Early movies didn’t have sound. A piano player in the theater played music along with the film, and there were no spoken words in any movie. The actors’ words were flashed on the screen in between scenes.
Then in 1926, a movie called Don Juan appeared with a sound track. But the sound track was separate from the film, and was simply played in the theater along with the movie. Also, there was no dialogue on the sound track, only music.
The Jazz Singer, first shown in 1927, is often called the first real “talking” picture because it contained a few words of dialogue in addition to music. But this film wasn’t an all-talking picture. The first movie that was really a talking picture as we know it, with all dialogue on the sound track, appeared in 1928, and was called The Lights of New York.
The first full-length color movie ever shown, Toll of the Sea, appeared in 1922, five years before the first talking picture!
Related Posts
-
Why Did John Banvard Paint a Picture Three Miles Long?
Yes, it's possible. An artist named John Banvard did it. He began by traveling up and down the Mississippi River, making thousands of sketches. When he had sketched enough, he went home and,…
-
How Much Does the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Oscar Weigh?
Recipients of the Academy Award, commonly known as the Oscar, always seem to be surprised at its weight. The Oscar was designed in 1928 by Cedric Gibbons (1893-1960), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's chief art director. The…
-
How does the Motion Picture Association of America rate movies?
Movie ratings are determined by a board of seven, six members and a chairman, within the Classification and Rating Administration (CARA), under the auspices of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). The…
-
How does a Polaroid picture develop in broad daylight?
Each frame in a pack of Polaroid film is a self contained unit that serves as film, darkroom, and finished print. It works its sorcery in the seventeen chemical layers crammed with great…
-
How does the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences decide who gets nominated for Oscars?
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has 4,830 members, each with expertise in some branch of the film industry, who nominate their peers for the various Oscars. Cinematographers nominate cinematographers; directors…
-
Where does the expression “talking through one’s hat” come from and What does it mean?
The expression "talking through one's hat" means: To talk nonsense; to indulge in fanciful dreams. Just how this expression came into everyday American speech is now a mystery. From the printed evidence it's…
