Culver City in much the same way as the Acacia book on the Warner Brothers Studios. See my review of that book for more details. Why the stuff about Reagan and the Keystone Cops? Culver a city was the site of the original Max Senet Film Studios who did the Keystone Cops silent film comedy shorts. Studios eventually became U.S Army Air Forces studio for Motion Picture Unit One, source of most WWII training films. The facility was under command of USAAF Captain Ronald Reagan. Got it? My order was delivered promptly and in fine condition...never doubted when Amazon sends it!

If you are interested in Hollywood, you really need to look at Culver City, where the studios and their back lots REALLY were.This series is good, but suffers from the small format of the book, making photos with a lot of content too small.It covers the evolution of "Hollywood" at Culver City, home of Gone with The Wind's Tara and Atlanta (which became Mayberry!), Showboat (not shot on a river!), and thousands of classic movies and TV shows.Lots of pictures and interesting facts and history, but not the depth of coverage you want if a true fan.It's a tasty appetizer. Buy the MGM book below and get a meal, at least on ONE Culver studio.I must admit this review is colored by my just reading the MAGNIFICENT (and larger) MGM, Hollywood's Greatest Backlot.

My family was among the early residents of Culver City and my grandfather and uncle worked for Hal Roach. It was fun to read all about the studios and look at the bare land that turned into a big city. The articles were interesting, especially for those who love the history of the movies and the development of the Los Angeles Basin.

Arcadia specializes in informative books that allow the photos to tell the story. This book is no different. A great look back to the fledgling days of Culver City's 'Hollywood' days, up until the late twentieth century. The only complaint, and it's petty, is that they didn't include more photos of the 'back forty' during its television heyday. They used that area for The Andy Griffith Show, Gomer Pyle, Superman, and Hogan's Heroes, just to name a few.

Lots of good old pictures albiet some are pretty fuzzy.

Beautifully done photo history of the Culver City studios including this Clark Gable fan's favorites MGM and Selznick Studios (where GWTW was filmed). My only negative is that I wish a few of the photos and maps had been printed larger so that details could be seen, but this is a small thing in the overall review. I really appreciate the time effort and love that went into recreating these bygone times and places.

Great content, but in the Kindle version, the pictures and descriptions were not in sync. The previous pictures description would appear on a page with the next picture, not it's own.

Arcadia Publishing has done an outstanding job of producing a series of books that visually document the history of Hollywood movie studios and this is yet another great addition to that collection of books. Full of dozens of rare and rarely seen photos with extensive captions, this book is highly informative given that many of the Culver City studios no longer exist. This is a must have for the movie studio fan.

Super toll kann ich nur jedem der den Film liebt empfehlen .. die ganze Buchreihe ist toll es gibt noch Hollywood und Los Angeles