Three Palm Trees Productions
THE STORY
Laemmle's List:
When You Save A Life, You Save A World.
One woman's quest to discover the unsung impact of her ancestor, Carl Laemmle,
one of Hollywood's founders, who rescued Jews from the Holocaust.
In this fascinating documentary, filmmaker Deborah Fletcher Blum embarks on a deeply personal journey to uncover the hidden heroism of her great-grandfather's first cousin, Carl Laemmle, a Hollywood trailblazer and one of Universal Studios founding figures.​ A largely unsung hero, Laemmle used his influence to save Jews from Nazi Germany, yet his courageous efforts remain scarcely acknowledged by Hollywood today.​
What begins as a heartfelt mission to learn about “Uncle Carl” evolves into a powerful quest for lost history and family truth. Husband and filmmaker, Warren I. Blum, and their 11-year-old, Esther, join Deborah to travel from California to Germany, as they trace the stories of three families Carl sponsored, and uncover what became of Deborah's great-grandparents under the Nazis.
Along the way, they encounter modern-day Germans dedicated to preservation, memory and reconciliation — revealing a moving journey of courage, hope and redemption.
The Life of Carl Laemmle
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​​Carl Laemmle’s favorite saying was “It Can Be Done!” Born in 1867, he left his hometown of Laupheim, Germany, at seventeen to seek his fortune in America. Popular Dime Novels about cowboys inspired him. His road to become founder of Universal Studio was not easy. Learning English and adapting to life in America proved challenging. Carl's experience working as an apprentice to a stationer in Germany helped; and he was a reliable, friendly person, so people liked him.
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He became a salesman in Chicago, then the manager of a clothing store in Osh Kosh, Wisconsin. He lost his job just when motion pictures were just getting started in the early 1900s. Films were short, silent reels drawing in crowds of immigrants. Carl decided to go into business for himself and open a Nickelodeon Theater. He called it the White Front and hoped that the cleanliness would appeal to families with children, who so far had stayed away from the raucous crowds that frequented the Nickelodeon venues.
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A few years earlier, he and Recha Stern had married. They now two young children, Rosebelle and Julius. The White Front theater was a success. Business boomed; Carl opened more theaters and then became a film distributor with offices around the United States. His success provoked Thomas Edison and his Motion Picture Trust; Carl refused to join and insisted on staying "Independent." Joining with other independent production companies for distribution, he began producing his own films, bought a chicken ranch on the edge of Hollywood and named it Universal City.
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Universal City was the home of Universal Studios and Universal Pictures; it was the first film making city in the world, where all aspects of film production took place: filming, writing, editing, costume making and set production. There was even a post office and a zoo. Early silent films include: The Phantom of the Opera, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Tom Mix Westerns, directed by Carl Laemmle's nephew Eddie Laemmle, and more. Sound arrived in the 1930s and Carl's son, Junior, took over as head of production. He created the horror genre with hits like: Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy and The Bride of Frankenstein. Carl Jr also produced All Quiet on the Western Front, which won Universal it's first Academy Award for best production in 1930.
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Recha Stern Laemmle passed away in 1919 from the Spanish Flu. Carl's daughter Rosabelle married producer Stanley Bergerman and they had two children. Junior continued to create high budget films but financial difficulties led to the bank taking over the studio in 1936.
Carl retired in 1936 and alarmed by the Nazi takeover of Germany and the attacks against Jews, turned his attention to helping his fellow German Jews escape Nazi Germany. He wrote letters to media outlets and politicians, urging them to speak out against Hitler, and began signing affidavits for people seeking to emigrate to the United States. He received hundreds of requests and was only able to rescue a few hundred. He passed away in September of 1939, just as Hitler was invading Poland. But he asked his relatives and friends to continue to help.