Nickelodeon must have been a labor of love for Peter Bogdanovich as both a
filmmaker and film historian. Whatever else you can say about Nickelodeon it
was certainly meticulously researched.
This film is a portrait of the early years of motion pictures. Forthose who doubt the veracity of the film you can find stories like this in the autobiography of
Cecil B. DeMille. Back in the early teen years DeMille went to Californiawith
his troop and made The Squaw Man against the trust who are the villains here.
His name is not mentioned, but the trust was an effort by Thomas Edison to control all aspects of film making with patents. Unfortunately while it is arguable he was the first to invent moving pictures, he was not alone. Melies
in France and Friese-Greene in Great Britain were doing te same work not to mention others in the USA. Ultimately Edison lost the patent wars as portrayed here.
Lawyer Ryan O'Neal and conman Burt Reynolds become director and action star working for Brian Keith an independent producer. They also become romantic rivals for Jane Hitchcock.
Tatum O'Neal as a nicepartas a precocious adolescent with a good imagination who becomes a screenwriter. John Ritter is an early cameramanand Stella Stevens another actress.
I'm surprised at the tepid reviews that Nickelodeon got. It's a well crafted film
that shows the love Peter Bogdanovich has for his profession.
