Vitaphone: Talking Pictures

The Vitaphone sound-on-disc process was one of the first to answer Harry Warner’s famous question, "Who wants to hear actors talk?"

Hollywood’s first viable attempt to join sound recording with motion pictures, the process involved the synchronization of projector and turntable, and it worked wonderfully, unless the film broke or the needle skipped. Film fans are familiar with a number of early Vitaphone sound features, such as The Jazz Singer and Don Juan, but they many may not be aware of the more than 1,000 films produced by Warner Bros.' Vitaphone short subjects division between 1926 and 1930. Many are the only records of famous vaudeville and musical acts of the era. Now, thanks to the heroic efforts of the Vitaphone Project, Warner Bros., and the UCLA Film & Television Archive, many of these cinematic time capsules are being preserved and introduced to contemporary audiences. Tonight's program includes shorts featuring George Burns and Gracie Allen, Al Jolson, Spencer Tracy, and Edger Bergen. (approx. 90 mins., 35mm)

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Preserved by the UCLA Film & Television Archive. Visit vitaphoneproject.com for more information.

Continue reading for program details. A Plantation Act (1926; with Al Jolson, one of the earliest Vitaphone shorts)
Twinkle Twinkle (1927; with Joe E. Brown)
Hawaiian Nights (1927; Hawaiian musical group)
The Cowboy and the Girl (1928; with Mayer & Evans, well-known musical/comedy act of the day)
A Rope and a Story (1928; with Tex McCleod, rope trick artist)
Harlem Mania (1929; with the Norman Thomas Quintet)
The Child Wonder (1929; with Baby Rose Marie, yes, THAT Rose Marie)
Lambchops (1929; with George Burns and Gracie Allen, their first appearance on screen)
The Hard Guy (1930; with Spencer Tracy, one of his earliest film appearances)
The Operation (1930; with Edgar Bergen, his first screen appearance)