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Article images courtesy of Paramount Pictures teens and '20's included The Prisoner of Zenda, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Virginian and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, many of which were based on popular novels and stage plays of the day. In 1921, throngs of female admirers flocked to the theatres to swoon over heart- throb Rudolph Valentino in The Sheik. In 1923, audi- ences were introduced to the first of two landmark films directed by Cecil B. DeMille, beginning with the silent era debut of The Ten Commandments, whose spectacular effects alluded to what would become the 1956 epic film of the same name, which marked the legendary filmmaker's final film. Notable among Paramount's most acclaimed films in would become the renowned Paramount Pictures in 1936. Zukor and Lasky's full length features from the LEFT: Cecil B. DeMille on the set. Copyright Hollywood Photographs MIDDLE: Famed gate under construction purchased the struggling Paramount in 1966 and looked to actor-turned-studio- boss Robert Evans to pull off a turn- around. He scored with Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby in 1968, but his biggest feat was green-lighting a modestly budgeted drama based on a bestselling book. e film was called Love Story, and its word-of-mouth success and against- the-grain sentimentality gave the studio the crowd- pleaser it desperately needed. e film, which starred Ryan O'Neal and Ali MacGraw, grossed more than $100 million worldwide (smashing all previous box office records for the studio) and received seven Oscar® nom- inations. After this turning point, the studio would go on to produce some of the most successful and iconic films in cinematic history. ese "New Hollywood" classics in- clude e Godfather, e Godfather Part II, Harold and Maude, e Conversation and Chinatown. The '80s gave rise to some of today's most memo- rable films, many of which would become enduring but Paramount sustained its business with some of the year's most memorable musicals, more of DeMille's landmark spectacles, as well as bringing to audi- ences the outrageous comedies of Mae West. e commercial success of the '40s also proved to be a time of critical acclaim as Paramount won its second and third Academy Awards® for Best Picture with Leo McCarey's Going My Way and Billy Wilder's e Lost Weekend. e thriving mid-century period was marked by the releases of outstanding works by such renowned directors such as Billy Wilder, Alfred Hitchcock and John Huston. Charles Bluhdorn's Gulf+Western its illustrious 100 history is the 1927 film Wings, which went on to become the very first film to win the Academy Award® for Best Picture. e Great Depression of the '30s proved tumultuous, BOTTOM: Editors at work circa 1930's franchises: Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Friday The 13th and Raiders of the Lost Ark. It was also a time for poignant Oscar®- worthy dramas– Ordinary People, The Elephant Man and Terms Of En- dearment. e '90s wel- comed producer Sherry Lansing as Chairman in 1992, and, in 1994, Paramount's parent company, Paramount Communications, merged with Viacom Inc. under the SUMMER 2012 / DISCOVER HOLLYWOOD 17