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Moguls: The Lives and Times of Hollywood Film Pioneers Nicholas and Joseph Schenck
The incredible true story of the most powerful brothers in Hollywood history—an wildly entertaining saga studded with glamorous stars, scandals, mobsters, murders, and one legendary blond bombshell. . . .
They were the Godfathers of the Movies. Groundbreaking pioneers of the Hollywood Dream Factory, Joseph and Nicholas Schenck may not have been household names like the Warner brothers or Louis B. Mayer, but they were infinitely more powerful, influential—and ruthless. A pair of Russian immigrants with giant ambitions, the Schencks turned their small nickelodeon business in New York’s Bowery into a partnership with Loew’s movie theaters and a controlling interest in three major MGM, 20th Century Fox, and United Artists. They painted the silver screen silver, laid the foundations for the all-powerful studio system, and ruled a global movie empire from their Gatsby-sized mansions on the East and West coasts. The Schencks had become moguls.
Their story is the stuff of legends—and their scandals are among the greatest stories Hollywood never told. This riveting, behind-the-scenes account reveals the suprising truth
* The union-busting mob deal that landed Joe Schenck in federal prison for four years—on tax evasion charges including deductions for a menage a trois.
* The cutthroat and merciless political maneuvering that defined the Hollywood studio heads.
* The lurid murder charges against silent film star “Fatty” Arbuckle—whose legal defense was paid for by Joe Schenck.
* Joe’s secret infatuation with Marilyn Monroe, even though Marilyn’s mother named her Norma after Joe’s wife!
* The brothers’ ingenious creation of the Academy of Motion Pictures and the Oscars—and indomitable control over the entire film industry.
From the earliest days of silent films and the swinging era of the Roaring Twenties, through the Golden Age of the studio system and the patriotic call of WWII, to the Red Scare paranoia of the McCarthy years, the history of the Schenck brothers is the story of Hollywood itself—and the endurng power of the American Dream. Moguls is a must-read for film fans, history buffs, and anyone who loves the movies.
They were the Godfathers of the Movies. Groundbreaking pioneers of the Hollywood Dream Factory, Joseph and Nicholas Schenck may not have been household names like the Warner brothers or Louis B. Mayer, but they were infinitely more powerful, influential—and ruthless. A pair of Russian immigrants with giant ambitions, the Schencks turned their small nickelodeon business in New York’s Bowery into a partnership with Loew’s movie theaters and a controlling interest in three major MGM, 20th Century Fox, and United Artists. They painted the silver screen silver, laid the foundations for the all-powerful studio system, and ruled a global movie empire from their Gatsby-sized mansions on the East and West coasts. The Schencks had become moguls.
Their story is the stuff of legends—and their scandals are among the greatest stories Hollywood never told. This riveting, behind-the-scenes account reveals the suprising truth
* The union-busting mob deal that landed Joe Schenck in federal prison for four years—on tax evasion charges including deductions for a menage a trois.
* The cutthroat and merciless political maneuvering that defined the Hollywood studio heads.
* The lurid murder charges against silent film star “Fatty” Arbuckle—whose legal defense was paid for by Joe Schenck.
* Joe’s secret infatuation with Marilyn Monroe, even though Marilyn’s mother named her Norma after Joe’s wife!
* The brothers’ ingenious creation of the Academy of Motion Pictures and the Oscars—and indomitable control over the entire film industry.
From the earliest days of silent films and the swinging era of the Roaring Twenties, through the Golden Age of the studio system and the patriotic call of WWII, to the Red Scare paranoia of the McCarthy years, the history of the Schenck brothers is the story of Hollywood itself—and the endurng power of the American Dream. Moguls is a must-read for film fans, history buffs, and anyone who loves the movies.
305 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 24, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
October 22, 2024
This was a brilliant look at brothers Nicholas and Joseph Schenck and the part they played in creating Hollywood [and all of its eventual stars].
Well-written and expertly researched [the notes at the end really open this part up more], this is quite the book that is pretty shocking [as a movie buff and history lover, I knew quite a bit about some of the exploits talked about here {about "old Hollywood"}, but there were still moments that were new to me and it all my made my blood boil and tears to fall for all the pain so many of these stars endured] and there was a lot about what it took to get the "flickers" off the ground that I had never heard or knew and that stuff was absolutey fascinating as well as educational.
Highly enjoyable and filled with so much information [and so many crazy stories], any movie [and/or history] buff will completely love reading this.
Thank you to NetGalley, Michael Benson, Craig Singer, and Kensington Publishing/Citadel for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Well-written and expertly researched [the notes at the end really open this part up more], this is quite the book that is pretty shocking [as a movie buff and history lover, I knew quite a bit about some of the exploits talked about here {about "old Hollywood"}, but there were still moments that were new to me and it all my made my blood boil and tears to fall for all the pain so many of these stars endured] and there was a lot about what it took to get the "flickers" off the ground that I had never heard or knew and that stuff was absolutey fascinating as well as educational.
Highly enjoyable and filled with so much information [and so many crazy stories], any movie [and/or history] buff will completely love reading this.
Thank you to NetGalley, Michael Benson, Craig Singer, and Kensington Publishing/Citadel for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
October 22, 2024
With a writing style like that of a reverential version of an old Hollywood tabloid, Benson and Singer present even legitimate tales and anecdotes of showbiz bigshots Joe and Nick Schenck as apocryphal. Recreated dialogs, sometimes in script form, are wince inducing. Surprisingly the acknowledgements mention hours spent in information gathering in the Motion Picture Academy Library and the USC Library (spent by a third, earlier contributor, Al Marill, whose project this was until his death in 2010) because everything in Moguls screams armchair research; I'm not sure what details here couldn't be gotten with a couple of dozen books on the golden age of cinema (bibliography provided) along with a subscription to newspapers.com. You could've written this.
The sections on the brothers Schenck owning and running Paradise Park in NYC and then Palisades Park in Fort Lee were kind of interesting at first, but I was eager for the action to move to the movie business, specifically at MGM, UA, and Twentieth-Century Fox, all of which the guys, together or separately, helped create and run.
The stories of a pair of unwanted infiltrations into Hollywood—by gangsters and Nazis—worked well.
Gripes aside, I read Moguls like I eat Pringles, wishing I'd be working on more consequential potato chips but chowing through them pretty quickly nonetheless (minus the index, bibliography, and an IMDb-ish appendix listing films produced and/or "presented by" Nick, the book weighs in at 256 pages). It's a fun if familiar read for buffs of old Hollywood, even if you'll be wishing for something a little more serious and lot more deeply researched.
The sections on the brothers Schenck owning and running Paradise Park in NYC and then Palisades Park in Fort Lee were kind of interesting at first, but I was eager for the action to move to the movie business, specifically at MGM, UA, and Twentieth-Century Fox, all of which the guys, together or separately, helped create and run.
The stories of a pair of unwanted infiltrations into Hollywood—by gangsters and Nazis—worked well.
Gripes aside, I read Moguls like I eat Pringles, wishing I'd be working on more consequential potato chips but chowing through them pretty quickly nonetheless (minus the index, bibliography, and an IMDb-ish appendix listing films produced and/or "presented by" Nick, the book weighs in at 256 pages). It's a fun if familiar read for buffs of old Hollywood, even if you'll be wishing for something a little more serious and lot more deeply researched.
October 23, 2024
I wanted new looks at history, and I get by the bucket-load in this knockout book. Never mind who you might think was behind the early days of Hollywood, because it was actually down to two immigrant brothers that time has now forgotten...which seems insane, considering just how much power they wielded in the early 20th century, and just what kind of impact they made on the pop culture universe. An astonishing, brilliantly-told tale of long ago, without any need for rose-tinted nostalgia.
November 3, 2024
The information on the Schenck brothers MAY be accurate, but the authors understanding of Hollywood history is lacking. To cite specific errors: Joe Schenck was Buster Keaton's producer in the 1920s. The book states that Schenck transferred Keaton to MGM after The General (1926), but in fact it was after Steamboat Bill, Jr. in 1928. The book claims that Shirley Temple started her film career at Fox, when she had already made shorts for Educational Pictures and appeared in a Columbia feature. The book states that John Huston's version of The Red Badge of Courage was set in World War I when it was set during the Civil War.
The book is too kind to studio heads being anti-fascist in the 1930s. The studios, with the exception of Warner Bros. kept doing business with Germany until the outbreak of the war in Europe and regularly listened to a representative of the German government who pressured them to not make anti-German films.
I'm going to quote this paragraph about the blacklist years as I found it to be insulting.
"Were there communists in Hollywood in 1947? Well, sure. Of a sort. Were there plots underway to undermine the American Way and overthrow the U.S. government by Hollywood communists? Absolutely not. The group in question was called “the parlor commies,” a group consisting of liberal actors and writers, who liked to sit around someone’s parlor, eat finger sandwiches, wear open-toed sandals, smoke reefers, and discuss existentialism, poetry, and radical politics."
Members of the Hollywood branch of the Communist Party were active for a variety of reasons. Many were anti-fascist. Many were appalled by the conditions of the Depression and saw Communism as a viable alternative to economic collapse. The party was the only one to take an anti-racist stand in the 1930s. Members of the party can be faulted for following Moscow's line and being doctrinaire, but they were important contributors to the formation of the Hollywood unions, raised money for the Republican side during the Spanish civil war and were vocally anti-Nazi.
Joe and Nick Schenck were major players in the formation of the Hollywood studio system and deserve more attention than they have received. Unfortunately, this book is so sloppy historically that it can't be trusted. The brothers deserve better.
The book is too kind to studio heads being anti-fascist in the 1930s. The studios, with the exception of Warner Bros. kept doing business with Germany until the outbreak of the war in Europe and regularly listened to a representative of the German government who pressured them to not make anti-German films.
I'm going to quote this paragraph about the blacklist years as I found it to be insulting.
"Were there communists in Hollywood in 1947? Well, sure. Of a sort. Were there plots underway to undermine the American Way and overthrow the U.S. government by Hollywood communists? Absolutely not. The group in question was called “the parlor commies,” a group consisting of liberal actors and writers, who liked to sit around someone’s parlor, eat finger sandwiches, wear open-toed sandals, smoke reefers, and discuss existentialism, poetry, and radical politics."
Members of the Hollywood branch of the Communist Party were active for a variety of reasons. Many were anti-fascist. Many were appalled by the conditions of the Depression and saw Communism as a viable alternative to economic collapse. The party was the only one to take an anti-racist stand in the 1930s. Members of the party can be faulted for following Moscow's line and being doctrinaire, but they were important contributors to the formation of the Hollywood unions, raised money for the Republican side during the Spanish civil war and were vocally anti-Nazi.
Joe and Nick Schenck were major players in the formation of the Hollywood studio system and deserve more attention than they have received. Unfortunately, this book is so sloppy historically that it can't be trusted. The brothers deserve better.
September 28, 2024
I'm kind of a sucker for old Hollywood stories, especially gossipy ones, and this book delivers! I'm not saying that this book should be considered gossipy, this is brilliant collection of true information. But you have to admit that speculations about "casting couch" mixed with facts about Marilyn Monroe are the best.
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
"Moguls" is a fantastic book with almost 70 years of movie history covered in it. We see two young Russian Jew hustlers working tirelessly to build an empire. Spoiler alert: they succeed. And they create Motion Picture Academy and the Oscars, they create movie theater chains, they create Buster Keaton, they create MGM, they become moguls. And that is not all. One of them bangs starlets, goes to prison for tax fraud AND gets position in not one but two big American banks.
Many years in the making, this book had a hard job connecting and presenting a lot of people to its readers. Sometimes it feels like a big digression, but those "side quests" and stories about people other than Schenck brothers are a great way to explain the surrounding and vibe during the decades of Schencks' reign. I knew a lot of information about Hollywood stars that are mentioned in the book, but it's good to put them in context of entertainment industry that existed before WWII, for example.
If this book gets in your way, digitally or in paper form, that means that algorithms know what you love so be sure to get it. It was compiled with love, that is more than evident, so it deserves the love back.
I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of the book, and I wish it great and long life on everyone's shelves or e-book readers.
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
"Moguls" is a fantastic book with almost 70 years of movie history covered in it. We see two young Russian Jew hustlers working tirelessly to build an empire. Spoiler alert: they succeed. And they create Motion Picture Academy and the Oscars, they create movie theater chains, they create Buster Keaton, they create MGM, they become moguls. And that is not all. One of them bangs starlets, goes to prison for tax fraud AND gets position in not one but two big American banks.
Many years in the making, this book had a hard job connecting and presenting a lot of people to its readers. Sometimes it feels like a big digression, but those "side quests" and stories about people other than Schenck brothers are a great way to explain the surrounding and vibe during the decades of Schencks' reign. I knew a lot of information about Hollywood stars that are mentioned in the book, but it's good to put them in context of entertainment industry that existed before WWII, for example.
If this book gets in your way, digitally or in paper form, that means that algorithms know what you love so be sure to get it. It was compiled with love, that is more than evident, so it deserves the love back.
I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of the book, and I wish it great and long life on everyone's shelves or e-book readers.
November 27, 2025
Moguls is a wildly entertaining, larger than life biography that rips the velvet curtain off early Hollywood and reveals the two brothers who quietly ran the entire empire. Michael Benson and Craig Singer deliver the astonishing, sometimes jaw-dropping story of Nicholas and Joseph Schenck the Russian-immigrant titans whose business instincts, ambition, and ruthlessness shaped the studio system as we know it.
What makes the book so irresistible is the blend of glamour and grit. From nickelodeons on the Bowery to the gilded mansions of both coasts, the Schenck brothers’ journey reads like a real-life epic. The authors pull readers into the Roaring Twenties, the Golden Age of MGM, and the paranoia of the McCarthy era with vivid detail and cinematic flair. Scandals, mob deals, union wars, secret affairs, and Hollywood’s most infamous criminal trials are woven together with razor-sharp storytelling.
The anecdotes are incredible: the birth of the Academy Awards, Joe Schenck’s turbulent entanglement with Marilyn Monroe, Fatty Arbuckle’s defense, and the raw, cutthroat power plays that defined the studio era. It’s history told with swagger, humor, and a keen understanding of an industry built on illusion. For lovers of film history, true crime, and high-stakes power sagas, Moguls is completely absorbing, endlessly dramatic, and impossible to put down.
What makes the book so irresistible is the blend of glamour and grit. From nickelodeons on the Bowery to the gilded mansions of both coasts, the Schenck brothers’ journey reads like a real-life epic. The authors pull readers into the Roaring Twenties, the Golden Age of MGM, and the paranoia of the McCarthy era with vivid detail and cinematic flair. Scandals, mob deals, union wars, secret affairs, and Hollywood’s most infamous criminal trials are woven together with razor-sharp storytelling.
The anecdotes are incredible: the birth of the Academy Awards, Joe Schenck’s turbulent entanglement with Marilyn Monroe, Fatty Arbuckle’s defense, and the raw, cutthroat power plays that defined the studio era. It’s history told with swagger, humor, and a keen understanding of an industry built on illusion. For lovers of film history, true crime, and high-stakes power sagas, Moguls is completely absorbing, endlessly dramatic, and impossible to put down.
December 1, 2024
Being an avid moviegoer, I began this book eager to learn about the origins of the movie picture industry. I hadn’t heard of either Joseph or Nicholas Schenck, and was only familiar in passing with the careers of Buster Keaton, Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle, and Norma Talmadge. I found the beginning and ending of this book to be of the most interest while things slowed down for me in the chapters beginning with the advent of the talkies through that of Joe’s tax trial.
There’s much to be enjoyed in here for lovers of film, including stories of Joe’s friendship with Buster Keaton, the origins of the Oscar awards and the tradition of handprints at the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, Fatty Arbuckle’s sex scandal, the true story of Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, and talk of the early days of Marilyn Monroe. Shelley Winters, who unfairly will always be Mrs. Rosen to me (too many viewings of The Poseidon Adventure I guess), in particular had some funny comments about Marilyn.
I will say that it was disheartening, though not surprising, to read how prevalent the casting couch was back in the day. Here’s hoping things are better now.
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. Thanks to Goodreads and Kensington Publishing for the copy. The above opinions are my own.
There’s much to be enjoyed in here for lovers of film, including stories of Joe’s friendship with Buster Keaton, the origins of the Oscar awards and the tradition of handprints at the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, Fatty Arbuckle’s sex scandal, the true story of Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, and talk of the early days of Marilyn Monroe. Shelley Winters, who unfairly will always be Mrs. Rosen to me (too many viewings of The Poseidon Adventure I guess), in particular had some funny comments about Marilyn.
I will say that it was disheartening, though not surprising, to read how prevalent the casting couch was back in the day. Here’s hoping things are better now.
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. Thanks to Goodreads and Kensington Publishing for the copy. The above opinions are my own.
December 8, 2024
It was a good book, but it was not excellent. There were a few grammatical errors that an editor should have caught prior to publishing. I question any book that uses “Hollywood Babylon” as a source as well. It is pretty well known that most of “Hollywood Babylon” is made up and proven to be not true (Karina Longworth’s podcast “You Must Remember This” does an excellent series covering it). This book claims that Joseph Schneck was the one who invented the Academy Awards when most sources say it was Louis B. Mayer. As a fan of the golden age of Hollywood, it was a subject I enjoyed reading about but I think there are much better books out there.
May 4, 2025
I was very much looking forward to reading this book,so it came as a big disappointment.I found the writing style not to my taste.Lots of imagined dialogue and the excruciating imagined scenes.
It was even more disappointing to see the number of errors.In addition to those already mentioned Earners not MGM made this is the Army,and John Gilbert's infamous "I Love You"speech came in His Glorious Night,not the Hollywood Review.
It was interesting to learn more about Nick Schenk.
How Buster Keaton was unable to hold a bridge against Joe,who singlehandedly brought an end to the great career of one of the all-time greats of the screen remains a mystery.
It was even more disappointing to see the number of errors.In addition to those already mentioned Earners not MGM made this is the Army,and John Gilbert's infamous "I Love You"speech came in His Glorious Night,not the Hollywood Review.
It was interesting to learn more about Nick Schenk.
How Buster Keaton was unable to hold a bridge against Joe,who singlehandedly brought an end to the great career of one of the all-time greats of the screen remains a mystery.
May 14, 2025
What a wonderful look behind the Silver Screen of classic Hollywood and see what happened from the Studio's side. So often a film goer only imagines the final product or the role of the director or.actors. But Benson invited me into a new world and truly expanded my ability to wonder about the history of Hollywood -- especially the very early years.
I did find this book to read slight more like a tabloid than I had expected, but overall this was an eye opening book that has me thinking and wondering about the back stories of so many early films. This is my have rounded up my review from 3.5 🌟 to 4.
Thank you to Goodreads Giveaway for the book that I read.
I did find this book to read slight more like a tabloid than I had expected, but overall this was an eye opening book that has me thinking and wondering about the back stories of so many early films. This is my have rounded up my review from 3.5 🌟 to 4.
Thank you to Goodreads Giveaway for the book that I read.
August 10, 2025
Just finished reading this fascinating deep dive into the movie industry from it's early beginnings to the present day focusing on two of the founding fathers, brothers Joe and Nick Schenck. What lives they lived and what magic they created. Not only do we learn about these two "moguls" and their rags to riches story, but their counterparts, their film stars and the business side of things are vividly described in one anecdote after another. A must read for anyone with an interest in the movies, classic film and the state of the art today. Two thumbs up for Michael Benson and Craig Singer's terrific book.
December 8, 2025
The world needs to know more about the moguls Nicolas and Joseph Schenck, two brothers who rose from the Lower East Side and East Harlem to run amusement parks and the emerging “flickers.” One rose to run MGM and Loews; the other shepherded Buster Keaton and built United Artists.
The facts are stunning. Their sheer power, too. And their reticence to be in the public eye unique.
This book is a labor of love that persisted through the deaths of a film collector and a key writer. This book, written with an eye on a miniseries, only gets part of the way their in showing their scope.
The facts are stunning. Their sheer power, too. And their reticence to be in the public eye unique.
This book is a labor of love that persisted through the deaths of a film collector and a key writer. This book, written with an eye on a miniseries, only gets part of the way their in showing their scope.
October 30, 2024
Truthfully, I never heard of the Schenck brothers, Joe and Nick, but this book opened my eyes to a time forgotten by many people--a pair innovative Russian immigrants arriving in NYC, building Palisades Park, and turning their nickeodeon business into a partnership with Lowe's theaters and then an interest in MGM, 20th Century Fox, and United Artists. They were steadfast through many obstacles and scandals. A fascinating Hollywood story that everyone should know about.
November 17, 2024
Certainly, well research and for the most part, interesting. However, it does go on a bit too long, and some of the details are really sleazy. I enjoyed the book, but I found myself skipping pages when it got a bit boring. For instance, during the trials for taxes, a bit too much information to be really interesting. I found one fact to be really inaccurate. Margaret Hamilton was never hospitalized for three months because of an electrical problem with her broom. It was her understudy.
February 11, 2025
A quick and entertaining read. Nicely frivolous - good antidote to all the chaos in the world at the moment. The story focuses on two brothers, but so many other famous & not so famous characters from the early days of motion pictures are also discussed. This is only a slice of the early days of Hollywood, but definitely gives a good overview of how things got started and how the studios consolidated power.
June 1, 2025
What a great read. This is a very well researched and written book about the beginnings of film and the pioneers that brought it all to us. The book is written a lot like a novel which makes it so much more enjoyable than just a statement of facts. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in film. This is the second book I've read by Michael Benson and would definitely read more.
October 7, 2024
A well written and compelling telling of the making of Hollywood. It was fascinating to find out the histories of some places and practices still in place today and also different takes on several famous scandals.
February 22, 2025
I had no idea...
Researched with the understanding of Hollywood and the movies in mind, this a must read to put the puzzle pieces together of the beginnings of an industry that controlled the essence of our thinking... Good and Bad.
Researched with the understanding of Hollywood and the movies in mind, this a must read to put the puzzle pieces together of the beginnings of an industry that controlled the essence of our thinking... Good and Bad.
October 12, 2024
Moguls is a very interesting story of the Schenck brothers life and the important impact they had on the history of Hollywood.
January 26, 2025
Very good
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews