In Celebration of the Goldwyn Age : Book Party Provides a Peek at New Hollywood Exhibit

Hollywood’s Golden Age--make that Hollywood’s Goldwyn age--was remembered Sunday night at a reception at the Frances Howard Goldwyn library in Hollywood. The party celebrated the publication of the new book “Goldwyn,” by Los Angeles author Scott Berg, as well as the imminent re-release of Goldwyn’s classic film “Wuthering Heights” on its 50th anniversary.

Among the crowd were Charlton Heston, Dorothy Lamour, Karl Malden, Wallis Annenberg, Tom Bradley, Judith Krantz, Jane Wyatt, members of the Goldwyn family, and Roddy McDowall, who told Berg, “Your book really captured a wonderful time. I don’t know how anyone survived it.”

Also there were seven of the original “Goldwyn Girls,” actresses who got their start in Goldwyn films. Lucille Ball, perhaps the most famous of them all, wasn’t there, but Virginia Mayo made an appearance.

“Goldwyn,” published by Alfred A. Knopf, chronicles the history of the studio founded by the legendary Samuel Goldwyn. Asked about the difference between Hollywood then and now, Berg was succinct. “Cynicism,” he said. “There is a bottom-line mentality these days, because the studios are run by conglomerates. Back then, it was six small shops, run by men who were certainly interested in making money, but who were also acutely aware that their names were attached to the films.”

Guests also got a look at the library’s new exhibit, “The Goldwyn Age of Hollywood,” which will be open to the public through July 8. Photos, letters, telegrams, and contracts are on display on both floors of the library with commentary from Berg’s book. Much of the material dates to the teens, when immigrant Goldwyn was still fresh in the United States from a small town near Warsaw, and he bore the name Samuel Goldfish.

Party-goers snacked from a light buffet (guests were camped out in front of a mousse made from layers of sour cream, guacamole, and caviar) and wended their way through press and camera crews from all over the world.

Samuel Goldwyn Jr. commissioned Berg to do the book, and he seemed impressed with both the finished product and the interest that his father still commands. Asked if there were any surprises in the book, which entailed eight years of research and considerable riffling of the studio’s files, Goldwyn said, “He had told me that he had come to the U.S. through Ellis Island and fallen to his knees in front of the Statue of Liberty. When I read the book, I found out that he actually came into the country through Canada.”

Goldwyn didn’t have control over the writing of the book. “But I’m pleased with the reaction,” he said, “which is that this is an honest book. It’s a picture of a man who is very much a formative figure in Hollywood history, and it’s a portrait of survival. Sure, there are things that I’m kind of ambivalent about.”

He shrugged and smiled. “But that’s what happens in Hollywood,” he added, “when you don’t get final cut.”