Trailer for the documentary The Brothers Warner.
From some of the first sound films to Casablanca and beyond, Warner Brothers studios changed the world of cinema, thanks to the unique instincts of a small band of immigrant Russian-Jewish brothers. The practical oldest son Harry Warner; middle-child honest Abe; visionary Sam; and volatile baby brother Jack—these were the original Hollywood independent filmmakers. They broke free of the hold New York had on early filmmaking to create a Southern California studio and star-making machine with one motto: to make profitable films that “educate, entertain, and enlighten” with stories often ripped from news headlines. It is this motto and the gritty realism of their films that helped them build an empire.