In the early twentieth century, the rural town of Hollywood grew to become the centre of the American film industry. Its history encompasses the development of narrative cinema, the rise of silent-film stars and the studio system, the coming of sound, the Golden Age, the challenge from television, New Hollywood, and the rise of the blockbuster. This guide follows that history by exploring the movies, studios, filmmakers, and stars that transformed motion pictures into a global art form and industry. Find out more about The Story of the Movies here.
Edwin S. Porter sparks the public's hunger for narrative films with The Great Train Robbery (1903), and both Mary Pickford and D. W. Griffith begin their movie careers
Learn about the lives and careers of the key figures in the history of Hollywood...
The emergence of the star system makes players like Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks household names. D. W. Griffith makes his controversial historical epic The Birth of a Nation.
Discover the histories of the studios responsible for delivering more than a century of Hollywood cinema...
1920s - 1990s
An In-depth history of all decades is currently in development.
Trace the history of Hollywood, starting from as far back as 1878 to 1921. Further years will be added on a weekly/fortnightly basis to build a complete, authoritative chronology of Hollywood's emergence as the hub of global film production.