Budd Schulberg's nostalgic memoir about growing up in Hollywood provides an amazing insider's look at the early days of the motion picture industry. Before he went on to write What Makes Sammy Run? and the legendary screenplay On the Waterfront, Budd was learning the ropes at Paramount where his father, B.P. Schulberg, was in charge of production. Budd's closest friend growing up in Hollywood was Maurice Rapf, son of Harry Rapf, studio manager at Warner Brothers.  The two boys spent endless hours on studio lots watching the creation of famous films, enjoying the company of legendary stars, and previewing films, "when Hollywood was a cluster of small but powerful feudal states run by a half a dozen men."

Budd tells us how it all began.  When motion pictures were first created, they were called "flicks" because they flickered. The patent was controlled by the Thomas Edison Company. One of its employees, Ed Porter recognized the artistic value of using the new medium to tell a story. It was Porter who created The Life of an American Fireman, an eight-minute "flick" which opened the medium to a mass market. However, the patent for the equipment remained under the control of The Motion Picture Patents Company which included the Edison Company, otherwise known as the "Trust."  A lawsuit of the Independents against the Trust worked its way up to the Supreme Court. In 1916, the Supreme Court ruled, in essence, that motion picture equipment could not be controlled by a patent thus opening the way for unencumbered motion picture production.

Having been raised in impoverished circumstances, Budd's parents were intensely motivated to achieve success in Hollywood.  They likewise had huge expectations of Budd, his brother Stuart, and sister Sonya. His mother, Ada, and his father, B.P. Schulberg, encouraged Budd from the time he was a teenager to become a writer, stocking the family library with the classics of literature. Much of what he saw and learned as a very young man in Hollywood inspired him to write What Makes Sammy Run?

The memoir ends with Budd experiencing the pain of his parent's divorce as he departs for a whole new life at a "far-off" place called Dartmouth. The only disappointment is that the book ends too soon—leaving out so much that would be fascinating to learn more about. How did Schulberg become infamously involved in the Communist movement in America and what motivated his appearance before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in May of 1951 in which he "named names." What was the impact of his testimony upon his professional career and his relationship with his many friends in Hollywood? Was "naming" others as communists an act of courage or was it betrayment? The debate lingers on … and always will. 

Budd Schulberg, who died in 2009, was undeniably a major player in Hollywood on many levels. He was both a witness and a writer. Moving Pictures will unquestionably remain a compelling narrative of the artistry, ambition and turmoil which created the world of Hollywood.