Behind the scenes at the legendary Warner Brothers film studio, where
four immigrant brothers transformed themselves into the moguls and
masters of American fantasy
Warner Bros charts the rise of an unpromising film studio from its
shaky beginnings in the early 20th century through its ascent to the
pinnacle of Hollywood influence and popularity. The Warner Brothers -
Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack - arrived in America as unschooled Jewish
immigrants, yet they founded a studio that became the smartest,
toughest, and most radical in all of Hollywood. David Thomson provides
fascinating and original interpretations of Warner Brothers pictures
from the pioneering talkie The Jazz Singer through black-and-white
musicals, gangster movies, and such dramatic romances as Casablanca,
East of Eden, and Bonnie and Clyde. He recounts the storied exploits
of the studio's larger-than-life stars, among them Al Jolson, James
Cagney, Bette Davis, Errol Flynn, Humphrey Bogart, James Dean, Doris
Day, and Bugs Bunny. The Warner brothers' cultural impact was so
profound, Thomson writes, that their studio became "one of the
enterprises that helped us see there might be an American dream out
there."
