The story of MGM starts with Louis B. Mayer, the first Hollywood mogul. Mayer, the son of a scrap metal dealer, made his early fortune by distributing D.W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation in New England. Mayer took his money west to Los Angeles and opened Louis B. Mayer Studios.

MGM itself was founded in 1924 when Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures and Mayer merged their three separate companies into one über production entity that promised to deliver "Ars Gratia Artis." (That's Art for Art's Sake for those of us who only speak English.) Leo, the now famous MGM lion mascot, roared, silently, for the first time at the start of the new studio's first film released, and just four years later audiences heard Leo roar for the first time with the advent of motion-picture sound.

Under Mayer, MGM became a true film-factory that managed to live up to its promise to create one feature picture a week, 52 weeks a year! And that number doesn't take into account films produced for advertisers, programmers and product MGM considered to be less prestigious. This steady stream of product flowed from the studio as it expanded, virtually creating the film town of Culver City, California.