Part one of what may be the most exhaustively comprehensive documentary ever made about any motion picture studio. This episode details the studio's inception in 1924, when the existing Metro, Goldwyn, and Meyer production companies merged into an entertainment juggernaut, continuing on through silent triumphs like Ben-Hur (1925) and sound milestones like "Garbo talks!" Anna Christie (1930) -- a glittering era that ended with the death of prodigy Irving G. Thalberg, the uniquely talented producer who shaped so much of the young studio's flavor. You'll see all the familiar faces like Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Buster Keaton, Norma Shearer and Myrna Loy, but unlike other documentaries that lean heavily on theatrical releases, it's the candid footage -- like a studio birthday party thrown for then 9-year old Jackie Cooper -- that makes this documentary a must-see for movie buffs. Narrated with gusto by Patrick Stewart, who, rather strangely, is wardrobed in a dressing gown and ascot, on a set that looks like "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" segment from Fantasia (1940).

By Violet LeVoit