GLITZ & GLAMOUR
JOIN US FOR A JAUNT, "dahling"
Get ready to experience the ultimate Hollywood adventure!
Join the Screenland 5K's 100-year celebration of sensational stars, iconic motion pictures, and groundbreaking film technologies on Oscar Sunday, March 2, 2025, in the Heart of Screenland.
Thanks to the magic of Culver City film historians and a cast of Hollywood's greatest stars, you can follow the yellow brick road to Glitz, Glamour, Glory & Gold.
Enter the glitz of the roaring 20s silent movies and talkies, and indulge in the glamour of MGM's golden age. March to the glory of heroic battles and Westerns and race into television's golden post-war era. Beware the paparazzi as you walk on the red carpet, flash your finisher's medal, and enjoy Oscar party treats and awards presentations at the Health and Fitness expo before tuning in to the 97th annual Academy Awards!
GLITZ
Culver City's risqué and roaring '20s to the precode era of the mid '30s.
Shows: Broadway Melody, The Kiss, Greatest Show on Earth, The Divorce, Jazz Singer, Big Parade, Flesh and Devil and The Wind
Celebrities: Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, Al Jolson, Norma Shearer, Lilian Gish, Ramon Navarro, King Video, Lon Chaney and Cecil B. DeMille
GLAMOUR
Style, elegance, and silk of MGM's Golden Era.
Shows: Grand Hotel, Cabin in the Sky (first all-black movie), Bathing Beauty, On the Town, Singing in the Rain. Easter Parade, Silk Stockings, Melody, Dream Factory, Father of the Bride, High Society, Gigi, American in Paris
Celebrities: Esther Williams, Irving Thalberg, Joan Crawford, Billie Burke, Jean Harlow, Wallace Beery, John & Lionel Barrymore, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Gene Kelly, Judy Garland, James Stewart, Dorothy Lamour, Clark Gable, Charles Laughton and David O Selznick. Culver City resident George Hurrell glamourized the world's greatest stars as MGM's acclaimed photographer.
GLORY
Thrills of war time movies and westerns.
Shows: Mutiny on the Bounty, Goodbye Mr. Chips, How the West was Won, Dr. Zhivago, Anchors Away, Hit the Deck, Pride of the Yankees, Jewel in the Sun, Ice Station Zebra and Typhoon.
Celebrities: Charlton Heston, Robert Taylor, Frank Sinatra, Jane Powell, Tony Martin, Debbie Reynolds, Walter Pidgeon, Ann Miller, Gary Cooper, Gregory Peck and John Wayne
GOLD
Motion picture Americana and television's golden era.
Shows: Andy Griffith Show, Hogan’s Heroes, Baywatch, Combat, The Adventures of Superman, Gomer Pyle, Lassie, The Untouchables, Peyton Place, That Girl, The Lucy Show, My Three Sons, Abbott and Costello, Ozzie and Harriet, Father Knows Best, Leave It to Beaver, Donna Reed, Your Show of Shows, The Honeymooners, The Jack Benny Program, The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, I Love Lucy, The Phil Silvers Show, Topper, Sgt. Bilko, Car 55 Where Are You?, Dick Van Dyke Show, My Little Margie, People’s Choice, Life Of Riley, Make Room For Daddy, Dobie Gillis, December Bride, Mr. Ed, My Favorite Martian and Beverly Hillbillies.
STREETS COME ALIVE
Many of the "greatest stories ever told" in the past century were revealed here in Culver City, and Screenland 5K Creative Director Lori Escalera and film historian Chris Bungo articulate them with motion picture glitz, glamour, glory & gold.
Bungo photographed locations of storied movie and TV scenes along the race course without the aid of a film crew to block the streets for him.
"I would run to the middle of the street to get the shot and dash back to the sidewalk to avoid oncoming traffic. The fun part of the job was to overlay my photo onto the original film frame,” said Bungo.
Bungo started his budding film career by documenting Hal Roach Studio productions. “I loved doing the research,” said Bungo.
She especially enjoyed featuring the silent movies this year, noting that body language and other nonverbal communication masterfully tell the story.
"I hated silent films, but now I appreciate them and find talking movies foreign," Escalera said with a smile.
Guests will encounter tales in visual and performing arts as they follow the yellow brick road celebrating a century of iconic Culver City movies and television shows.
Student art will complement interpretive cinematic artwork while musicians and actors engage guests.
"We'll be honoring many cultures and identities, and there will be something for everyone," Escalera said.
Experience 100 years of Culver City cinema map by Escalera, featuring glitz, glamour, glory & gold in 100 points of filmmaking along the Screenland 5K route. The map also features the Heart of Screenland's iconic film history in 100 scenes of movie lore for the Culver City Centennial Celebration in 2017 and another section for the 2024 race to honor underrepresented talent in films of the past century.
BATMAN SOARS, LASSIE COMES HOME
As you begin your journey into glitz, glamour, glory & gold, imagine Adam “Batman” West chasing the Joker on Ince, Fred “Hunter” Dryer fighting criminals by City Hall, and Erik “CHiPs” Estrada citing a driver on Culver Blvd.
You will pass locations where Aunt Bea and Andy Griffith admonished Opie, King Kong grabbed Fay Wray, Janet Gaynor eyed Fredric March, Ingrid Bergman protected Gregory Peck, Kevin Hart conspired with his brothers, Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin got into mischief, Lucille Ball evoked laughter and love, Hardy rebuked Laurel, Tony Curtis and Marilyn Monroe escaped gangsters, Lassie came home, Tron became a freedom fighter, and ET flew.
You'll also encounter scene locations from Charlie’s Angels, Twilight Zone, Cougar Town, Bones, Perry Mason, and Wonder Years.
The slide show below features a few of the almost 100 motion picture standees along your journey into glitz, glamour, glory & gold.
LAUGHTER AT THE START
The 2025 Screenland 5K starts opposite the former Hal Roach Studios, called the "Laugh Factory to the World." It produced numerous Our Gang and Laurel & Hardy comedies and later created World War 2 training films featuring actors Ronald Reagan and Alan Ladd. Across the street was Sebastian's Cotton Club, where jazz musician Louis Armstrong often played. Further east of the race's starting point lies the East Culver City Arts District and the historic Helms Bakery, the official supplier for the 1932 Olympic Games and the previous site of the Helms Olympic Athletic Foundation.
The slide show below features scenes near the race start and finish.
SPIDEY AND THE SMURFS
Begin the Screenland5K by following the yellow brick road west down "Wagon Pass" (Washington Bl.), notorious for its nightclubs, gambling, and bootlegging. It transformed into the city's economic engine with various industries and car dealerships. Stroll by the gates of Sony Pictures Animation, home of Spiderman, Garfield, The Smurfs, and Hotel Transylvania.
MAKING TRACKS
Soon, you'll venture north on Ince and encounter Ivy Substation, featured in train scenes from classic Hal Roach films. It's now home to the "Actors' Gang" theater, directed by Oscar-winning actor Tim Robbins.
The slide show below features motion picture scenes from Ivy Substation.
MAINLY SHORT
Next, you'll stride along the nation's smallest Main Street. This part of downtown Culver City was the hub of half of America's film production in the 1940s, providing affordable entertainment throughout the wartime era.
The slide show below features motion picture scenes on Main Street.
LEGENDARY GUESTS
Jog past the wedge-shaped century-old Culver Hotel, known for its legendary ownership and notable guests of film and politics. Further along your route, you'll encounter the iconic Culver Theater, which showcased first-run Culver City-Hollywood movies. It's now Center Theater Group's Kirk Douglas Theatre.
You'll be jogging on the street that housed the 1984 LA Olympics headquarters, the only time in the modern era when the Games command center was outside the host city.
The slide show below features scenes from the hotel and theater.
POT OF GOLD
Passing by the storied gates of Sony Pictures Studios, formerly the century-old Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, you can see "The Rainbow," an installation inspired by "The Wizard of Oz," soaring within. Soon, you'll stroll by Backstage, the famous movie studio watering hole, where you can feel the vibrant energy that thrived while filming classics such as The Wizard of Oz, A Star is Born, and Gone with the Wind in the 1930s.
The slide show below features Sony Pictures Studios scenes.
LANDMARK HAVEN
Skirt near the marker and plaque in front of Veterans Auditorium, commemorating the start and finish line of the Western Hemisphere Marathon. It was the oldest consecutively run marathon west of the Mississippi and the first to allow women to compete alongside men. Returning east, you will pass landmarks such as the venerated post office, the façade of City Hall, and Fire Station Number One. Additionally, you will pass the location of Olympian Esther Williams' extravagant swimming pool film sequences and the contemporary Culver Steps, a backdrop for numerous movie scenes throughout the century. You'll run on the path parallel to the two-mile stretch of the 1984 LA Olympic Games marathon course through Culver City.
The slide show below features motion picture scenes from City Hall and the fire station.
PAPARAZZI AWAIT
Jog past the historic Culver Studios, where Bette Davis, Robert Mitchum, Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn, Fred Astaire, and Ginger Rogers rose to fame. Music icons Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson rehearsed there. Silent film pioneer Thomas Ince, legendary director Cecil B. DeMille, business magnate Howard Hughes, and comedic pair Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball took turns with ownership. Now, Amazon Pictures, which owns the century-old MGM film library, produces shows on the refurbished sound stages.
As you run up Washington Blvd. towards the finish line at Ivy Station, watch out for the paparazzi.
The slide show below features scenes from Culver Studios and its environs along Washington Bl.
