Hollywood: The Dream Factory (1972)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Decent documentary that takes a look at the history of MGM. I'm really not sure why the title is what it is since you'd think that a film called "Hollywood" would discuss, well, Hollywood but not this one. The 45-minute documentary takes a look at the history of MGM including how the studio was made, it's golden years, their major stars and their current years. Dick Cavett narrates the action as we take a look at countless movie clips and hear a few things about the people involved in the studio. Louis B. Mayer gets the majority of the attention as we hear about how he got his job and eventually lost it. Film clips are countless but they include: BEN HUR, TARZAN THE APE MAN, GONE WITH THE WIND, THE WIZARD OF OZ, MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY, SAN FRANCISCO, BOYS TOWN, NATIONAL VELVET, MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS, SINGIN' IN THE RAIN and ADAM'S RIB among others. The documentary, for its time, is pretty good in giving on the idea of how big the studio was in its heyday and how many terrific stars were under contract there. The most interesting part of this documentary are some clips from an auction where many famous MGM props, including Dorothy's shoes, are being sold. I do wonder how much of this footage is out there because it would make an interesting documentary on its own. For a more detailed look at the history of MGM one should certainly check out MGM: WHEN THE LION ROARS.