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When the Lion Roars is a tribute to MGM, perhaps the best studio of old Hollywood. It boasted wonderful stars, great films, and a sense of family between its employees. This documentary examines the early life of the studio focusing on moguls like Louis B. Mayer and Irving Thalberg, stars like Greta Garbo, Lon Chaney, Norma Shearer, Buster Keaton, John Gilbert, Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Lionel Barrymore, Wallace Beery, and Jean Harlow, and explaining the transition to sound and the preview process used to perfect films.
There are interviews with many major names in Hollywood including stars like Helen Hayes, Lew Ayres, Samuel Marx, Eleanor Boardman, King Vidor, Jackie Cooper, Maureen O'Sullivan, Freddie Bartholomew, and others.
There is an extravagant opener for each installment of this series featuring detailed miniatures which transform into lifesized sets. Patrick Stewart in period costume narrates the film.
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