The Universal Story (1996)
Grade: 71
This is a movie about the movies: a documentary about Universal Studios. It is narrated by Richard Dreyfuss and features the most famous scenes of the most famous Universal movies, shown in roughly chronological order. Universal is one of the oldest, most prolific and most comercially successful of all movie studios.
The first part of the documentary is the most interesting. It covers the early years of Universal, when it was owned by Carl Laemmle, and the survival of the studio depended upon the box office success of its next picture. Universal, known then by a different name, made its first film, Hiawatha, a one-reeler silent epic, in 1909. We learn back stage gossip of Laemmle and early directors and producers, and glimpse scenes from long-forgotten silent films. The Universal Studios lot was opened in 1915, and its first film recognizable to today's audience was filmed the previous year, The Phantom of Opera starring Lon Chaney.
Talkies began production in 1929, with the then-current Universal production Show Boat hastily modified to part silent, part talky. "All Quiet On The Western Front" became one of the first great talkies upon release in 1930.
Universal became known for its horror films in the thirties, giving us Bela Lugosi as "Dracula" and Boris Karloff as "Frankenstein".
The great depression cost Laemmle his beloved studio in 1935, and it has been corporate-owned since that time. Until this point, the documentary has been dominated by gossip about Laemmle and his feuds with directors. Such back-stage talk disappears with the new owners.
Universal was, as always, prolific and profitable during the 1940s through the 1950s. But most of these films are not notable: big box office winners came from characters such as Abbott & Costello, Francis the Talking Mule, and Ma and Pa Kettle. Other profitable but forgettable films were produced by Ross Hunter, starring the likes of Rock Hudson and Doris Day. There were good films made, of course. We see scenes from James Stewart films such as "Destry Rides Again", "Harvey" and "Winchester '73". Hitchcock directed "Saboteur" and "Shadow of a Doubt". Orson Welles directed "A Touch of Evil", a weird, dark film that is unlike any Universal production before or since.
Television cut into movie-going audiences in the 1950s. If you can't beat them, join them. The Universal lot was bought by MCA, then a talent agency with ties to television. Universal became known for its television programs and later, TV movies, as much as for its theatrical releases.
Universal shed its schlocky image as it released better "A" pictures during the 1960s, with Stanley Kubrick's "Spartacus" and Ross Hunter's "Airport". Hitchcock began working exclusively with Universal beginning with "The Birds" (1963) but unfortunately his work was in decline by then.
Starting in the 1970s, the documentary's focus is purely on famous directors and their blockbusters at "Universal". Three of the biggest grossing films of their era, "Jaws", "E.T." and "Jurassic Park" are Steven Spielberg productions at Universal. We see clips from the likes of "American Grafitti", "The Deer Hunter", "Back To The Future", "Apollo 13", "Out of Africa", "Born On The Fourth of July", "Field of Dreams" and the great "Shindler's List". We don't hear about any colossal bombs the studio made during this time. Although well-made, this documentary could almost be seen as studio promotional material made for potential film investors.
The presentation is well-organized by category and chronological, with the only obvious miscue following the studio's first full-length animated motion picture "An American Tail" (1986) with Woody Woodpecker shorts from the 1940s.
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