City of Dreams. - book reviews

**Which American institution has influenced the rest of the world most? One wouldn't be far off by naming Hollywood. For good or bad, in the mind of most foreigners and many Americans as well, the U.S. is what Hollywood portrays it to be. This country's movie stars are recognized the world over, and a number of films have achieved cult status.

Bernard Dick, director of communication arts at Fairleigh Dickinson University, provides insight into the business end of filmmaking by tracing the history of Universal Pictures. The studio was founded in 1915 by Carl Laemmle, a German immigrant who built Universal City, a self-contained unit for making movies. His son took over operations in 1929, not exactly a good year for business.

The problems of keeping a studio going receive detailed and juicy treatment. Among the headaches were temperamental stars, union disputes, takeover machinations, and what to do with adolescent stars moving into adulthood (few made the transition). Similarly, aging actors had to find new roles as their romantic images withered. Studios also had to be careful not to offend ethnic audiences.

Throughout Universal's history, the studio made every possible attempt to retain its own soul. It fought restructuring and corporate takeovers and resisted attempts at being subsumed under a conglomerate, but eventually succumbed to all. When big corporations such as MCA, Sony, and Masushita put the pressure on, little could be done. In the long run, Dick reflects, it didn't matter, as "Hollywood always respected power more than ability." It is true that the name Universal has remained through the decades, but it no longer boasts the same panache as the studio that pioneered the horror genre ("Frankenstein," "Dracula," "The Wolf Man"), produced Academy Award dramas such as "The Lost Weekend," and gave genial James Stewart a new persona in hard-bitten westerns like "Winchester 73."

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