Going Hollywood: The '30s (1984)

Robert Preston narrates this documentary about Hollywood during the 1930s. It's a decent enough overview of the period for the average viewer, however, for the serious film buff the film is severely lacking and COULD have been a lot better. First, although many of the stars in the MANY clips used were identified, many more were not. It was, at times, inexplicable. Second, NONE of the movies shown are identified...NONE! So, clip after clip are shown but you might have no idea which movies they are! And, if you like a clip and want to see the entire film, you probably have no idea where to start!! Third, and I think this is a much lesser problem, some of the prints used were pretty poor. My comments about this film, incidentally are much the same for "Going Hollywood: The War Years"--and probably is true of all the "Going Hollywood" Documentaries. Overall, worth seeing but just not all that well made. However, for the casual viewer, it will be somewhat educational and reasonably enjoyable.