Celebrating 110 Years of Hollywood History On the Peninsula

With the recent passing of the 92nd annual Academy Awards show it's a great time to reflect on the impressively long history of motion pictures.

In May of 2020 it will be 110 years since the movie Unchanging Sea, filmed in Palos Verdes was released. A D.W. Griffith production starring America's sweetheart Mary Pickford, just a young woman of about 18 years old in 1910, still survives today.

The story of fishermen, their wives and lives could have been filmed anywhere along what would have been miles and miles of deserted beaches, but the beautiful Peninsula coastline was selected as the perfect backdrop. The location scout, whoever they were, was certainly wise.

The movie is less than 15 minutes in length and is not well known today, but it provides invaluable insight into the early days of motion pictures before the first talkie, The Jazz Singer, which was released in 1927.

Stylistically motion pictures are nothing like this early example. Watching it is genuinely a trip back in time.

Though the Palos Verdes Peninsula has changed dramatically from what it would have been like in 1910, the coastline is still recognizable to long time residents that cling to and appreciate it's enduring beauty.

It's ready for its close up.