AGM 2016

Annual General Meeting 2016

We are having our second AGM on Thursday 8 September at 7.30pm in the Braithwaite Hall in the Clocktower and everyone is invited. The focus this year is on ‘Listening To Our Audience’, and once the formal business of the evening is completed, we look forward to answering questions and hearing your views. We want to know what you like, what you don’t like, and what you’d like us to do. Please come and air your views. We are hoping that the Arts Bar will be open for refreshments so arrive early for a convivial chat with other like minded individuals! The 1972 documentary “Hollywood: The Dream Factory” will be shown directly after the meeting following a short break for refreshments available from the Arts Bar. The film will be screened from a 16mm print lovingly treated by Adrian Winchester with a cleaner/lubricant to reduce scratches. We have also taken steps to offset the effects of the poor acoustics of the Braithwaite Hall to maximise your enjoyment.

Hollywood: The Dream Factory (U), 1972

MGM Studios, which was formed from the result of a merger between Metro Pictures (owned by the Loews Company) and the Goldwyn Company, was the premier Hollywood movie studio from the mid 1920’s to the end of the 1950’s, at which time a court ruling dissolved the close association between movie studios and movie theaters leading to the end of the studio system that controlled what happened in Hollywood, and when television became a rival form of accessible entertainment. MGM was alleged to be the best of the studios at perpetuating the dream that anything was possible, both in front of the cameras and in the lives of Hollywood royalty, namely the movie stars. Within a generation, movies became the largest money making form of entertainment. The public went to see movies in droves even during the depression, wanted to learn about and be close to the personal lives of the Hollywood rich and famous, and aspired to be part of that Hollywood royalty.

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 studios. 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. This documentary gives us an idea of how big the studio was in its heyday and how many terrific stars were under contract there. See trailer below:

[fvplayer src=”https://vimeo.com/178868804″]