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NARRATOR: Remnants
of a lost city,
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00:00:08,840 --> 00:00:11,880
buried in the sand.
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00:00:11,960 --> 00:00:15,640
KELVIN (off-screen): Finding
anything in that environment,
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00:00:15,720 --> 00:00:18,480
it's like looking for
a needle in a haystack.
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00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:22,280
MARY (off-screen): This is
the front paw of the sphinx.
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00:00:22,360 --> 00:00:25,160
What's surprising
is the size of it.
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00:00:26,240 --> 00:00:28,800
NARRATOR: Giant statues
and the ruins of a
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00:00:28,880 --> 00:00:30,400
Pharaoh's palace.
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00:00:33,240 --> 00:00:36,000
But this is not the
Egyptian Desert,
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00:00:36,080 --> 00:00:38,960
it's California.
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00:00:39,040 --> 00:00:42,040
JONATHAN: The sets
were the biggest that
had ever been built.
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NARRATOR: When you
drain Hollywood.
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00:00:44,240 --> 00:00:46,360
KELVIN: This is
Hollywood history.
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NARRATOR: Nothing
is what it seems.
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00:00:48,680 --> 00:00:50,360
DOUG (off-screen): This
is in phenomenal shape.
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00:00:50,440 --> 00:00:53,800
You'll never see anything
like this anywhere else.
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00:00:55,280 --> 00:00:56,920
MARY: It was beautiful.
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KELVIN: But, could we save it?
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00:01:03,360 --> 00:01:06,920
(theme music plays)
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KELVIN (off-screen): This is
a story that beggars belief.
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It's bizarre, it's huge and,
once I'd heard it,
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00:01:23,760 --> 00:01:25,800
I got so excited.
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00:01:25,880 --> 00:01:28,280
There was no question, I
really wanted to be involved.
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00:01:34,440 --> 00:01:37,160
KELVIN (off-screen): I've always
loved old Hollywood movies.
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00:01:37,840 --> 00:01:41,160
As a photographer, I've always
really loved black and white.
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Its, it can be so expressive.
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But I never thought I'd
get drawn into a search
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for a lost film set.
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The film was
The Ten Commandments ,
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00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:53,720
by Cecil B. DeMille.
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KELVIN (off-screen): The classic
silent movie made in 1923.
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00:01:58,720 --> 00:02:01,640
Everything about the
film was gigantic.
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00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:03,920
The budget was an
unheard of amount,
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00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:08,960
the set for the master
shot of the Exodus of
the Children of Israel,
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00:02:09,040 --> 00:02:13,680
was huge, nothing like
it had been done before.
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00:02:15,840 --> 00:02:18,640
KELVIN (off-screen): But then,
according to local legend,
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DeMille blew up the set
after he'd finished filming
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and all trace of it
mysteriously disappeared.
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00:02:26,680 --> 00:02:30,280
Until, one night in 1982,
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00:02:30,360 --> 00:02:33,880
two film students come
across an intriguing clue,
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00:02:33,960 --> 00:02:39,520
Bruce Cardozo, and Peter Brosnan
were having a drink and
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00:02:39,600 --> 00:02:41,720
talking about the old movies.
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Bruce had been reading
the auto biography of
Cecil B DeMille
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00:02:48,120 --> 00:02:51,000
and he'd found a line
which really intrigued him,
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"If 1,000 years from now,
archaeologists dig beneath the
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sands of Guadalupe,
the sphinxes they
will find there
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00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:01,720
were buried when we had
dismantled our huge set of the
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00:03:01,800 --> 00:03:04,240
gates of the Pharaoh's City."
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00:03:05,160 --> 00:03:06,440
Peter got really excited.
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KELVIN (off-screen):
This built in his mind
to become an obsession.
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00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:18,120
Was the lost film
set still there?
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00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:28,040
Fired up by the idea
of finding the set,
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00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:32,120
Peter and Bruce set off
to the Guadalupe Dunes,
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00:03:32,200 --> 00:03:35,360
which is a 160 miles
north west of Hollywood,
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00:03:35,440 --> 00:03:37,600
up on the central
coast of California.
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KELVIN (off-screen): Their
hearts must have dropped
because those dunes stretched
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00:03:43,640 --> 00:03:47,080
for 18, 20 miles up the coast.
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Finding any semblance of a
film set in that environment,
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00:03:52,240 --> 00:03:56,360
it's like looking for
a needle in a haystack.
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00:04:01,840 --> 00:04:05,320
NARRATOR: Refusing to give up,
they decide to try again,
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00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:06,760
two years later.
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00:04:08,160 --> 00:04:09,640
KELVIN: And that's
when I got involved.
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00:04:10,320 --> 00:04:14,920
KELVIN (off-screen): Peter
and Bruce invited me to be
the official photographer
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00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:19,520
and in February 1985,
we went back up to the site.
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00:04:20,200 --> 00:04:22,120
I was so excited.
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00:04:22,200 --> 00:04:25,120
It was, it was going to be a,
a really exciting ride.
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00:04:26,960 --> 00:04:30,480
KELVIN (off-screen): Peter
located a local rancher
and he told us he used to
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00:04:30,560 --> 00:04:33,080
drive cattle across the
dunes from time to time,
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00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:36,760
and the winds are relentless
coming in off the ocean,
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00:04:36,840 --> 00:04:42,920
and he told us all
of those dunes move,
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except one,
the big one.
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Because the big one
is full of stuff.
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KELVIN (off-screen):
There was something
buried in the sand there.
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00:04:56,040 --> 00:04:58,920
But was this DeMille's set
or was it something else?
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00:04:59,960 --> 00:05:04,000
KELVIN (off-screen):
So we walked up to the
crest of the big one.
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00:05:05,320 --> 00:05:07,640
I, I couldn't believe my eyes.
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00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:11,680
KELVIN (off-screen): Spread out
before us was this field of
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00:05:11,760 --> 00:05:16,440
pottery shards,
white and orange plaster,
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00:05:16,520 --> 00:05:18,240
pieces of heavy lumber,
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00:05:18,320 --> 00:05:22,600
coils of rusting steel wire,
bottle tops,
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00:05:22,680 --> 00:05:27,120
bits of glassware,
and it spread for miles.
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00:05:28,280 --> 00:05:30,440
KELVIN (off-screen):
It just kept going.
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00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:34,400
I was getting goose bumps.
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00:05:34,480 --> 00:05:37,520
The size, the
scale it was huge.
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00:05:38,240 --> 00:05:41,360
KELVIN (off-screen): This
was the biggest set, of
the biggest film,
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00:05:41,440 --> 00:05:46,720
by the biggest filmmaker,
this was Hollywood history,
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00:05:46,800 --> 00:05:49,480
but, how much of
the set was left?
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00:05:57,480 --> 00:06:00,600
♪ ♪
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00:06:04,480 --> 00:06:06,240
JONATHAN (off-screen):
The movies are my life.
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00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:09,960
I've lived life with the
movies and through the movies.
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00:06:10,040 --> 00:06:13,880
I got into movies first when
I was in elementary school.
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00:06:13,960 --> 00:06:18,200
After school, I'd
watch the classics of
the Hollywood cinema.
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00:06:18,280 --> 00:06:21,240
JONATHAN (off-screen): The
films, of course, were in black
and white in those days;
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00:06:21,320 --> 00:06:25,960
wonderful dialogue, glamorous
stars, fabulous stories.
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00:06:26,040 --> 00:06:28,160
JONATHAN (off-screen):
Cecil B DeMille's,
The Ten Commandments ,
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00:06:28,240 --> 00:06:31,840
was a real landmark
in cinema history.
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00:06:32,800 --> 00:06:36,440
By the mid 1920's,
Cecil B DeMille was
the most powerful
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00:06:36,520 --> 00:06:40,440
director at the biggest
of all studios, Paramount.
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00:06:40,520 --> 00:06:44,960
DeMille starts as an actor,
is interested in writing
plays,
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00:06:45,040 --> 00:06:47,360
when he reached Hollywood,
really, kind of,
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00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:50,400
reinvented himself
as a film director.
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00:06:50,480 --> 00:06:54,560
JONATHAN (off-screen): He
would carry a riding crop
and wear riding boots,
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and a beret,
and would bark out orders.
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00:07:00,200 --> 00:07:02,800
In many ways, the stereotype
we now have of the old-time
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00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:05,760
movie director, comes
from Cecil B DeMille.
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00:07:08,840 --> 00:07:12,520
KELVIN: We were only looking
at tiny parts of the film set.
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00:07:12,600 --> 00:07:15,560
KELVIN (off-screen): We needed
to know how much was left.
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00:07:16,160 --> 00:07:19,480
So, Peter managed to
get a radar specialist,
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00:07:19,560 --> 00:07:21,760
who had been involved in
the development of ground
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00:07:21,840 --> 00:07:24,080
penetrating radar.
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00:07:24,160 --> 00:07:26,960
The results were
just phenomenal.
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00:07:29,240 --> 00:07:32,880
23 anomalies;
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00:07:32,960 --> 00:07:36,680
things buried in the dune.
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00:07:40,440 --> 00:07:42,240
KELVIN (off-screen):
And, on the very last day,
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00:07:42,320 --> 00:07:45,760
we found something
really magical.
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00:07:46,640 --> 00:07:51,840
Very close to the surface,
where the wind had, had
blown away a lot of sand,
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00:07:55,960 --> 00:07:59,680
we found eye, nose, lips,
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00:07:59,760 --> 00:08:06,160
a face from one of the
20 foot high statues
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00:08:06,240 --> 00:08:10,320
guarding the sides of the
gates of the Pharaoh's city.
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00:08:12,360 --> 00:08:15,520
We had found
DeMille's film set,
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00:08:15,600 --> 00:08:20,240
but this was just the start,
could we save it?
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00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:26,080
And that's when the
challenges really began.
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KELVIN (off-screen): The Dunes
are a very protected area.
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We weren't allowed
to dig anything.
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Two species of bird that
used it as a nesting area;
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00:08:34,480 --> 00:08:36,600
the snowy plover it lays
its eggs on the ground,
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00:08:36,680 --> 00:08:39,200
the permits, you can't
disturb the nesting sites.
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00:08:39,280 --> 00:08:41,920
No vehicles on the dunes,
there was a minefield of
red tape.
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00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:43,200
It's very difficult to.
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00:08:43,280 --> 00:08:45,400
There are no mechanical
devices are allowed.
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00:08:46,680 --> 00:08:49,160
We got close to giving
up several times.
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00:08:50,480 --> 00:08:52,720
NARRATOR: For more
than two decades
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the team wrestles
with setbacks.
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00:08:55,360 --> 00:09:00,440
Finally, in 2012,
a generous donor
funds a group of
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00:09:00,520 --> 00:09:04,120
skilled archaeologists
with the expertise to
work around the
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00:09:04,200 --> 00:09:07,760
fragile dunes and
the excavation of
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DeMille's lost city, begins.
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MARY (off-screen): I have
been working as an
historical archaeologist
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00:09:14,960 --> 00:09:20,560
for a lot of years when it was
suggested that I might be able
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00:09:20,640 --> 00:09:23,680
to work on the
lost city project.
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00:09:23,760 --> 00:09:26,680
I, I said, "Absolutely,
let's go for it."
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00:09:29,840 --> 00:09:34,640
The primary goal was to
locate one of the sphinx
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00:09:34,720 --> 00:09:40,720
and to preserve it as
a legacy of Hollywood.
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00:09:42,520 --> 00:09:46,040
MARY (off-screen):
When we started,
we found very small pieces,
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00:09:46,120 --> 00:09:47,960
as if it had been blown up.
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00:09:49,160 --> 00:09:51,640
JONATHAN: DeMille was very
conscious of the idea that he
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00:09:51,720 --> 00:09:54,200
didn't want to leave those
sets standing around,
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00:09:54,280 --> 00:09:57,760
so other film makers could
dash in there and make
little quickie films,
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00:09:57,840 --> 00:10:02,440
and he supposedly paid to
have the sets blown up
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00:10:02,520 --> 00:10:05,200
and they were
lost in the mists of time.
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00:10:06,720 --> 00:10:09,480
MARY (off-screen): We could
only find bits and pieces.
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00:10:09,560 --> 00:10:14,920
The question was, "Could we
find anything of DeMille's
set still intact?"
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NARRATOR: A team of
archaeologists is searching
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00:10:24,200 --> 00:10:28,760
for the remains of a
massive 1920's movie set.
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00:10:32,120 --> 00:10:37,080
MARY: There is Cecil B DeMille's
set for the film,
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00:10:37,160 --> 00:10:39,920
The Ten Commandments .
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00:10:41,640 --> 00:10:46,360
MARY (off-screen): Nearing
the end of the first season
we made a series of
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00:10:46,440 --> 00:10:48,400
fascinating discoveries.
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00:10:51,040 --> 00:10:55,960
Various facial
elements of a sphinx;
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00:10:56,040 --> 00:10:58,560
an eye,
nose, lips
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00:10:58,640 --> 00:11:04,240
and one of the paws,
but it was badly damaged.
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00:11:06,880 --> 00:11:11,960
Then we found elements of a
second sphinx still intact,
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00:11:16,240 --> 00:11:18,720
primarily the haunches.
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00:11:23,800 --> 00:11:26,320
DOUG: One of the exciting
finds was this make-up tin
165
00:11:26,400 --> 00:11:30,520
showing that people did
use make-up pigment.
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00:11:30,600 --> 00:11:33,680
DOUG (off-screen): It would
have closed something like
this and opened like this,
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00:11:33,760 --> 00:11:36,000
it looks like there's
still remnants of some of
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00:11:36,080 --> 00:11:37,880
the grease on the interior.
169
00:11:37,960 --> 00:11:40,560
This is a Eastman Kodak
film canister.
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00:11:40,640 --> 00:11:44,880
The EAS here is an identifying
marker that let us know it is
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00:11:44,960 --> 00:11:47,360
a film canister from 1923.
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00:11:52,360 --> 00:11:53,560
JONATHAN (off-screen):
In The Ten Commandments ,
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00:11:53,640 --> 00:11:56,040
in the great sequence
of the Exodus,
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00:11:56,120 --> 00:11:58,800
we have shots that are
done in Technicolor,
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00:11:58,880 --> 00:12:01,360
with two primary colors.
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00:12:01,440 --> 00:12:04,480
DeMille is one of the very,
very first major film makers
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00:12:04,560 --> 00:12:08,240
to put Technicolor
sequences into his film,
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00:12:08,320 --> 00:12:11,080
and they're really
quite striking.
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00:12:15,280 --> 00:12:18,320
MARY: As exciting as
these discoveries were,
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00:12:18,400 --> 00:12:23,800
nothing really prepared
us for what we found next.
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00:12:26,600 --> 00:12:30,080
DOUG (off-screen): One
morning, I was walking
around the movie set site,
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00:12:30,160 --> 00:12:33,520
and there was a piece
of statuary sticking
out of the sand
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00:12:33,600 --> 00:12:37,000
and it appeared
to be a hind paw.
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00:12:37,360 --> 00:12:41,280
DOUG (off-screen): We decided to
focus on excavating that sphinx.
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00:12:44,280 --> 00:12:46,640
RYAN: So far, we've got an ear,
hopefully a cheek,
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00:12:46,720 --> 00:12:50,160
and we think there's a
forehead seam somewhere in
187
00:12:50,240 --> 00:12:54,040
there and we're really
hoping the face is intact.
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00:12:54,720 --> 00:12:57,000
RYAN (off-screen):
It's insanely exciting.
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00:13:01,440 --> 00:13:04,000
JONATHAN (off-screen): This set
was an amazing undertaking.
190
00:13:04,080 --> 00:13:07,400
DeMille had to create
everything from scratch,
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00:13:07,480 --> 00:13:10,440
in somewhat, kind of, harsh
circumstances, on sand dunes,
192
00:13:10,520 --> 00:13:12,880
in bad weather.
193
00:13:14,120 --> 00:13:18,040
MARY (off-screen): It
looks like we have
virtually the whole thing.
194
00:13:18,120 --> 00:13:19,560
DOUG: It's incredible.
195
00:13:19,640 --> 00:13:22,360
MARY: More than I expected.
196
00:13:23,160 --> 00:13:25,200
DOUG: You'll never see
anything like this again,
197
00:13:25,280 --> 00:13:27,200
ever, anywhere else.
198
00:13:30,520 --> 00:13:32,840
KELVIN (off-screen): The
set was 800 feet long,
199
00:13:32,920 --> 00:13:36,840
it had 20 five ton sphinxes
laid out in a double phalanx
200
00:13:36,920 --> 00:13:39,400
out from the gates of
the Pharaoh's City,
201
00:13:39,480 --> 00:13:42,680
and this one seemed
much more intact.
202
00:13:43,760 --> 00:13:48,240
MARY: The next challenge
became how to remove it
203
00:13:48,320 --> 00:13:50,800
and preserve it.
204
00:13:53,800 --> 00:13:58,080
MARY (off-screen): DeMille's
set was created of plaster,
205
00:13:58,160 --> 00:14:00,880
framed around
wooden framework,
206
00:14:00,960 --> 00:14:04,280
and as soon as you
exposed it to the air,
207
00:14:04,360 --> 00:14:10,600
the chemistry began to change,
and it began to crumble,
208
00:14:10,680 --> 00:14:13,320
and to fall apart.
209
00:14:17,560 --> 00:14:19,560
AMY: I never would have
thought I'd be digging up
210
00:14:19,640 --> 00:14:23,160
Egyptian statuary in the
dunes of southern California.
211
00:14:23,600 --> 00:14:26,000
I'm a building restoration
artist in Hollywood,
212
00:14:26,080 --> 00:14:30,800
working on historic buildings,
movie palaces for 20 years.
213
00:14:30,880 --> 00:14:33,440
AMY (off-screen): I was
brought into the project
because of my plaster
214
00:14:33,520 --> 00:14:35,720
restoration experience.
215
00:14:37,360 --> 00:14:39,840
This is the scary party cause
I don't want to go too deep.
216
00:14:39,920 --> 00:14:42,560
We tried various different
ways to stabilize the plaster
217
00:14:42,640 --> 00:14:44,240
in the field.
218
00:14:44,320 --> 00:14:47,960
AMY (off-screen): We used
B-72, acrylic resin, we
brushed this on
219
00:14:48,040 --> 00:14:49,440
and used gauze.
220
00:14:49,520 --> 00:14:51,360
It wasn't working
out very well.
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00:14:54,440 --> 00:14:56,720
AMY (off-screen):
The plaster is so soft.
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00:14:56,800 --> 00:14:58,560
This is to try to stop it.
223
00:14:58,640 --> 00:15:01,760
It can be damaged just
by a brush, or your hand,
224
00:15:01,840 --> 00:15:05,600
and the gauze wouldn't
actually hold the
piece together.
225
00:15:05,680 --> 00:15:07,800
So, we improvised.
226
00:15:14,440 --> 00:15:17,320
AMY (off-screen): We found
that using expandable
insulation foam,
227
00:15:17,400 --> 00:15:19,560
commonly used to
insulate houses,
228
00:15:19,640 --> 00:15:24,480
was a great tool in the field,
a support to get larger pieces
229
00:15:24,560 --> 00:15:26,640
out of the sand.
230
00:15:32,520 --> 00:15:35,840
MARY: After having worked
the last few years with just
231
00:15:35,920 --> 00:15:37,600
pieces here and there,
232
00:15:37,680 --> 00:15:42,480
to see the whole reveal
is just incredible.
233
00:15:49,080 --> 00:15:54,480
♪ ♪
234
00:15:58,000 --> 00:16:03,360
MARY (off-screen): When
we rolled it over, it
was probably the most
235
00:16:03,440 --> 00:16:06,720
incredible experience I've
ever had on any site.
236
00:16:10,560 --> 00:16:15,440
MARY (off-screen): We
exposed the other side of
the face and the paint on it
237
00:16:15,520 --> 00:16:22,120
was just fresh,
it had just
seconds been exposed.
238
00:16:27,640 --> 00:16:29,160
Just incredible.
239
00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:31,040
It was beautiful.
240
00:16:36,560 --> 00:16:40,160
KELVIN: The enormity of
this project gives me
241
00:16:40,240 --> 00:16:41,680
goose bumps today.
242
00:16:44,680 --> 00:16:47,560
DOUG (off-screen): The
local museum in Guadalupe
now has a dedicated
243
00:16:47,640 --> 00:16:52,080
display and the sphinx that we
excavated is now a centerpiece
244
00:16:52,160 --> 00:16:54,280
of the Dune Centre's exhibits.
245
00:16:57,280 --> 00:17:00,360
♪ ♪
246
00:17:06,360 --> 00:17:08,840
DOUG (off-screen): But, we
still had a big question,
247
00:17:08,920 --> 00:17:15,000
"What would it have been
like to be on DeMille's
movie set in 1923?"
248
00:17:21,280 --> 00:17:24,080
JONATHAN (off-screen): The
scale of the production on
The Ten Commandments
249
00:17:24,160 --> 00:17:25,480
was colossal,
250
00:17:25,560 --> 00:17:27,960
500 carpenters,
500 painters,
251
00:17:28,040 --> 00:17:32,240
400 set decorators,
1,200 electricians
and gardeners.
252
00:17:35,560 --> 00:17:39,600
JONATHAN (off-screen):
The set itself was more
than 100 feet tall.
253
00:17:39,680 --> 00:17:42,360
The materials required
were enormous;
254
00:17:42,440 --> 00:17:47,480
over half a million
feet of lumber,
25,000 pounds of nails,
255
00:17:47,560 --> 00:17:49,880
75 miles of cable.
256
00:17:49,960 --> 00:17:52,920
300 tons of plaster.
257
00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:58,040
There were 500 tons of
elaborate sculptures.
258
00:17:58,120 --> 00:18:01,680
Over 20 sphinxes.
259
00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:08,000
There were four massive
statues of the Pharaoh Rameses,
260
00:18:08,080 --> 00:18:12,600
each 35 feet tall
and weighing 39 tons.
261
00:18:18,600 --> 00:18:22,800
Cast and crew, numbered
at least 3,500 men,
women and children.
262
00:18:23,360 --> 00:18:26,200
A Camp DeMille was set up
where they lived under canvas
263
00:18:26,280 --> 00:18:30,640
in 500 tents for
weeks at a time.
264
00:18:33,440 --> 00:18:36,800
A single lunch required
7,500 sandwiches,
265
00:18:36,880 --> 00:18:41,480
2,500 apples and oranges
and 400 gallons of coffee.
266
00:18:48,320 --> 00:18:51,840
5,000 animals were
used on the set.
267
00:18:58,080 --> 00:18:59,720
Photo Play Magazine
called it,
268
00:18:59,800 --> 00:19:03,400
"The greatest theatrical
spectacle in history."
269
00:19:11,840 --> 00:19:15,000
MARY (off-screen): Of course
there was one final twist.
270
00:19:15,080 --> 00:19:19,560
What did DeMille do with
the set when he was done?
271
00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:24,280
MARY (off-screen): The
local story was that the
set had been blown up,
272
00:19:24,360 --> 00:19:26,360
but the evidence
didn't support it.
273
00:19:27,680 --> 00:19:28,960
DOUG (off-screen):
While walking the site,
274
00:19:29,040 --> 00:19:32,640
we found segments of
wire such as this.
275
00:19:32,720 --> 00:19:34,440
DOUG (off-screen): We know
it's a very windy area.
276
00:19:34,520 --> 00:19:36,160
Is this a clue?
277
00:19:38,720 --> 00:19:42,760
MARY: Now that we're up here,
you can see that the wind is
278
00:19:42,840 --> 00:19:45,920
so strong that when it blows,
279
00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:49,280
it could tear down
virtually anything.
280
00:19:50,040 --> 00:19:53,240
DOUG: And you would have needed
industrial cable such as
281
00:19:53,320 --> 00:19:59,880
this to stabilize the
large statuary and keep
it standing upright.
282
00:20:01,640 --> 00:20:05,120
MARY: All the film crew had
to do to destroy the set
283
00:20:05,200 --> 00:20:07,120
was to cut the cables.
284
00:20:12,960 --> 00:20:15,040
(creaking)
285
00:20:18,200 --> 00:20:23,560
MARY (off-screen): And
the winds did the rest
and blew the set over.
286
00:20:24,760 --> 00:20:28,240
And as time passed,
buried the site, so,
287
00:20:28,320 --> 00:20:30,000
it looks as it does today.
288
00:20:34,520 --> 00:20:38,960
♪ ♪
289
00:20:43,160 --> 00:20:46,040
NARRATOR: The Ten Commandments
is a huge hit and becomes
290
00:20:46,120 --> 00:20:50,280
Paramount's highest grossing
film for the next 25 years.
291
00:20:50,360 --> 00:20:53,720
It was the dawn of a new era,
the profitable blockbuster
292
00:20:53,800 --> 00:20:58,560
and, throughout the 1920's,
Hollywood boomed.
293
00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:00,960
JONATHAN: But of course, we
all know this is gonna end.
294
00:21:01,040 --> 00:21:04,400
In 1929, the Stock Market
is going to crash.
295
00:21:05,560 --> 00:21:08,160
JONATHAN (off-screen): The
United States is gonna go
from the Roaring '20s
296
00:21:08,240 --> 00:21:10,320
into the Great Depression.
297
00:21:10,400 --> 00:21:14,560
By 1933, half of the Hollywood
majors were in bankruptcy and
298
00:21:14,640 --> 00:21:17,760
most of the rest were
approaching bankruptcy.
299
00:21:18,800 --> 00:21:20,320
JOAN (off-screen):
Everyone was terrified.
300
00:21:20,400 --> 00:21:21,880
Would Hollywood make it?
301
00:21:21,960 --> 00:21:24,200
Would the film
industry survive?
302
00:21:28,920 --> 00:21:30,880
NARRATOR: Despite
the Great Depression,
303
00:21:30,960 --> 00:21:35,240
one industry in Los Angeles is
finding new ways to survive,
304
00:21:35,320 --> 00:21:39,080
on land and sea.
305
00:21:39,160 --> 00:21:41,280
DANNY (off-screen): There are
more than 1,000 shipwrecks
306
00:21:41,360 --> 00:21:43,760
that lie off
the coast of California.
307
00:21:44,480 --> 00:21:47,800
It become kind of a passion
for me to investigate,
308
00:21:47,880 --> 00:21:49,920
search out, find them.
309
00:21:50,960 --> 00:21:52,760
DANNY (off-screen): The ocean
has been my life all my life.
310
00:21:52,840 --> 00:21:55,920
I started diving with my dad
when I was really young in the
311
00:21:56,000 --> 00:22:00,120
early 70's where I grew up in
a coastal town in California.
312
00:22:01,800 --> 00:22:03,880
DANNY (off-screen): I wanted to
visit the deeper wrecks,
313
00:22:03,960 --> 00:22:08,560
so it required me taking some
technical rebreather training.
314
00:22:09,840 --> 00:22:14,000
During that training,
I came across
something really amazing.
315
00:22:15,720 --> 00:22:18,960
Something I'd never
expected to see.
316
00:22:21,520 --> 00:22:25,360
This wreck is about ten miles
off the coast of Long Beach.
317
00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:34,120
It's in 135 to 140 feet,
which is pretty deep.
318
00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:42,600
It's pretty dark and you don't
see anything for a long time,
319
00:22:44,440 --> 00:22:50,280
and then, out of the
gloom comes this,
this huge shape.
320
00:22:52,200 --> 00:22:55,560
DANNY (off-screen): You
really feel the adrenaline
rush at that time.
321
00:22:55,640 --> 00:22:59,040
I was just thinking,
man it is huge.
322
00:22:59,120 --> 00:23:02,640
Bigger than anything
I had dove on before.
323
00:23:09,960 --> 00:23:13,320
We realized we were
on the stern section.
324
00:23:15,080 --> 00:23:17,920
And then we realized
that there was only
325
00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:19,280
half a ship there.
326
00:23:19,840 --> 00:23:22,280
DANNY (off-screen): I
was thinking, "Where's
the rest of the ship?
327
00:23:22,360 --> 00:23:23,960
Where's the other half?"
328
00:23:25,320 --> 00:23:26,840
DANNY (off-screen):
It was strange.
329
00:23:26,920 --> 00:23:28,640
Intriguing.
330
00:23:29,240 --> 00:23:32,560
After that dive, I had a lot
of unanswered questions.
331
00:23:33,800 --> 00:23:35,520
DANNY (off-screen): "What
kind of ship was she?
332
00:23:35,600 --> 00:23:37,360
Why did she sink?
333
00:23:37,440 --> 00:23:41,960
And what is she doing
here just ten miles
off of Long Beach?"
334
00:23:42,600 --> 00:23:43,800
KEVIN: I'm a,
Lieutenant Commander,
335
00:23:43,880 --> 00:23:45,280
in the US Navy Reserve.
336
00:23:45,360 --> 00:23:48,560
When I was active duty, I
served aboard two warships.
337
00:23:48,640 --> 00:23:52,200
Now I own a marine
exploration company,
338
00:23:52,280 --> 00:23:56,800
and we go and search for lost
ship and aircraft wrecks.
339
00:23:58,800 --> 00:24:01,040
MELODIE (off-screen):
I work with Kevin as
a Spatial Scientist,
340
00:24:01,120 --> 00:24:05,120
we use remote sensing and
photogrammetry to study
341
00:24:05,200 --> 00:24:06,840
coastal environments.
342
00:24:06,920 --> 00:24:09,520
So, I specialize
in meteorology,
343
00:24:09,600 --> 00:24:12,600
oceanography and even
things like shipwrecks.
344
00:24:13,200 --> 00:24:15,720
MELODIE (off-screen): To
create a photogrammetry model,
345
00:24:15,800 --> 00:24:20,280
we take a video using an ROV,
an underwater robot.
346
00:24:25,560 --> 00:24:29,760
And we extract thousands
of photographs,
347
00:24:29,840 --> 00:24:34,520
and put them together
to create a 3D model.
348
00:24:35,200 --> 00:24:38,640
MELODIE (off-screen): We
can start to see things
maybe we wouldn't have seen
349
00:24:38,720 --> 00:24:40,680
diving underwater.
350
00:24:40,760 --> 00:24:43,040
The question is,
what will it show us?
351
00:24:51,200 --> 00:24:54,120
The cool thing about this
photogrammetry model is that
352
00:24:54,200 --> 00:24:57,360
we can manipulate the
wreck and, and look
at it from a bird's
353
00:24:57,440 --> 00:24:59,800
eye view, or turn it around.
354
00:24:59,880 --> 00:25:01,600
DANNY: That is really cool.
355
00:25:02,920 --> 00:25:07,240
MELODIE: Can see this wreck
has been down here a long time.
356
00:25:07,320 --> 00:25:12,160
You can see some of the growth
on portions of the wreck.
357
00:25:12,240 --> 00:25:15,040
DANNY: Can we zoom in on
this little area right here?
358
00:25:15,120 --> 00:25:16,640
MELODIE: Sure.
359
00:25:16,720 --> 00:25:19,920
DANNY (off-screen):
Right here, look at that.
360
00:25:20,320 --> 00:25:25,080
That's really clear,
there's a gun mount right there.
361
00:25:25,160 --> 00:25:26,360
MELODIE (off-screen): Oh yeah.
362
00:25:26,440 --> 00:25:28,200
DANNY (off-screen):
Wow. Look at that.
363
00:25:28,280 --> 00:25:30,120
Can we go up to, like,
the bow section?
364
00:25:30,200 --> 00:25:31,520
MELODIE: Yeah.
365
00:25:32,480 --> 00:25:35,480
DANNY (off-screen): Right there,
that's the torpedo too.
366
00:25:36,200 --> 00:25:38,680
I'm at a loss for
words for that really.
367
00:25:39,840 --> 00:25:44,120
DANNY (off-screen): So,
this clearly looks like a
warship, but, what kind?
368
00:25:44,200 --> 00:25:46,800
And what is she doing here?
369
00:25:56,800 --> 00:26:01,520
During my next dive,
we started exploring further,
370
00:26:01,600 --> 00:26:05,120
and more than a 100 feet away,
from the bottom,
371
00:26:07,280 --> 00:26:10,480
we find the other
section of the ship,
372
00:26:13,960 --> 00:26:17,080
and I was very confused as to
why the two sections of the
373
00:26:17,160 --> 00:26:19,480
ship were so far apart.
374
00:26:23,120 --> 00:26:26,160
Then we found something we
never expected to ever see on
375
00:26:26,240 --> 00:26:28,000
a ship like this.
376
00:26:28,080 --> 00:26:31,440
DANNY (off-screen):
Pieces of wood attached
to the super structure.
377
00:26:32,040 --> 00:26:33,800
Timber on a warship?
378
00:26:33,880 --> 00:26:35,520
It's a metal ship.
379
00:26:35,600 --> 00:26:38,800
There's no reason
or place for timber.
380
00:26:39,600 --> 00:26:41,480
DANNY (off-screen):
Why was that there?
381
00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:49,480
We started investigating the
mangled wreckage area and
382
00:26:49,560 --> 00:26:53,480
there was a lot of metal
that was pushed outward.
383
00:26:54,120 --> 00:26:56,520
I'd never seen anything
like that before.
384
00:26:57,320 --> 00:27:01,360
DANNY (off-screen): We
started diving back to the
back part of the wreck and we
385
00:27:01,440 --> 00:27:05,200
saw the same evidence;
here's this massive warship,
386
00:27:05,280 --> 00:27:07,840
blown in two pieces,
on the ocean floor,
387
00:27:07,920 --> 00:27:11,160
indications of a
huge explosion.
388
00:27:13,240 --> 00:27:16,200
And there had been no
US destroyers sunk
389
00:27:16,280 --> 00:27:18,520
off the coast of
California in either
390
00:27:18,600 --> 00:27:20,920
World War I or World War II.
391
00:27:22,360 --> 00:27:24,440
DANNY (off-screen):
So, what caused that?
392
00:27:26,560 --> 00:27:30,000
MELODIE: So, this is
where the break is,
393
00:27:30,080 --> 00:27:33,400
let's get a good angle here.
394
00:27:33,480 --> 00:27:36,640
You can really see that the
metal has been pushed out
395
00:27:36,720 --> 00:27:38,920
and not in.
396
00:27:40,320 --> 00:27:42,200
DANNY (off-screen): If it
was to be hit by a torpedo,
397
00:27:42,280 --> 00:27:43,840
the metal would
have been pushed in.
398
00:27:43,920 --> 00:27:45,120
MELODIE: Pushed in.
399
00:27:45,200 --> 00:27:46,360
DANNY (off-screen): So
it wasn't the victim
400
00:27:46,440 --> 00:27:48,560
of an attack of
an enemy submarine.
401
00:27:48,640 --> 00:27:51,440
It just didn't make sense.
402
00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:01,680
NARRATOR: A mysterious 1,000
ton warship lies wrecked,
403
00:28:01,760 --> 00:28:05,360
just off the coast of
Long Beach, California.
404
00:28:05,960 --> 00:28:09,680
But how and why did it sink?
405
00:28:10,440 --> 00:28:12,920
DANNY (off-screen): I
needed to go back and
do some more reading.
406
00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:15,560
As I was doing
some more research,
407
00:28:15,640 --> 00:28:18,840
I finally found something
that answered my questions.
408
00:28:18,920 --> 00:28:23,320
An article in the Los Angeles
Times from February 22, 1933.
409
00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:26,560
DANNY (off-screen): It
talked about a warship
that had been spotted off
410
00:28:26,640 --> 00:28:28,600
the coast of Long Beach.
411
00:28:28,680 --> 00:28:32,880
And it was a US Naval vessel,
the USS Moody,
412
00:28:32,960 --> 00:28:35,960
a Clemson Class Destroyer,
a sub hunter,
413
00:28:36,040 --> 00:28:39,160
built in Squantum,
Massachusetts in 1919.
414
00:28:40,160 --> 00:28:43,960
DANNY (off-screen): Everything
about her seemed to match the
ship I'd been diving on,
415
00:28:44,040 --> 00:28:46,960
but she never saw
any wartime action.
416
00:28:47,040 --> 00:28:49,000
What's happened here?
417
00:28:50,800 --> 00:28:54,800
DANNY (off-screen): In
fact, MGM Studios bought
her for about $35,000 to
418
00:28:54,880 --> 00:28:59,720
use in a World War I movie,
Hell Below .
419
00:29:01,560 --> 00:29:03,760
DANNY (off-screen): The ship
that we'd been swimming on,
all this time,
420
00:29:03,840 --> 00:29:05,960
had been a
Hollywood movie set.
421
00:29:07,640 --> 00:29:11,480
JONATHAN: Hell Below is
an MGM picture from 1933,
422
00:29:11,560 --> 00:29:15,240
a pretty big budget film
with a real all-star cast,
423
00:29:15,320 --> 00:29:17,680
Robert Montgomery,
Robert Young,
424
00:29:17,760 --> 00:29:21,080
it's a tragic World War I
story but it's also got crazy
425
00:29:21,160 --> 00:29:25,680
comedy with Jimmy Durante,
it also has romantic scenes
426
00:29:25,760 --> 00:29:29,920
and it contains this
wonderful battle at sea.
427
00:29:34,960 --> 00:29:38,600
DANNY (off-screen): You know,
the wood I'd found on the
wreck started to make sense.
428
00:29:38,680 --> 00:29:41,360
I knew it wasn't part
of the original vessel,
429
00:29:41,440 --> 00:29:44,600
it turns out it
was a set dressing.
430
00:29:46,120 --> 00:29:51,400
MGM producers used
timber to disguise this
old US Navy destroyer
431
00:29:51,480 --> 00:29:55,360
so it looked like a
World War I German warship.
432
00:29:57,960 --> 00:30:01,120
JONATHAN: And then they blew
it up and sunk it on camera
433
00:30:01,200 --> 00:30:02,960
for the film.
434
00:30:07,760 --> 00:30:10,440
(explosion)
435
00:30:10,520 --> 00:30:13,640
DANNY (off-screen): It's
not easy to sink a real
warship like this, so,
436
00:30:13,720 --> 00:30:15,760
how did they do it?
437
00:30:17,400 --> 00:30:20,840
MELODIE: So, if we take this
photogrammetry model and we
438
00:30:20,920 --> 00:30:26,840
cross-reference it to the
blueprints of this destroyer,
439
00:30:28,720 --> 00:30:33,520
you can see right away where
the vessel would have
440
00:30:33,600 --> 00:30:35,600
broken in half.
441
00:30:37,280 --> 00:30:39,920
DANNY: It broke right there,
between those two boilers,
442
00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:41,160
three and four.
443
00:30:41,240 --> 00:30:42,680
MELODIE: Mhm.
444
00:30:43,960 --> 00:30:46,240
KEVIN: So, what the model
makes clear is that the
445
00:30:46,320 --> 00:30:48,120
explosive charges were
set in the boiler room.
446
00:30:50,440 --> 00:30:52,920
KEVIN (off-screen): This
first set of explosives
was designed to create a
447
00:30:53,000 --> 00:30:55,920
massive explosion to
simulate torpedo hits,
448
00:30:56,000 --> 00:30:58,880
and severed the ship
in two hull sections.
449
00:31:04,640 --> 00:31:08,360
KEVIN (off-screen):
Demolition engineers placed a
second set of charges in each
450
00:31:08,440 --> 00:31:11,400
section of the ship to
destroy the bulkheads,
451
00:31:13,040 --> 00:31:15,080
flooding them with seawater.
452
00:31:17,200 --> 00:31:18,680
The Moody eventually
went down,
453
00:31:18,760 --> 00:31:21,240
giving filmmakers a rare
opportunity to actually film
454
00:31:21,320 --> 00:31:22,600
a sinking ship.
455
00:31:23,560 --> 00:31:26,600
It was ingenious.
It was a spectacular scene.
456
00:31:29,800 --> 00:31:33,120
DANNY: Turns out the USS Moody
wasn't the only ship that
457
00:31:33,200 --> 00:31:37,520
Hollywood used to make movies
in the 20's and the 30's.
458
00:31:38,640 --> 00:31:42,640
About 25 miles west, there's
the wrecks of at least nine
459
00:31:42,720 --> 00:31:46,800
other ships that the studios
used to make different movies.
460
00:31:48,440 --> 00:31:51,520
In fact, so many ships
were used as film sets,
461
00:31:51,600 --> 00:31:54,720
that the actors started
calling 'em the Hollywood Navy.
462
00:31:56,240 --> 00:31:59,760
JONATHAN (off-screen):
Of course, with the
stock market crash, in 1929,
463
00:31:59,840 --> 00:32:02,480
the Hollywood majors had
to completely reorganize
464
00:32:02,560 --> 00:32:04,760
themselves to survive.
465
00:32:05,280 --> 00:32:07,640
JONATHAN (off-screen):
Buying up an old ship
and then sinking it,
466
00:32:07,720 --> 00:32:09,080
it was worth it.
467
00:32:09,160 --> 00:32:12,000
Getting the most
bang for their buck,
468
00:32:12,080 --> 00:32:15,880
putting great stuff up
on the screen to
impress their audience.
469
00:32:16,440 --> 00:32:21,400
This sequence cost MGM $35,000
but it's another example of
470
00:32:21,480 --> 00:32:25,560
MGM's savvy management
during the Great Depression.
471
00:32:26,080 --> 00:32:29,240
NARRATOR: It is creative
gambles like these that keep
472
00:32:29,320 --> 00:32:31,240
audiences flocking
to theatres,
473
00:32:31,320 --> 00:32:33,680
despite the economic
depression.
474
00:32:35,680 --> 00:32:39,600
JOAN (off-screen): Gambling
was the life blood of
Hollywood's movie moguls.
475
00:32:39,680 --> 00:32:42,640
Where there's a lot of money,
there are gonna be people
476
00:32:42,720 --> 00:32:45,560
there who wanna separate
you from that money,
477
00:32:45,640 --> 00:32:48,720
bookies,
racketeers,
gangsters,
478
00:32:48,800 --> 00:32:52,320
they all flooded into
Hollywood like bees to honey.
479
00:32:52,400 --> 00:32:57,000
They knew that there was a big
pot and they couldn't wait.
480
00:33:01,480 --> 00:33:05,000
♪ ♪
481
00:33:08,760 --> 00:33:10,960
J MICHAEL (off-screen):
Back in the 1920's,
482
00:33:11,040 --> 00:33:13,400
Hollywood wasn't just
the entertainment
483
00:33:13,480 --> 00:33:14,600
hub of the world,
484
00:33:14,680 --> 00:33:17,040
it was California's
crime capital.
485
00:33:17,120 --> 00:33:21,320
Somewhere out there,
about three miles out
on the ocean floor,
486
00:33:21,400 --> 00:33:26,160
is a remnant from LA's past;
a wrecked ship called,
487
00:33:26,240 --> 00:33:29,640
The Monfalcone, she belonged
to my great grandfather.
488
00:33:31,160 --> 00:33:33,680
J MICHAEL (off-screen): I'd read
a lot about the Monfalcone,
489
00:33:33,760 --> 00:33:37,600
about how she sank under
mysterious circumstances,
490
00:33:37,680 --> 00:33:41,720
I really just wanna find
out what actually happened.
491
00:33:49,600 --> 00:33:51,840
My great grandfather,
Jack Dragna,
492
00:33:51,920 --> 00:33:55,800
he was born in Corleone, Sicily
and came to Los Angeles
493
00:33:55,880 --> 00:33:57,960
in 1915.
494
00:33:58,040 --> 00:34:00,600
J MICHAEL (off-screen):
He was the mob boss in
Los Angeles for about
495
00:34:00,680 --> 00:34:02,160
a quarter century.
496
00:34:02,240 --> 00:34:05,960
He did business with, Al Capone,
Benjamin Bugsy Siegel,
497
00:34:06,040 --> 00:34:09,120
and had a little spat
with Mickey Cohen.
498
00:34:09,200 --> 00:34:12,520
In 1928, he and several
investors purchased an old
499
00:34:12,600 --> 00:34:16,560
fishing barge and they turned
her into a floating casino,
500
00:34:16,640 --> 00:34:20,480
but less than two years later,
the Monfalcone sank after
501
00:34:20,560 --> 00:34:22,720
a mysterious fire.
502
00:34:33,480 --> 00:34:35,360
I've always wondered
was this an accident,
503
00:34:35,440 --> 00:34:38,040
or did something shady happen?
504
00:34:42,840 --> 00:34:45,400
DAVID (off-screen):
Ship wrecks, sunken cities,
505
00:34:45,480 --> 00:34:47,600
sunken trains,
sunken aircraft,
506
00:34:47,680 --> 00:34:51,680
if it's sank I've
probably dove on it.
507
00:34:52,280 --> 00:34:54,800
DAVID (off-screen): Now I
wanna find out what
happened to J Michael's
508
00:34:54,880 --> 00:34:57,640
great grand-daddy's ship.
509
00:34:57,720 --> 00:35:00,680
But shipwrecks don't give
up their secrets easily and
510
00:35:00,760 --> 00:35:04,040
certainly the Monfalcone
is no different.
511
00:35:10,600 --> 00:35:14,920
I'm hoping we can find
some signs of what
actually started the fire,
512
00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:18,560
but I don't think
it's gonna be easy.
513
00:35:20,520 --> 00:35:22,720
The wreck is 72 feet down.
514
00:35:22,800 --> 00:35:26,320
The ship itself has collapsed.
515
00:35:27,400 --> 00:35:31,880
More of a massive jumble of
timbers than a ship now,
516
00:35:33,800 --> 00:35:37,520
and it's also
really overgrown.
517
00:35:42,440 --> 00:35:45,920
To try to figure out what
happened to the Monfalcone
518
00:35:46,000 --> 00:35:47,800
we have to get to know
her a little better.
519
00:35:47,880 --> 00:35:50,240
DAVID (off-screen): It's
tough to see her underwater,
520
00:35:50,320 --> 00:35:53,440
but easier if we can
make a 3D model of her.
521
00:35:54,720 --> 00:35:56,680
J MICHAEL (off-screen): Oh, wow.
522
00:35:57,600 --> 00:35:59,720
This is wonderful.
523
00:36:01,320 --> 00:36:03,240
DAVID (off-screen): It
really is amazing that
there's this much
524
00:36:03,320 --> 00:36:06,360
structural detail
still visible.
525
00:36:07,600 --> 00:36:10,200
Originally, she wasn't
actually a barge at all,
526
00:36:10,280 --> 00:36:12,800
but something much
more impressive.
527
00:36:15,200 --> 00:36:17,960
The Monfalcone was
just a beautiful ship.
528
00:36:23,200 --> 00:36:26,640
DAVID (off-screen): Built
in Orange, Texas, in 1919,
it was a barkentine,
529
00:36:26,720 --> 00:36:31,160
schooner-rigged, and then the
foremasts and square-rigged.
530
00:36:31,240 --> 00:36:32,880
J MICHAEL (off-screen): Amazing.
531
00:36:34,800 --> 00:36:37,080
DAVID: It had its fair
share of problems.
532
00:36:37,160 --> 00:36:42,000
In 1923, it was coming
out of New Orleans and
hit a hurricane,
533
00:36:42,080 --> 00:36:44,760
it completely dismasted her.
534
00:36:45,240 --> 00:36:48,120
Then it was towed 3,000
miles to Los Angeles,
535
00:36:48,200 --> 00:36:50,480
and that's when your great
grand-daddy bought it.
536
00:36:51,120 --> 00:36:54,080
DAVID (off-screen): For
him, a dismasted ship was
an ingenious solution
537
00:36:54,160 --> 00:36:55,760
to a problem.
538
00:36:57,720 --> 00:37:03,400
NARRATOR: In 1920, a new
law is introduced banning
the sale of alcohol,
539
00:37:03,480 --> 00:37:06,520
but while gambling and
drinking are illegal on land,
540
00:37:06,600 --> 00:37:09,200
it's a different
story at sea.
541
00:37:10,680 --> 00:37:12,080
JOAN: Racketeers,
they're thinking,
542
00:37:12,160 --> 00:37:14,920
"There's gotta be a
way around this."
543
00:37:15,000 --> 00:37:18,560
Somebody had the bright
idea of a barge,
544
00:37:18,640 --> 00:37:24,720
how about this palace out
in the waters beyond the
reach of law enforcement?
545
00:37:31,600 --> 00:37:34,040
JOAN (off-screen):
It is a brilliant idea.
546
00:37:34,120 --> 00:37:37,720
You could gamble,
you could have prostitutes.
547
00:37:37,800 --> 00:37:39,200
You can have liquor.
548
00:37:39,280 --> 00:37:41,920
They, they just didn't
see any downside to it.
549
00:37:43,680 --> 00:37:46,400
The Monfalcone was one of
these ships and they were,
550
00:37:46,480 --> 00:37:48,800
kind of, like,
sin city afloat.
551
00:37:55,320 --> 00:37:57,800
DAVID: By combining all the
scan data we can get a pretty
552
00:37:57,880 --> 00:38:01,360
good picture of what the
Monfalcone looks like.
553
00:38:02,200 --> 00:38:06,200
DAVID (off-screen): Inside,
these casino ships were
total Hollywood glitz.
554
00:38:06,280 --> 00:38:09,120
This is what the dance
pavilion on the top
555
00:38:09,200 --> 00:38:11,040
deck was like.
556
00:38:11,120 --> 00:38:13,400
J MICHAEL: I didn't
realize it was that big.
557
00:38:14,120 --> 00:38:17,320
DAVID (off-screen): They had
a 125 foot dance floors,
558
00:38:17,400 --> 00:38:21,960
a seven piece orchestra,
fine dining.
559
00:38:25,520 --> 00:38:27,120
J MICHAEL (off-screen): It looks
like we're below deck here,
560
00:38:27,200 --> 00:38:28,840
gambling parlor.
561
00:38:28,920 --> 00:38:32,360
DAVID: This is the actual
casino, on the lower deck;
562
00:38:32,440 --> 00:38:35,880
roulette wheels,
craps, poker tables,
563
00:38:35,960 --> 00:38:38,560
slot machines and
chuck-a-luck.
564
00:38:39,880 --> 00:38:42,440
J MICHAEL: They put a lot of
money into making this thing
565
00:38:42,520 --> 00:38:45,640
well equipped for gamblers.
566
00:38:46,840 --> 00:38:49,760
DAVID (off-screen):
Money was no object,
it's all pretty fancy,
567
00:38:49,840 --> 00:38:52,080
but the gambling tables,
the furnishings,
568
00:38:52,160 --> 00:38:53,840
it's all combustible.
569
00:38:53,920 --> 00:38:56,320
The ship's wooden hull
was made watertight with
570
00:38:56,400 --> 00:38:58,360
ropes soaked in tar.
571
00:38:59,040 --> 00:39:01,960
The Monfalcone was just a
giant tinderbox waiting
572
00:39:02,040 --> 00:39:03,880
to go up in flames.
573
00:39:04,280 --> 00:39:05,600
(explosion)
574
00:39:09,800 --> 00:39:12,680
NARRATOR: Divers are trying
to establish the cause of the
575
00:39:12,760 --> 00:39:16,000
fire that sank a prohibition
era gambling ship
576
00:39:16,080 --> 00:39:20,080
that lies wrecked,
ten miles off the
Californian coast.
577
00:39:23,040 --> 00:39:24,600
J MICHAEL: How'd it go?
578
00:39:25,640 --> 00:39:27,800
MAN: I think I saw a picture
of your great-grandmother.
579
00:39:30,120 --> 00:39:31,840
DAVID: That was terrible.
MAN: That was good.
580
00:39:31,920 --> 00:39:34,640
STEVE: You could still
see all the wood planking.
581
00:39:34,720 --> 00:39:36,600
STEVE (off-screen): It
looks like a lumber yard.
582
00:39:36,680 --> 00:39:38,520
J MICHAEL: Did you guys
find any fire damage?
583
00:39:38,600 --> 00:39:41,880
MAN: We could see a
little bit, but not much.
584
00:39:41,960 --> 00:39:45,160
STEVE (off-screen):
There's nothing there that
identifies the cause of
585
00:39:45,240 --> 00:39:48,240
the fire or the sinking.
586
00:39:51,760 --> 00:39:54,560
J MICHAEL (off-screen): I
think I'm about as close
to the Monfalcone as I'm
587
00:39:54,640 --> 00:39:57,640
ever going to get,
but I still don't
feel any closer to
588
00:39:57,720 --> 00:40:01,000
solving the mystery
of why she sank.
589
00:40:09,120 --> 00:40:12,240
DAVID (off-screen): If
we look carefully at the
wreck again we can see
590
00:40:12,320 --> 00:40:15,680
that all that's left is the
lower portion of the hull.
591
00:40:15,760 --> 00:40:19,800
The ship above the waterline
is completely gone,
592
00:40:19,880 --> 00:40:22,960
and that can mean
only one thing;
593
00:40:25,200 --> 00:40:30,440
the fire was so intense
that it burnt through
the Monfalcone,
594
00:40:30,520 --> 00:40:32,960
right down to the waterline.
595
00:40:36,520 --> 00:40:39,200
DAVID (off-screen): Most
of the ship's timbers
were turned to carbon,
596
00:40:39,280 --> 00:40:41,720
and the ocean just
washed them away.
597
00:40:41,800 --> 00:40:45,040
All the wood on the ocean
floor is from below the water,
598
00:40:45,120 --> 00:40:47,400
the fire couldn't reach it.
599
00:40:47,480 --> 00:40:51,000
DAVID (off-screen): That's why
it shows no trace of burning.
600
00:40:54,560 --> 00:40:57,120
J MICHAEL (off-screen): I've
managed to unearth a lot,
601
00:40:57,200 --> 00:41:01,160
but there's still the question
of how the fire got started.
602
00:41:01,920 --> 00:41:04,040
♪ Yeah. ♪♪
603
00:41:08,080 --> 00:41:11,000
J MICHAEL (off-screen):
There a lot of theories
about what happened the night,
604
00:41:11,080 --> 00:41:15,800
about how she caught fire
and one of them is that
it was an insurance scam,
605
00:41:15,880 --> 00:41:18,280
you know, the owners were
trying to make a quick buck.
606
00:41:18,360 --> 00:41:20,480
♪ Money, money,
money, money. ♪♪
607
00:41:23,160 --> 00:41:25,320
J MICHAEL (off-screen):
So, I did some more research.
608
00:41:26,600 --> 00:41:28,880
Monfalcone, Monfalcone.
609
00:41:28,960 --> 00:41:32,760
J MICHAEL (off-screen): And
I was actually shocked to
learn they weren't insured.
610
00:41:32,840 --> 00:41:37,520
They lost something, like, a
115,000 in the ship alone.
611
00:41:39,080 --> 00:41:42,120
Well, there is also talk about
a rivalry with the owners of
612
00:41:42,200 --> 00:41:45,320
the competing vessel and
that was the, Johanna Smith,
613
00:41:45,400 --> 00:41:48,440
and with The Monfalcone's
investors.
614
00:41:49,800 --> 00:41:53,960
Berkeley Daily Gazette ,
May 22, 1930,
615
00:41:54,040 --> 00:41:57,520
"Five men hijacked a water
taxi and forced it over
616
00:41:57,600 --> 00:41:59,440
to the Monfalcone.
617
00:41:59,520 --> 00:42:01,720
Several shots were fired
and then the raiders took
618
00:42:01,800 --> 00:42:04,000
possession of the vessel."
619
00:42:04,080 --> 00:42:06,680
J MICHAEL (off-screen):
It would not be outlandish
620
00:42:06,760 --> 00:42:10,200
for someone to set a fire to
take out the competition.
621
00:42:10,280 --> 00:42:13,080
So, was it sabotage?
622
00:42:13,160 --> 00:42:16,200
Well, survivors and
eyewitnesses thought it was
623
00:42:16,280 --> 00:42:19,720
just a simple accident,
a leaky generator,
624
00:42:19,800 --> 00:42:23,520
neglected maintenance, I mean,
even the crew thought the ship
625
00:42:23,600 --> 00:42:26,200
was an accident just
waiting to happen.
626
00:42:27,080 --> 00:42:29,480
Reports say the fire
began below the decks.
627
00:42:29,560 --> 00:42:36,080
Inside the engine room,
there was a leaky oil line,
628
00:42:37,880 --> 00:42:44,600
a spark from the generator,
ignited unsecured cans of
gasoline
629
00:42:44,680 --> 00:42:51,120
and, in no time,
it was all over.
630
00:42:56,040 --> 00:42:57,280
JOAN: The fire on
the Monfalcone,
631
00:42:57,360 --> 00:42:59,840
was it an accident?
632
00:42:59,920 --> 00:43:02,320
Was it deliberately set?
633
00:43:02,400 --> 00:43:04,480
I don't think we'll
ever know for sure.
634
00:43:11,560 --> 00:43:14,080
NARRATOR: The crime wave
of the prohibition years,
635
00:43:14,160 --> 00:43:17,640
sees a whole new
era for Hollywood,
636
00:43:17,720 --> 00:43:22,640
pulp fiction and crime movies
thrived and gangsters and
637
00:43:22,720 --> 00:43:26,440
femme fatales became
the new stars.
638
00:43:30,120 --> 00:43:32,480
JONATHAN: During those
tumultuous early
decades of Hollywood,
639
00:43:32,560 --> 00:43:34,360
the boom of the 1920s,
640
00:43:34,440 --> 00:43:36,600
the bust of The
Great Depression,
641
00:43:36,680 --> 00:43:40,760
Hollywood had to continually
reinvent itself.
642
00:43:40,840 --> 00:43:45,040
JONATHAN (off-screen): It has
to continually come up with
new ideas and new genres
643
00:43:45,120 --> 00:43:47,080
which included
the biblical epic,
644
00:43:47,160 --> 00:43:50,520
the film noir and gangster
pictures and, of course,
645
00:43:50,600 --> 00:43:52,240
the war film.
646
00:43:54,160 --> 00:43:56,400
Unlike many other industries
during The Great Depression,
647
00:43:56,480 --> 00:44:00,760
Hollywood was able to survive
and continued to entertain the
648
00:44:00,840 --> 00:44:05,360
world into the second half of
the 20th Century, and beyond.
649
00:44:07,280 --> 00:44:08,520
Captioned by
Cotter Media Group.