Ann Dvorak’s Los Angeles Pt.6 – Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios, 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City

Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 251

MGM Studio in Culver City Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection

Ann Dvorak is usually associated with Warner Bros., the studio she was under contract to, and warred with, from 1932-1936. However, the first studio to sign a deal with Ann was Metro Goldwyn Mayer.

Ann was an unfashionable, but spunky teenager when she showed up at MGM’s fabled studio gates, hoping to land a gig in the chorus for The Hollywood Revue of 1929. She made the line-up by the skin of her teeth and was eventually offered a contract as a dancer and assistant choreographer.

Chorine wasn’t a long-term career plan for Ann and when she was still getting cast in uncredited dancer or extra parts two years later, she ceased being enchanted with the studio that boasted, “more stars than in the heavens.”

She eventually left to make a little film called Scarface, but did return to Culver City a handful of times as a freelancer.


View Larger Map

The massive MGM backlot is a thing of the past (check out this book if that’s of interest), and the water tower now reads Sony, but the studio that Ann set foot on countless times and its gates are still there, and always give me a cheap thrill every time I drive by them.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *