The bright lights of 1920s Hollywood may have blinded many of those flocking to Los Angeles, but cast a shadow over a dark underbelly. As new film Babylon explores the tumult of the 1920s, Lauren Good takes us from the scandals that rocked the movie world to the ‘talkies’ that changed show business forever…
The glamour and aspiration of the movie industry’s so-called golden age, typically dated from the 1910s to the mid-20th century, still captures imaginations today. However, for all the big stars, box-office smashes, and glitzy premieres and parties, the reality of what was happening behind the scenes in Hollywood was far more complex.
In particular, Tinsel Town in the 1920s was driven by excess – a stark contrast to a wider society governed by Prohibition – and where there was excess, scandal was sure to follow…
