The German Exiles Who Shaped Hollywood | Washington Free Beacon

   by R.J. Moeller, November 9, 2014 5:00 am 

The Skirball Cultural Center here on the west side of Los Angeles is a museum and exhibition space whose stated mission is “to explore the connections between four thousand years of Jewish heritage and the vitality of American democratic ideals.” 

In Light & Noir: Exiles and Émigrés in Hollywood 1933-1950 it has amassed an impressive collection of photos, stock footage, archives, personal letters and original costumes that help to tell the uniquely American tale of the German immigrants—many of them Jewish—who made the Golden Age of American movie making possible. In particular, the exhibit focuses on the immigrants’ contributions to Noir, one of the most disputed and beloved genres of the American film industry.

At the outset of the exhibit, the visitor is greeted by a wall-of-fame photo library of some of the key names and faces of period: Billy Wilder, Fritz Lang, Marlene Dietrich, and more. Skirball’s security guards patrol the various rooms of the exhibit on a mission that seems to be some combination of answering patrons’ questions and making sure that no one is sneaking a selfie in front of a mannequin of Lana Turner’s dress in The Postman Always Rings Twice. (CONTINUED)

FULL ARTICLE HERE: The German Exiles Who Shaped Hollywood | Washington Free Beacon