How the mob took Hollywood: the story of organized crime and the movies

Hollywood Crime Story: The Mob Takes Over the Movies looks back at how criminals insinuated themselves in the film business

“From the foundation of Hollywood, organized crime is there.” So claims Tom Patterson, producer and director of new three-part documentary series, Hollywood Crime Story: The Mob Takes Over the Movies.

Organized crime’s connection to the film industry actually predates Tinseltown, being present for the foundation of the medium itself, when inventor Thomas Edison sicced his hired goons on competitors in an attempt to maintain total control over early motion picture technology. As covered in Hollywood Crime Story, this resulted in said competitors – mostly Jewish businessmen from the east coast – fleeing westward and establishing the town and studio system that would become synonymous with movies as we know them.