HOLLYWOOD:WARNER LIGHTER

AIRED: Season 2, Episode 4
THE DETECTIVE: Elyse Luray
THE PLACE: Los Angeles, California

THE CASE:

A Californian man spends $50 at a flea market on an antique lighter and a piece of Hollywood history.

It is engraved with "Harry Warner" on one side and "Ufatone" on the other.

Harry Warner is one of the Warner brothers of the eponymous studio.

Ufa was Germany's largest studio and Hollywood's biggest competition.

What is the connection between Harry Warner, known for his anti-fascist commitment, and a studio that became the propaganda tool of the Nazi party? The detectives are on the case!

More Leads

Links

The German-Hollywood Connection
This site offers details of the Warner brothers early life and the growth of the studio.

Time - Book Excerpt - "Life in Hollywood"
Summary of "Life in Hollywood", a history of Hollywood and why the movie industry prospered.

The Hollywood Museum
Hollywood industry and information about the museum.

Books

Michael E. Birdwell. Celluloid Soldiers: Warner Brothers' Campaign Against Nazism. New York: New York University Press, 1999.

Neal Gabler. An Empire of Their Own: How the Jews Invented Hollywood. New York: Anchor, 1989.

Trivia Quiz Episode 4

Think you have a case for the History Detectives? Send us your mystery here.