Bela Lugosi kicks off the phenomenon that would become UNIVERSAL HORROR.

The origins of Hollywood's first film franchise come from "German Expressionism" and films like Nosferatu, the Vampire and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.

Today, the movie landscape is dominated by franchises.  From some that started in the 1970's like STAR WARS and HALLOWEEN to the current clash between Super Hero titans MARVEL and DC, Hollywood just can't resist pumping out sequel after sequel of recycled content to the salivating audiences.

But what if I told you that franchises were nothing new.  There's one, in fact, that goes back almost 100 years.  It gave life to some of the most famous characters in movie history and laid the foundation and techniques for every single film that followed in its path.  This franchise is not only Hollywood's greatest but it was also its first.  It was called...UNIVERSAL HORROR.

So, join me, Brendan Lee, for a new season of FROM SILENT TO STREAMING, where over the next 5 weeks we will go back in time almost a century to discover the origin and legacy of Hollywood's original "Film Franchise."

SEASON 3:  UNIVERSAL HORROR  begins March 1st.

The Searchers, John Ford's classic Western which gave birth to the anti-hero sect of the Western genre had a direct influence on one of the greatest films of the 1970's, Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver.

Inspired by John Ford, Akira Kurosawa went onto a legendary filmmaking career by using and expanding John Ford's legendary style.

John Ford's influence on Orson Welles inspired Welles to use ace cinematographer Gregg Toland, who shot The Grapes of Wrath and The Long Voyage Home in 1940 for Ford, just prior to shooting Citizen Kane.

John Ford arrives in Hollywood and works his way up from actor/stuntman to Hollywood legend.  The seeds of Ford's brilliance finally come to fruition with a pair of classics in the 1930's, THE INFORMER(1935) and STAGECOACH(1939).

Season 2 of FROM SILENT TO STREAMING will be the first edition of 'The Director's Spotlight.'  Kicking things off is an in depth analysis of the legendary John Ford.

Ava Duvernay's groundbreaking second feature about a young African-American medical student struggling with family conflicts and the threat of her husband remaining in prison is explored.  The film earned Duvernay the "BEST DIRECTOR" prize at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival which catapulted her into larger projects such as the Oscar nominated "SELMA".

From 2019, The Farewell, is a film by Lulu Wang. The film follows Billie as she copes with her family's decision to follow a Chinese custom and withhold her grandmother's diagnosis of terminal lung cancer.  Through this family crisis, Wang explores the culture clash of East vs West through the experiences of her main character played by an excellent Awkwafina(*Best Actress/Golden Globe).