--- product_id: 2278592 title: "MGM: Hollywood's Greatest Backlot" brand: "steven bingenstephen x sylvestermichael troyandebbie reynolds" price: "VT28372" currency: VUV in_stock: true reviews_count: 7 url: https://www.desertcart.vu/products/2278592-mgm-hollywoods-greatest-backlot store_origin: VU region: Vanuatu --- # MGM: Hollywood's Greatest Backlot **Brand:** steven bingenstephen x sylvestermichael troyandebbie reynolds **Price:** VT28372 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** MGM: Hollywood's Greatest Backlot by steven bingenstephen x sylvestermichael troyandebbie reynolds - **How much does it cost?** VT28372 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.vu](https://www.desertcart.vu/products/2278592-mgm-hollywoods-greatest-backlot) ## Best For - steven bingenstephen x sylvestermichael troyandebbie reynolds enthusiasts ## Why This Product - Trusted steven bingenstephen x sylvestermichael troyandebbie reynolds brand quality - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Full description not available ## Images ![MGM: Hollywood's Greatest Backlot - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81C+DcVtgML.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 out of 5 stars A Dream Come True *by R***S on Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2011* If ever a story needed to be told, this is it. In the '70's, I saw a feature piece on 60 Minutes regarding the systematic selling off of the fabled MGM Studio's backlots. It was a disturbing and ghostly story to begin with as it showed the once great studio in a decaying freefall. I'm a fan of classic Hollywood movies and I was upset by the thought that MGM was disappearing as a physical entity and would be lucky if it even existed on paper in a few years. In all probability MGM was soon to be reduced to stripmalls and subdivisions.As anyone who watches a lot of movies will tell you, the major Hollywood studios had their own unique style and part of that style was associated with their backlots and movie sets. MGM was the grandest of them all. After all the dust from the former backlots had settled, when I'd go out to California I'd try to figure out what used to be MGM without much luck. It was difficult to determine where the lots once stood and harder still to know where the familiar outdoor sets that appeared in so many great films stood.This book is incredible. While its size might give the impression that this is one of those fancy coffee table books with plenty of pictures and non-existent text, this book delivers. It is the story of a studio as well as a family of employees and it documents and details the founding of the studio, its boom years, and its slow disintegration. It is heavy with maps, pictures, archival information, and contains a huge amount of information and documentation about how the studio operated and how it was physically laid out. It chronicles the changes that occurred throughout the years as well as the business decisions that triggered those changes.M-G-M: Hollywood's Greatest Backlot is a wonder in regard to not only its scope but also to the level of research its three authors went to in getting this story right. The authors interviewed a large number of people who were associated with the studio over the years and relied on the memoirs of many deceased people who were involved in the inner workings of the studio. Rare photographs were unearthed as well as maps and aerial photographs. Major streets and sets were identified. Lists were compiled with films that utilized specific sets. The end result provides an intimate and detailed glimpse at something that essentially no longer exists except on film stock and in the hearts of film fans. This book is an absolute treat and a must have for anyone who is truly interested in the history of Hollywood film making. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 out of 5 stars MGM: America's Brigadoon *by B***E on Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2011* The new book, MGM, Hollywood's Greatest Backlot, is at once a compelling social history rather than just an architectual survey of the sets, administrative buildings, and soundstages of Hollywood's greatest studio of the thirties, forties, and fifties. It truly is our Brigadoon, a city within a city within a country that made real countless myths and legends that could be experienced again and again on the celluloid screen. Brigadoon can only reappear once every hundred years, thus it's history has been short without too much social consequence, MGM not only brought to life visions of granduer it also trained generations on how on how to live an idealized life. Who hasn't watched an Andy Hardy film, Meet Me In St. Louis, or one of the Dr.Kildere entries and reflected or even measured the normality of their own families against these films? Wasn't Dad supposed to be as kind and understanding as Judge Hardy? Wasn't Mom supposed to be as wise and warm as Esther Smith's mother in St. Louis? And who hasn't, at one time or another, splashed in the rain or sung a few bars of Singin' in the Rain during a friendly down pour? There are so many moments from MGM films that have been cemented in the social consciouness.What is so unique about this new book is that the authors recognize that the soundstages and outdoor lots played just as important characters in the films they appeared as the actors themselves. It's part of what gave MGM its look (in addition to great cinema photography, costume designers, set designers, hair stylists, and those who created the often beautiful posters and publicity portraits).Authors Bingen (whose Warner Bros. book is also a treat), Sylvester and Troyan take the reader on a virtual tour of MGM, inside and out. There are maps of the backlots, aeriel views of the studio, and best of all, beautiful and detailed photos of each studio outdoor set where you can compare the changes as they were redressed to fit the specific needs of the motion picture being filmed there at that time. Vincente Minnelli had to fight tooth and nails to get his "St. Louis Street" built (for $208,275, an astronomical sum in 1943 when the film started shooting) rather than refurbish the Andy Hardy Street (for a mere $58,275 as Cedric Gibbons saw it). Yet both streets were utilized over the years which more than paid back their original costs. For example, "The St. Louis Street" show up in The Long, Long Trailer with much amusement as well as in such films as Cimarron and All Fall Down. The Andy Hardy Street was also used in Summer Holiday, Babes in Arms, Strike Up the Band, and even in one of the Thin Man films. The authors stress its iconic nature as a forerunner of "family" television series such as Father Knows Best and The Brady Bunch, which only further heightened the image of the "All American Family," something that many politicians still stick to.In addition to being enlightened just how these backlots influenced (and still influence) our lives, this book is also plain fun to look at. Where else can you view Tarzan's jungle lot, the Showboat lake, Waterloo Bridge, and so many others between two covers of such well documented facts? And it seems quite appropriate to have a foreward by Debbie Reynolds who once fought to have the MGM backlots preserved as an amusement park of sorts long before Universal did the same with theirs.This MGM backlot book is an important record of a studio and story that took place once upon a time; that was crumbling even as it continued to enhance the dreams of film goers around the world. But like a Brigadoon, MGM will keep coming back; with each viewing of its masterpieces as well as its lesser achievements. Although self-descibed as the studio with more stars than in the heavens, this book illuminates the heavens rather than the stars. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Amé este libro. *by E***S on Reviewed in Mexico on January 24, 2018* Excelente archivo fotográfico y muy interesante información en su contenido presentada de forma muy agradable. Altamente recomendable para todos aquellos que amamos la historia del cine. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.vu/products/2278592-mgm-hollywoods-greatest-backlot](https://www.desertcart.vu/products/2278592-mgm-hollywoods-greatest-backlot) --- *Product available on Desertcart Vanuatu* *Store origin: VU* *Last updated: 2026-05-17*