They were often called the “dream merchants” because they brought larger-than-life stories to the new big screen. Their names remain well known more than 100 years later. These ambitious, visionary men included the Warner Brothers, MGM founders Marcus Loew, Samuel Goldwyn and Louis B. Mayer, plus several others. They came from different backgrounds, and even different countries.

This hour-long lecture includes a pictorial history of these giants and describes how this group gambled on their futures by moving west to a little-known Los Angeles neighborhood called Hollywoodland. Their iconic studios, logos and namesakes have endured for more than a century and remain famous household names.