This delightfully entertaining and in-depth documentary looks at the studio Carl Laemmle built: Universal Pictures. The film traces Universal's ups and downs from its earliest days until the present time. Interestingly, the same studio that successfully signed up the very first film... [More]

This delightfully entertaining and in-depth documentary looks at the studio Carl Laemmle built: Universal Pictures. The film traces Universal's ups and downs from its earliest days until the present time. Interestingly, the same studio that successfully signed up the very first film star (Florence Lawrence, stolen away from Vitagraph) ultimately failed to recognize the potential of Humphrey Bogart and James Dean. And though Universal executives longed to produce "prestige pictures," they often had more success with horror movies and melodramas -- some of which are now considered classics. However, the studio presciently gave the young Steven Spielberg a start, and he justified their confidence by producing the biggest moneymakers of all-time ("E.T." and "Jurassic Park") and by winning the Academy Award for "Schindler's List." "The Universal Story" is rich in archival footage, including clips from "Traffic in Souls" (1915) and the original "Showboat," made in 1929. [Less]