'You Must Remember this: The Warner Bros. Story,' on PBS' 'American Masters'

The Orlando Sentinel (MCT) - Warner Bros. has told many stellar stories. But the studio stumbles with its own in "You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story."

The five-hour documentary is a scrapbook of classic clips and self-congratulation. PBS' "American Masters" presents this superficial salute at 9 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Sept. 25.

Make no mistake: The catalog is impressive. Warner knows violence, from "Little Caesar" to "Bonnie and Clyde" to "The Dark Knight." The studio's roster of tough-talking stars extends from James Cagney and Bette Davis to Clint Eastwood and George Clooney.

Yet this maddening program morphs from nostalgic journey about stars and movies to irritating ad about executives, tent-pole movies, franchises and box-office grosses. Need a primer of what's wrong with movies? Here it is.

If you wonder why so much time is lavished on Eastwood, he is narrator and executive producer. The series examines his lesser work while bypassing "Johnny Belinda," the Judy Garland version of "A Star Is Born" and TV hits, such as "ER" and "The West Wing."

Director-writer Richard Schickel has said the studio is the star of his film, yet the films matter most. The early hours put viewers in movie heaven.

The studio's first great star was four-legged "Rin Tin Tin." Cagney struts patriotically in "Yankee Doodle Dandy" and goes off the deep end in "White Heat." Davis suffers a wardrobe malfunction in "Jezebel" and gets the greatest movie makeover in "Now, Voyager." Errol Flynn swashbuckles, Joan Crawford suffers, and Humphrey Bogart goes gaga over Ingrid Bergman in "Casablanca."

The third hour charts the 1950s, when Doris Day and James Dean flourished, and the 1960s, days when the fare ranged from "My Fair Lady" and "The Wild Bunch."

Hour four pays tribute Eastwood, Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg and "The Exorcist." Hour five gives you more Eastwood, plus Clooney, The Matrix and Harry Potter.

The inventory is impressive, but the presentation is tedious. The effect? Less "Here's looking at you, kid" (from "Casablanca") and more "What we've got here is a failure to communicate" (from "Cool Hand Luke"). Bette, Bogie and Bugs Bunny all deserved better.

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© 2008, The Orlando Sentinel (Fla.).