The first movie ever shot in Hollywood, DW Griffith's silent film In Old California was released on March 10 1910, exactly 105 years ago. It was a melodrama about the Mexican era in California, and starred such early celebrities as Marion Leonard and Henry B Walthall, who also appeared in Griffith's later film, The Birth of a Nation. Griffith continued to make films until 1931, and lived in Hollywood until his death in 1948, aged 73.
Actors costumed in the full regalia of the Ku Klux Klan chase down a white actor in blackface in a still from The Birth of a Nation, the first ever feature-length film, directed by DW Griffith, 1914
The backlot at Universal Studios, California, circa 1915
In 1910, the area where Hollywood now stands was notable only for its citrus groves and plentiful sunshine. By 1915, it was the centre of the American film business. Nora Beger of Los Angeles with the ten oranges she received as a gift from a California fruit grower, circa 1915
Crowds gather on a huge set of an Egyptian temple in a still from the silent film, 'Intolerance,' directed by DW Griffith
Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and film director DW Griffith on the day they formed the United Artists corporation
Married actors Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford are framed in a life ring just before setting off on their belated European honeymoon on board the Lapland.
Fatty Arbuckle was a member of Mack Sennett's Keystone Kops. His Hollywood career was cut short by scandal when he was accused of raping and accidentally killing Virginia Rappe. Though he was acquitted, the scandal overshadowed his legacy.
Charlie Chaplin and Jackie Coogan stand on a pavement by a lamp post in a still from the film The Kid, directed by Chaplin himself, 1921
A view over the back lot at Universal City Studios in 1921. Built on farmland, the studio complex was the world's largest at the time.
The wedding of actress Marilyn Miller to Jack Pickford. Guests include Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford and Charlie Chaplin.
Lillian Gish, known as the first lady of American cinema, starring in Griffiths's Birth of a Nation (1915), Duel in the Sun (1946) and Night of the Hunter (1955)
Canadian-born brothers Jack, Sam and Albert Warner founded the film studio in 1923.
A view over Hollywood in 1925
The Hollywood sign originally said "Hollywoodland" when it was installed in 1923. The last four letters were deleted when the sign was refurbished in 1949.
Austrian actress Eva von Berne sitting on a fake iceberg in front of The Igloo, an ice cream parlour shaped like an Inuit dwelling, in Hollywood
Rin Tin Tin sits in a personalised canvas chair. The dog became a massive star, making 26 pictures for Warner Brothers before his death in 1932. At the peak of his career he received some 10,000 fan letters a week.
Cool pictures. The top one is from the remake featuring John Wayne as seen in the photo 1942. Some of the very first westerns where filmed on my great grandfathers land, he in returned is seen in a few as an extra. My grandfather managed the infamous movie star hangout, Brown Derby restaurant in the 30s 40s. Played poker with Clark Gable, made Vincent Price pay his bills. He used to come in order drinks for everyone and leave without paying until my grandfather confronted him.
