We're hosting the 100 Years of Warner Brothers Blogathon this weekend and to celebrate this special occasion we have gathered together some behind-the-scenes photos from Warner Bros. rich history. The studio had great success shortly after it launched in 1923 and really hit its stride in the 1940s. They continued to produce many fine films in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s but we are just highlighting some candids from the "golden age" of the studio.
First off....the brothers who started it all: Albert, Jack, Harry and Sam Warner.
The brothers Warner, from left to right: Jack, Harry, Sam, and Al posing with Will Hays who is pictured in the center.
The Warner Bros. Sunset Boulevard Studio and offices in Los Angeles, pictured in the mid-1920s.
The Warner Brothers film studio during the silent-film era
Jack Warner (right) and director Harry Beaumont greet John Barrymore as he arrives in Hollywood to film Beau Brummel (1924)
One of Warner Brothers' biggest stars of the 1920s, Rin-Tin-Tin, is seen here getting his much-deserved chow break.
Constructing a studio: In this photo from 1926, work is underway for the new First National Pictures Studio which Warner Brothers purchased two years later.
Harry Warner, Jack Warner, Al Jolson, Darryl F. Zanuck and Al Warner on the Warners lot in 1927.
Jack and Harry Warner flank two of the studio's biggest box-office stars of the era - George O'Brien and Dolores Costello on the set of Noah's Ark (1928).
Warner Brothers' Studio was a pioneer of new technology and in 1927 they were the first studio to release an all-talking "sound" picture - The Jazz Singer - starring Al Jolson.
Another technological breakthrough came in 1929 with their release of On With the Show, the first all-talking musical in Technicolor (!)
Looney Tunes featuring Bosco premieres its first short in 1930 - "Sinkin' in the Bathtub".
The new Warner Brothers logo of the 1930s which will remain until the 1950s.
James Cagney with his wife Frances Willard "Billie" Vernon. Cagney just made it to the top with the release of The Public Enemy in 1931.
Mervyn LeRoy directs Edward G. Robinson and Marian Marsh on the set of Five Star Final (1931)
Bette Davis, the studio's glamorous new star, seen here in 1933.
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Director Busby Berkeley films a sequence from Footlight Parade in this behind-the-scenes photo from 1933.
Joan Blondell, Warner Brothers' leading lady of comedy and musicals, shown here in 1933 on the set of Footlight Parade.
The great WB fire of 1934 which destroyed much of the Los Angeles studio.
A technician from Bell Laboratories looks at a wax disc, part of a new projection machine that could synchronize sound to moving pictures.
Warner Brothers' new starlet Olivia deHavilland in a 1935 publicity photo from A Midsummer Night's Dream, her first film at WB.
Lining up in front of the Warner Brothers' School for Stars (acting school) are top to bottom: Nan Grey, Olivia de Havilland, Maxine Doyle, Dorothy Dare, June Martel And June Travis
Aviatrix Amelia Earhart came to the studio in 1936 to instruct actress June Travis how to fly for her role in the film Ceiling Zero.
Bette Davis being awarded her first Oscar statuette for her role in Dangerous (1936). It is rumored that it was Bette who first called the statue "Oscar".
Leslie Howard and Humphrey Bogart are on the lot during the making of Stand In (1937). Bogart was one of WB's fresh faces of the 1930s and would soon be their biggest drawing star.
Director Michael Curtiz goes over the day's shooting script with Basil Rathbone and Errol Flynn during the making of The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938).
Errol Flynn and Patric Knowles pose for some photos during the filming of The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938).
Errol Flynn entertains a little dog on the set of The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938).
Priscilla Lane and Jeffrey Lynn are pictured in this publicity photo for Four Daughters (1938). This film would establish both John Garfield and Priscilla Lane as stars.
Bugs Bunny makes his first appearance in Porky's Hare Hunt (1938)
A behind-the-scenes photo showing the filming of the dramatic finale to Dark Victory (1939) featuring Bette Davis and Geraldine Fitzgerald.
A stash of 'satsches! The make-up department kept any kind of mustache or beard that an actor could need.
Ann Sheridan with George Brent...two actors who made many films at Warner Brothers throughout the 1940s.
John Huston directing his father Walter Huston in a scene for The Maltese Falcon (1941).
Rita Hayworth and Ann Sheridan, two rising stars at Warner Brothers in the early 1940s.
On the set during the filming of Sargeant York (1941), the biggest hit of the decade for the studio.
The cast of George Washington Slept Here (1942) poses for a publicity photo. From left to right: William Tracy, Hattie McDaniel, Jack Benny, Ann Sheridan, Joyce Reynolds, Percy Kilbride.
Barbara Stanwyck with Jack Warner and director Frank Capra in the 1940s.
A behind-the-scenes moment from one of the most iconic films that the studio ever made: Casablanca (1942) with Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman.
Even film stars had to practice air raid drills. In this snapshot, director Michael Curtiz sits with Dennis Morgan, Bette Davis, a workman, and Irene Manning in a specially constructed shelter at the studio.
Chick Chandler, Humphrey Bogart, Richard Travis, and Murray Alper play a strenuous game of cards between scenes for Warner Bros. production, The Big Shot.
Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall chat on the set of To Have and Have Not (1944). One year later they would wed.
Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane, and Frank Capra share a laugh on the set of Arsenic and Old Lace (1944).
Warner Brothers workers launch a strike in 1945.
Dennis Morgan, Barbara Stanwyck, and Reginald Gardiner on the set of Christmas in Connecticut (1945).
Errol Flynn takes a break from the war in Burma to talk with two admirers on the set of Objective Burma (1945).
Dane Clark and John Garfield dining in the Warner Brothers commissary during the making of Destination Toyko.
Costume designer Orry-Kelly discussing the details of a gown with leading lady Ann Sheridan.
Harry Lewis, Ronald Reagan, Jack L. Warner, Gig Young, Wayne Morris at a Warner Brothers party for its contract actors returning from wartime military service.
A view of the exterior of the studio pictured in 1947.
Director John Huston with his father Walter Huston and actor Tim Holt during the making of The Treasure of Sierra Madre (1948).
Author Ann Rynd visits the set of The Fountainhead in 1949 and is photographed here with director King Vidor and Gary Cooper.
This post was so wonderful! I loved scrolling slowly through and savoring all the history. My favorite is the shot of Bogart and Bacall, though -- Bogart there looks exactly how a man in love should look when he sees his sweetheart, doesn't he? He's glowing.
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I really enjoyed seeing all these photos. I, too, noticed how both Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart (especially Bogie) looked so happy with one another.
ReplyDeleteYour blogathon was a lot of fun. How could it not be for classic film fans, right?
What wonderful photos. I loved looking through this.
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