The year is 1912. Seeking refuge from Thomas Edison's aggressive patent-enforcement tactics, a Chicago-based film producer named Carl Laemmle sets up operation in the rural Californian sanctuary of Hollywoodland. Laemmle's life and work are the subject of this program, especially his creation of Universal Studios (originally the Universal Film Manufacturing Company) and the famous names and productions which emerged from that company. Interviews feature Carla Laemmle, niece of the mogul; Sarah Karloff and Bela Lugosi, Jr., children of famed Hollywood actors; composer Howard Shore; actor John Malkovich; and director Peter Bogdanovich. Archival excerpts and historical insights shed new light on Dracula (1931), Phantom of the Opera (1925), All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), and other film classics.