The early years of the Motion Picture saw such films as The Shiek (1915), The Birth Of A Nation (1915), Nosferatu (1922), Wings (1927), Metropolis (1927) and one of my personal favorites and one of the last silent movies ever made Pandora's Box (1929) have long and profitable runs but the ever changing landscape of technology was about to put the silent movie on its hit list and by the end of the 1920's the silent movie would be a ghost of the past. The demise of the Silent Movie would begin in 1927 with the release of the first "talkie" motion picture entitled The Jazz Singer (Director Alan Crosland Cinematographer Hal Mohr) which starred Al Jolson as Jakie Rabinowitz, a Jewish boy growing up in New York who defies his parents, in particular his father Cantor Rabinowitz (Warner Oland), by pursuing a career as a jazz singer instead of a cantor. The film would be a defining moment in the history of cinema as it is the first full length motion picture (runtime 89 minutes) to have audio sequence's in it using the Warner Brothers Vitaphone sound on disc system. Here's how Vitaphone worked. The dialog and or musical tracks are recorded on a 12 or 16 inch phonograph record which is played separately as the film is being shown. The projector and phonograph player are mechanically connected so that as the projector is rolling the film it is also turning the record at 33 1/3 rpm's. Synchronizing the record to the film or vice versa was the key to Vitaphone's success the projectionists had to manually align the phonograph needle at a predetermined mark on the record before the projector could be started and the film had to be fed through the projector up to a preset mark as well. These two things had to be done correctly or the audio and video would be out of sync. This tedious process did however have its rewards, Vitaphone used Electronic Amplification which allowed the record to be played at comfortable audio levels to a large audience also the Fidelity of Vitaphone provided a crisp clear sound but Vitaphone also had its drawbacks. Problems such as the disc becoming scratched and skipping or arriving to the theater damaged or simply wearing out (the disc were only good for 20 playbacks) were all things that could spell disaster for the projectionists and/or cause headaches for the unfortunate theater manager. These things alone or combined were not enough to start the decline of the sound on disc system but what was on the horizon would be.
The Sound on Film process would be the next advancement in Motion Picture production, eliminating the need for phonograph records, players and synchronization marks as well as eliminating the unexpected like records arriving broken or being misrouted. Western Electric would be one of the first company's to develop the Sound On Film system that would be used on full length motion pictures. The most common way of producing Sound on Film in the early days of motion pictures was the Optical Method and here's how it worked. A transparent line would be recorded alongside the film (the transparent line was for the audio) as the film would roll through the projector it would pass through an Audio Pickup. An Exciter Lamp would then shine a beam of light through a lens that was focused on the area of the transparent strip of film. The light would pass through this piece of film and onto an Optical Sensor which would convert the light waves into electrical current. These currents would then be sent to a Pre Amplifier which would give them a boost then they would go to the Amplifier and finally to the theaters Speaker System. As you can see the Sound on Film system was far more practical and reliable than the Sound on Disc system. One of the first full length films to use the Western Electric sound on film system would be the 1930 release All Quiet On The Western Front (Director Lewis Milestone Cinematographer Arthur Edeson). This film is an important part of the Motion Picture timeline because in addition to it being an early example of Sound on Film it also provided a realistic account of the mechanized horrors as well as the everyday hardships encountered by the German foot soldier during World War 1.
Wizard Of Oz Lunch Box
The film is based on the German novel Im Westen nichts Neues which was written by Erich Maria Remarque (1898-1970) and gives his version of what he lived through during his tour of duty as a soldier in the German army during World War 1. The screenplay, which was written by George Abbot (1887-1995), follows the new recruits from basic training all the way up to the front line battles with the French Army. It shows the wretched living conditions that they had to endure while serving on the front and the food shortages that sometimes occurred. The battle scenes are somewhat graphic and the special effects are some of the best that you will see for a War movie made during that era. This is a straight forward film that was made to shock its audience in a way that would hopefully make them realize and understand the reality's of war and the senseless destruction and loss of human lives that it creates. The film was shot at different locations in Southern California and at the RKO Pathe Studios. At the time the movie was made there were many German veterans of World War 1 living in or near the Los Angele's area and many of them were brought in as extras and technical advisors. The film did very well in the U. S but many country's in Europe banned the film due to its inflammatory content nonetheless the film won the 1930 Oscar for Best Picture and best Director If ever there was a film that exemplifies the words spoken by General Williman Tecumseh Sherman (1820-1891) that "War Is Hell" that film would be All Quiet On The Western Front.
These 2 films are excellent examples of how sound was incorporated into the Motion Picture and the lasting effect that it has had on its audience. The Sound On Disc System was quickly becoming just a memory as was the Silent Film, both caught under the fast moving wheels of technology. In part 3 we'll look at how special effects have left their mark on Motion Pictures and how two films, The Wizard Of Oz and Gone With The Wind would lead the way.