History MediaNotes / RiseOfTheTalkies

A further problem with the arrival of sound was that film craftsmanship actually took a step back. By the end of the silent era, films like ''Sunrise'' and ''The Crowd'' as well as comedies by Creator/BusterKeaton showed amazing technical facility in cutting, editing and camera techniques, benefiting greatly from the lightweight cameras that prevailed at the end of the 1920s. The arrival of sound and stage talent, as well as the primitive recording equipment, led many early films to be what Creator/AlfredHitchcock once dismissed as "pictures of people talking" or filmed theatre with little in way of using camera techniques, lighting or background music to tell the story. Sound equipment also led to heavier cameras (most importantly, the soundproofing, known as a sound barney made them HUGE) which made it harder, for some time, to achieve the TrackingShot and other impressive techniques. This helped make [[DrivingADesk rear projection]] the standard way to film driving scenes.

In 1929, the UsefulNotes/{{Academy Award}}s were founded. The first few ceremonies honored movies from the previous two years. In the first ceremony, basically a dinner party with an award ceremony tacked on, Best Picture went to two films: The UsefulNotes/WorldWarI romantic drama ''Film/{{Wings}}'' and the dreamy arthouse romance film ''[[Film/{{Sunrise}} Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans]]''. Whereas most encyclopedic sources list ''Wings'' as sole winner, ''Sunrise'' is better known today due to its critical acclaim and for being the UrExample, TropeMaker or TropeCodifier of many camera and special effects techniques common today, such as tracking shots. This first Academy Awards is often considered to be the last major hurrah for silent films before talkies took over almost completely.

The dawn of talking pictures is generally held to be the year 1927, with the release of ''Film/TheJazzSinger'', the first motion picture to have synchronized sound. Or so its reputation says -- in reality, only a few minutes of the movie had synchronized vocals, with most of the rest being a silent film. It was no matter, though. The first completely all-talking full-length feature movie, ''Film/LightsOfNewYork'', made in 8 days with a $23,000 budget, grossed over a million dollars, despite being hated by critics. Advances in technology combined with the success of ''The Jazz Singer'' meant that, by 1930, "talkies" had completely overtaken [[SilenceIsGolden silent films]].

Synchronized sound also made it possible to put TheMusical on screen, and many singers and musical comedy actors followed Creator/AlJolson into the medium of talking pictures. Some of them, including Eddie Cantor, Creator/IreneDunne and [=Jeanette MacDonald=], succeeded in becoming movie stars; many others ended up having to return to the stage after failing to repeat their stage successes on screen. As for established film stars, their fates in this era varied wildly: for instance, Creator/CharlieChaplin was able to hold out with two major features before moving to full sound while Creator/BusterKeaton was eager to get into sound, but was prevented from doing so right away and eventually lost his artistic freedom until he was demoralized into alcoholism. Many actors lost their jobs for having too thick accents, while Creator/GretaGarbo proved fortunate enough that her Swedish accent fit her image.

Synchronized sound also made it possible to put TheMusical on screen, and many singers and musical comedy actors followed Al Jolson into the medium of talking pictures. Some of them, including Eddie Cantor, Creator/IreneDunne and [=Jeanette MacDonald=], succeeded in becoming movie stars; many others ended up having to return to the stage after failing to repeat their stage successes on screen. As for established film stars, their fates in this era varied wildly: for instance, Creator/CharlieChaplin was able to hold out with two major features before moving to full sound while Creator/BusterKeaton was eager to get into sound, but was prevented from doing so right away and eventually lost his artistic freedom until he was demoralized into alcoholism. Many actors lost their jobs for having too thick accents, while Creator/GretaGarbo proved fortunate enough that her Swedish accent fit her image.

This had several major effects on the entertainment industry. {{Vaudeville}} became DeaderThanDisco virtually overnight, unable to compete with the talkies. Many former vaudeville actors and {{radio}} actors migrated to film to find work. Many silent film actors, including some of the biggest stars, saw their careers ruined by the rise of sound -- some had bad voices or [[OohMeAccentsSlipping thick accents]], others had trouble remembering their lines. Thousands of piano players who had played BackgroundMusic for silent movies also lost their jobs, unless they could compose film music or play piano on-set. Smaller studios that didn't have the money to switch to sound got left behind and went bankrupt, solidifying the power of the "Big Eight" Hollywood studios.

The dawn of talking pictures is generally held to be the year 1927, with the release of ''Film/TheJazzSinger'', the first motion picture to have synchronized sound. Or so its reputation says -- in reality, only a few minutes of the movie had synchronized vocals, with most of the rest being a silent film. It was no matter, though. The first completely all-talking full-length feature movie, ''Film/LightsOfNewYork'', made in 8 days with a 23 000$ budget, grossed over a million dollars, despite being hated by critics. Advances in technology combined with the success of ''The Jazz Singer'' meant that, by 1930, "talkies" had completely overtaken [[SilenceIsGolden silent films]].

[[quoteright:350:[[TheJazzSinger http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Golden_Age_of_Hollywood_7168.jpg]]]]

The dawn of talking pictures is generally held to be the year 1927, with the release of ''TheJazzSinger'', the first motion picture to have synchronized sound. Or so its reputation says -- in reality, only a few minutes of the movie had synchronized vocals, with most of the rest being a silent film. It was no matter, though. The first completely all-talking full-length feature movie, ''Film/LightsOfNewYork'', made in 8 days with a 23 000$ budget, grossed over a million dollars, despite being hated by critics. Advances in technology combined with the success of ''The Jazz Singer'' meant that, by 1930, "talkies" had completely overtaken [[SilenceIsGolden silent films]].

Synchronized sound also made it possible to put TheMusical on screen, and many singers and musical comedy actors followed Al Jolson into the medium of talking pictures. Some of them, including Eddie Cantor, Irene Dunne and [=Jeanette MacDonald=], succeeded in becoming movie stars; many others ended up having to return to the stage after failing to repeat their stage successes on screen. As for established film stars, their fates in this era varied wildly: for instance, Creator/CharlieChaplin was able to hold out with two major features before moving to full sound while Creator/BusterKeaton was eager to get into sound, but was prevented from doing so right away and eventually lost his artistic freedom until he was demoralized into alcoholism. Many actors lost their jobs for having too thick accents, while Creator/GretaGarbo proved fortunate enough that her Swedish accent fit her image.

[[caption-width-right:350:The glitz! The glamor! The BlackFace!]]

A great wave of movie musicals swept the screen in 1929, and studios were already buying up publishing companies and hiring songwriters to write {{Movie Bonus Song}}s. By the end of 1930, the movie musical boom had faded, and [[ExecutiveMeddling nervous studio bosses]] were ordering movie musicals to be stripped of most of their song sequences.

In 1929, the [[AcademyAward The Academy Awards]] were founded. The first few ceremonies honored movies from the previous two years. In the first ceremony, basically a dinner party with an award ceremony tacked on, Best Picture went to two films: The UsefulNotes/WorldWarI romantic drama ''Film/{{Wings}}'' and the dreamy arthouse romance film ''[[Film/{{Sunrise}} Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans]]''. Whereas most encyclopedic sources list ''Wings'' as sole winner, ''Sunrise'' is better known today due to its critical acclaim and for being the UrExample, TropeMaker or TropeCodifier of many camera and special effects techniques common today, such as tracking shots. This first Academy Awards is often considered to be the last major hurrah for silent films before talkies took over almost completely.

The dawn of talking pictures is generally held to be the year 1927, with the release of ''TheJazzSinger'', the first motion picture to have synchronized sound. Or so its reputation says -- in reality, only a few minutes of the movie had synchronized vocals, with most of the rest being a silent film. It was no matter, though. Advances in technology combined with the success of ''The Jazz Singer'' meant that, by 1930, "talkies" had completely overtaken [[SilenceIsGolden silent films]].

Synchronized sound also made it possible to put TheMusical on screen, and many singers and musical comedy actors followed Al Jolson into the medium of talking pictures. Some of them, including Eddie Cantor, Irene Dunne and [=Jeanette MacDonald=], succeeded in becoming movie stars; many others ended up having to return to the stage after failing to repeat their stage successes on screen. As for established film stars, their fates in this era varied wildly: for instance, Creator/CharlieChaplin was able to hold out with two major features before moving to full sound while Creator/BusterKeaton was eager to get into sound, but was prevented from doing so right away and eventually lost his artistic freedom until he was demoralized into alcoholism. Many actors lost their jobs for having too thick accents, while Creator/GarboGarbo proved fortunate enough that her Swedish accent fit her image.

Synchronized sound also made it possible to put TheMusical on screen, and many singers and musical comedy actors followed Al Jolson into the medium of talking pictures. Some of them, including Eddie Cantor, Irene Dunne and [=Jeanette MacDonald=], succeeded in becoming movie stars; many others ended up having to return to the stage after failing to repeat their stage successes on screen. A great wave of movie musicals swept the screen in 1929, and studios were already buying up publishing companies and hiring songwriters to write {{Movie Bonus Song}}s. By the end of 1930, the movie musical boom had faded, and [[ExecutiveMeddling nervous studio bosses]] were ordering movie musicals to be stripped of most of their song sequences.