Hollywood was not established as a filmmaking community until the 1910s. This section of the Story of the Movies Hollywood Timeline charts the key incidents, developments and milestones in the American film industry from 1878 to 1909 that laid its foundations.

1910 saw the first movie produced in Hollywood and the world's first movie star as the star system is born.

1912 was a busy year for the American film industry: the independents begin eroding the Trust's power, the first US feature films are released, and more...

In 1913 the slow move from shorts to features gathers pace, D. W. Griffith leaves Biograph, his home for the last five years, and Charlie Chaplin signs with Keystone...

1914 saw the swift ascendance of Charlie Chaplin as a major screen star, D. W. Griffith film his epic, The Birth of a Nation, and Cecil B. DeMille make Hollywood's first feature film.

D. W, Griffith's controversial Civil War epic The Birth of a Nation is released to both acclaim and condemnation, and Universal City opens its gates to the public...

With war raging in Europe, Thomas H. Ince releases his anti-war Civilization, while D. W. Griffith's monumental Intolerance is a response to accusations of racism he received for The Birth of a Nation...