| In the mid-1920s, the film industry had met its new | | | | in from New York to direct the actors who mostly |
| rival: the radio. Because of it, a lot of people stopped | | | | did not know how to talk in their roles. It turned out |
| going to the movies and the movie industry was | | | | that many romantic leading men had squeaky voices |
| threatened. Amazingly however, scientists in the | | | | and their leading ladies did not have alluring voices. |
| United States and abroad had simultaneously | | | | The rise of sound pictures became the end of a lot a |
| discovered a way to add sound to silent pictures. | | | | silent screen stars. It also led to the fall of the great |
| This discovery would save the film industry. The first | | | | pantomime comics.Sound pictures were made into |
| sound pictures made were short films of concert | | | | musical comedies. The Coconut in 1929 introduced |
| performances. The movie produced sounds and | | | | the four Marx Brothers. They brought a new kind of |
| music of the performers which thrilled the audience | | | | noisy farce. This brand of comedy depended much |
| very much. The people started returning to the | | | | on the humor of the dialogue and the art of |
| movies.But it would not be until October of 1927 with | | | | pantomime. These madcap comedians however |
| a film called The Jazz Singer that the possibilities of | | | | eventually faded. A new kind of comedy was |
| sound were revealed. The Jazz Singer starred Al | | | | developed to fill the void left by the comedians. They |
| Jolson and had three song numbers and a few lines | | | | introduced talking pictures known as sophisticated |
| of spoken dialogue. Aside from these, it was a silent | | | | comedy which placed wise guys in unexpected |
| movie but the audiences were raving over it. The | | | | situations. Memorable performers in these roles were |
| Jazz Singer was known as the movie that "talked" | | | | Carole Lombard, Irene Dunne and William Powell.Soon |
| and was called a "talkie". The movie fascinated | | | | after the production of sound films came the |
| thousands and packed the theaters. The radio had | | | | gangster pictures. The earliest gangster films were |
| met its match.With the success of The Jazz Singer, | | | | inspired by prohibition racketeering. Movies like Little |
| the full transition from silent to all-talking movies | | | | Caesar of 1930 and Public Enemy in 1931 had violent |
| would take over a year. The delay was due to many | | | | melodramas that introduced a harsh reality to the |
| technical problems. The equipment had to be | | | | audience. These movies introduced a new batch of |
| perfected and the sound projectors and soundtracks | | | | masculine stars with the likes of James Cagney, |
| had to be standardized so that films can be shown in | | | | Edward Robinson, Spencer Tracy and Clark |
| all theaters. Then, the theaters had to be installed | | | | Gable.After the gangster movies, films in different |
| with the sound projectors. Also, talking movies | | | | genres were made. With this began the Golden Age |
| introduced a new set of problems concerning writing, | | | | of Sound. Shown on the screens were fine dramas, |
| directing and acting. The writers had to write dialogs | | | | comedies and action-adventure films. Also strong |
| and the actors had to learn how to say them. To | | | | were the musicals with Jeanette MacDonald and |
| solve this problem, stage playwrights and | | | | Nelson Eddy operettas and the dancing team of Fred |
| top-of-the-line dramatic authors were recruited to | | | | Astaire and Ginger Rogers as the favorites. |
| write the dialogue. Stage directors were also rushed | | | | |