Captains of Industry

Three programs on TV12 profile the men who made Hollywood magic
By Allison Gaddess

This month, you can avoid long lines at the movie theater and still get your Hollywood fix! Stay at home, pop some popcorn and tune in to TV12 as WHYY presents programs detailing the lives of three influential Hollywood directors whose dramatic behind-the-scenes stories rival the plots of the movies they created.

On Wednesday, August 20, two engaging American Masters specials have all the ingredients of a Hollywood hit -- glamour, intrigue, conflict and triumph. At 8 p.m. "Hitchcock, Selznick and the End of Hollywood" traces the tumultuous relationship between producer David O. Selznick and director Alfred Hitchcock. Though they collaborated on some of the greatest films in history, including Rebecca and Spellbound, the discord between the two had lasting implications, marking a rise in the power of the director and decline in that of the producer.

At 9:30 p.m. for "George Cukor: On Cukor" tells the inspiring story of the man who was fired as director of one of the greatest films of all time: Gone With the Wind. Instead of fading into obscurity, Cukor triumphed over this setback, helming such critical successes as The Philadelphia Story and A Star is Born and creating a career that spanned four decades.

On Thursday, August 28, at 9 p.m. the Great Performances special "Busby Berkeley: Going Through the Roof" takes a look back at the one of the most innovative men in Hollywood history. At a time when film musicals were not much more than home movies of stage productions, Berkeley dared to break the rules and kept his camera moving -- over, under and around his chorus girls.

Swimming star Esther Williams (who worked with Busby on such films as Million Dollar Mermaid), former Berkeley dancers, film historians and critics remember the man who made the camera an active participant in the choreography of his musicals.