1927: The Jazz Singer - How The Movies Learnt To Talk.

The Jazz Singer was the first feature length film to feature synchronised music and dialogue, but that does not mean that it was the first film in history to feature sound. In this video we will be discussing the impact of the jazz singer on Hollywood, the development of the talkies and the invention of synchronised sound in movies. What was the first film with Sound and how was it invented?
The Jazz Singer stars Al Jolson as the son of a Jewish cantor who turns his back on his father and his religion in pursuit of fame, love and music.
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[@lewschatzer8217]

One of my first jobs in Hollywood was on the KTLA lot. That lot was formerly the Warner Brothers Studio where the jazz singer was shot. I had a small office on that lot and one day the power went off in my office and I call the building maintenance guy to fix it. He asked me what room I was in and I told him this little room on stage 4. He said that was Jolson's dressing room. Sure enough we went to the fuse box ( yes actual fuses) and, one fuse with labeled Jolson's dressing room. That was my first interesting brush with Hollywood history.

[@brianweinshenker6227]

That is a great story!!!

[@AK-fk8zo]

As revolutionary as this was (sound being introduced to feature films between 1926 and 1930), what's even more incredible is that King Kong was released in 1933 - imagine the look on people's faces watching that for the first time a mere 3 years after the introduction of sound. If you think about it, that was such a huge leap forward in technical achievement from sound in such a short space of time.

[@D_Marrenalv]

Agreed wholeheartedly!

[@thevenator3955]

Can you imagine being a part of the first showing of that movie? Being part of something so amazing, so revolutionary, so impressive, and knowing how important a moment it would become in history

[@timonsteup2877]

Sure. Remember Avatar? Or Avengers?

[@Gmthekiller]

@@timonsteup2877 avengers? Don't make me laugh.

[@AJ-dx6bn]

Avengers! Avengers! Avengers!

[@youchoob8090]

Hard to believe they all thought it was just some cheap gimmick, and that Leon Schlesinger and the Warner Bros nearly went bankrupt from this one little picture

[@CaptTerrific]

don't stop until you complete the entire series - these are super informative, perfectly paced, use great examples... bravo!!

[@andrastereminiec6201]

The Jazz singer was 90 % silent& 10 % sound... The Jazz Singer was the movie that helped the film industry eventually switch to all sound movies...talkies..

[@bobbyfrancis8957]

No, according to Ripley's Believe it or Not, "The Jazz Singer" was a 23 percent talkie.

[@1970Dobby]

Bottom Line...IT WASN'T ALL SOUND! Regardless of being considered the 1st sound film, It's mostly a Silent Film!

[@OGRE_HATES_NERDS]

@@1970Dobby yeah but its the first feature film with synchronized sound dialogue thats all , its nothing to argue about

[@sanfranciscoprofessor2577]

Bravo! I've been teaching film in my college courses for many years and I was amazed by the scholarly accuracy, and impressed by the rightness of the clip choices, several of which even I have never seen. Please keep the histories compressed and short like this. They can be attached to emails or embedded in online courses, which really are the wave of the future for working class students. Great work.

[@NickOwens]

Part 2 is The Jazz Singer, I knew it! Would have loved to have seen a Part 3 on Abel Gance's epic 'Napoléon' and how it used Polyvision and had one of the biggest battle sequences of the silent era. But, the videos you do make are brilliant!

[@Bigbadwhitecracker]

Love that film

[@joemancini327]

The thing that I think really ended silent films in live action and animation is when steamboat Willie came out because not only was their dialogue but there was music playing on the screen when Minnie Mouse plays the goat and it makes music (synchronized sound)

[@BigSnipp]

1:04. Got this new technology that allows us to hear and see moving pictures. Let's film two dudes dancing for some reason.

[@ron101346]

Warner's chose sound-on-disc technology for its first releases in 1926 because it produced superior sound quality to sound-on-film methods at the time. Listening to those early films even today proves that point.

[@robertzverina7181]

Not a process, but an interesting use of sound is Chaplin’s Modern Times. He resented and resisted talkies, and makes the point by having only the dehumanizing machines speak-a boss on a factory telescreen, radios, loudspeakers, etc.-with dialogue still conveyed on intertitles. When Chaplin finally does speak, it is only to sing a gibberish song.

[@lukeswall5999]

Favorite episode so far

[@arthurharrison1345]

What a superb documentary!

[@CPorter]

Vitaphone stayed around well after the 30s with their 5-15 minute long shorts made to play in theaters and on their own jukeboxes, usually featuring the most popular bands paired with other popular talent like dancers or skaters, etc. They are still very much sought after today

[@isabeld.paredes4923]

Several of the earliest Warner Brothers Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons had Vitaphone sound. We're talking from 1930 (LT) and 1931(MM) to 1935, at least

[@garykrist2749]

Small misspeak: At 6:14, you say "Paramount" when you mean "Warner Brothers."

[@macvoutie]

Yeah I caught that too. He should scrap this and redo it.

[@mica412]

@@macvoutie - I thought it was me mishearing things!!

[@Arizoli1000]

Banda Devassa - Rio de Janeiro. (Cultura, Esporte e Lazer). 06 de Outubro de 1927 - "O Cantor de Jazz". (primeiro filme falado da história, tem pré-estreia em Nova Iorque). "The Jazz Singer" (O Cantor de Jazz) é um filme musical estadunidense de 1927, dirigido por "Alan Crosland", considerado como o primeiro longa com falas e canto sincronizado a um "disco de acetato" - (desde então, os filmes mudos foram perdendo a vez para os falados, ou "talkies", que se tornaram a grande novidade). "Al Jolson" foi o ator principal do filme e o primeiro a falar e cantar num filme, com sua voz gravada em banda sonora sincronizada. Na verdade sempre existiu a fala e o canto no cinema, pois em muitas das primeiras projeções os "atores e atrizes cantavam escondidos atrás da tela", (como uma dublagem), assim como muitos pianistas ficavam a frente da tela, improvisando, enquanto a projeção dos primeiros curtas seguia. Por isto, "O Cantor de Jazz" é considerado o primeiro filme onde o som estava gravado, mas separadamente, tocando em um disco de acetato. "The Jazz Singer" foi produzido pela Warner Bros. com o sistema sonoro Vitaphone. "Al Jolson", famoso cantor de jazz da época, canta várias canções no filme, dirigido por Alan Crosland. A história é baseada numa peça de mesmo nome, um grande sucesso da Broadway em 1925, remontada em 1927, com "George Jessel" no papel principal. Foi um dos primeiros filmes a "ganhar o Oscar", dividindo a premiação especial com "O Circo", (de Charlie Chaplin). SINOPSE... A história de "O Cantor de Jazz" começa com o jovem "Jakie Rabinowitz" desafiando as tradições de sua "família judia tradicional", cantando numa casa de diversões norte-americana canções populares da época. Punido por seu pai, um "Chazan" ou (cantor litúrgico da sinagoga), que queria ver seu filho seguir seus passos, "Jakie" foge de casa. Anos depois se torna um "cantor de jazz de sucesso", mas... sempre em conflito com as relações com sua família e "herança cultural". PRODUÇÃO... Antes de entregar o papel principal a "Al Jolson", a Warner tentou contratar o ator que fazia o papel na Broadway, entretanto "Jessel" pediu um salário muito alto. A Warner foi então atrás de "Eddie Cantor", que também recusou o papel. Segundo o historiador de cinema "Donald Crafton"... 📌 "Al Jolson... cantou canções jazzísticas (minstrel) num rosto pintado de preto, alcançando o ápice de sua popularidade. Antecipando o sucesso de inúmeros cantores, crooners e cantores de rock, Jolson eletrificou platéias, com a vitalidade e a sensualidade de suas canções e gestualidade, que deveu muito a influência africana nos Estados Unidos". O "minstrel" ou (minstrel show), no qual se fundamenta a interpretação musical de Jolson neste filme, é um tipo de teatro norte-americano de variedades que surgiu em 1830, onde alternadamente são apresentados dança, música, esquetes cômicos, atos variados, por atores brancos, de descendência européia, com a cara pintada de negro, tentando personificar de forma "caricatural"... (os negros norte-americanos). Depois da "guerra civil", os atores eram frequentemente negros "pintados de negro". No minstrel os negros são retratados como ignorantes, preguiçosos, supersticiosos e musicais. Sobreviveu como divertimento interpretado por atores profissionais até 1910, continuando de forma amadora até 1950. Em 1960... "com as primeiras vitórias nas lutas pelos direitos civis" e contra o "racismo nos Estados Unidos", esta forma perdeu totalmente a sua popularidade. Em (The Jazz Singer), "Al Jolson" canta duas canções populares como o "jovem Jakie Rabinowitz", o futuro cantor de jazz e seu pai interpreta o "Kol Nidre" como cantor litúrgico ou "Chazan" (do hebraico חזן cantor). Neste filme outro famoso "Chazan" da época "Jossele Rosenblatt", interpretando a si mesmo, canta outra canção litúrgica. Como o "adulto Jack Robin", Jolson canta outras seis canções, cinco canções "jazzísticas" e o "Kol Nidre. Este filme, que custou (422 000 dólares), uma grande quantia para os padrões da Warner, foi um enorme sucesso de público. RECEPÇÃO E IMPACTO... Como a maioria das salas ainda não estavam preparadas para a projeção de "filmes sonoros", o filme foi inicialmente exibido fora das grandes cidades em uma "versão silenciosa". Apenas no ano seguinte este filme foi exibido nacionalmente em sua versão falada e cantada. Em 1998, o filme foi escolhido pelo "American Film Institute" como um dos melhores filmes norte-americanos de todos os tempos. DEBATE DA CRÍTICA SOBRE A INTERPRETAÇÃO NO FILME. Segundo o pesquisador "Corin Willis", o uso da "face negra pintada" pela personagem Jack Robin em "O Cantor de Jazz": 📌 "É uma exploração artística e expressiva da noção de duplicidade e hibridismo étnico dentro do que pode ser chamado identidade norte-americana. Dos mais de setenta exemplos de rosto pintado nos primeiros filmes sonoros de 1927 a 1953 que eu vi, mesmo as novas aparições de Jolson em outros filmes, The Jazz Singer é único e o único onde a face pintada de negro é central ao desenvolvimento narrativo e temático". PRÊMIOS... 📌 "Vencedor do Oscar Especial pela excelente produção, pioneira dos filmes falados, e que revolucionou a indústria cinematográfica" (Warner Bros). 📌 "Indicado pela adaptação da peça teatral para o cinema" (Alfred A. Cohn) e... "pela sonoplastia" (engineering effects, Nugent Slaughter). (Banda Devassa-Rio).

[@E5PAZ]

Sensacional 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

[@markpedroza7294]

I couldn't imagine King Kong (1933) as a silent picture..

[@Bigbadwhitecracker]

Hmmmm I could.

[@youchoob8090]

**Kong silently roars and beats his chest** Title Card: “And So, The Great Beast Roared Out, Swinging At The Aeroplanes As They Opened Fire” **Kong looks at the camera and taps his foot impatiently and mouths some words** Title Card: (I Imagine hun talking in Mel Blanc’s voice)”Say, Weren’t this supposed to be a Talkin’ Picture?”

[@eldaytripper2]

You've got a great channel - keep it up because you're going to hit it big soon. It's been building. I know you did two films from 1927 - but you really got to include Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans by Murnau as well = one of best films of all time and one of the first to use a synchronised musical score and soundtrack.

[@leog8518]

Great video. Thanks for the upload.

[@Terry-te1ij]

I heard that when Garbo spoke her first words in "Anna Christie," in 1930, the ppl in the theatre stood up and cheered.

[@ezmo55]

Very well put together. I studied film many years ago after school. I only wish these vids were around back then (during KZbin's early infancy). Awesome!!

[@Credenza1925]

2:55 Same company of the same year lunched to the market the great Victor - Victrola Credenza.

[@ethanwimsett]

You're format is addicting. Gracias

[@yonathanasefaw9001]

Great retrospection to this matter, keep it coming!

[@TheSouthpaw217]

Fascinating series.

[@bobbyfrancis8957]

William Demarest lived through that time. He said in an interview, that "The Jazz Singer" was really the 13th movie to have sound.

[@bensas42]

This is one of the best series on youtube. I'm slowly making my way through it and damn, thank you so much for the work!! I hope you continue it :)

[@davidmoreno7525]

Love the effort you put into these man, amazing quality :) thanks a lot!!!

[@tomkennyjapan]

EXCELLENT

[@jjjamieson4740]

Can you tell me where the "Sound on Film Process" footage is from at 2.07? It's a very good demonstration and I'm looking for something similar for a documentary I'm making, Thanks

[@david10brook78]

Excellent thank you. More please!

[@Dante-bx6ej]

Do a video on lost films and in particular London After Midnight!

[@garrysnett9986]

Dante Ficeti the.terror(1928).is.lost-first.all.talking.horror.movie.does.any.one.have.it.?.

[@hamburgareable]

Enjoyed it as well.

[@here_we_go_again2571]

I am impressed with this video. SUBSCRIBED!

[@spivackl]

1:05. The biggest problem with the kinetiscope movies was that men were dancing with each other. The audience just wasn't ready for this yet!

[@lmnopotay7433]

No Shit.

[@JackRackam]

What's the background music on piano at around 5:25? I've got it stuck in my head now and I'd love to find sheet music

[@onehundredyearsofcinema]

Hi Jack, The music is taken from the score for a 1926 film called "The Black Pirate". You can find the whole thing on KZbin.

[@JackRackam]

Thanks!

[@FRANCISCOALVES-rt4ox]

Thank you for this amazing channel !

[@johnevans9751]

No mention of Eugene Lauste? There were several films after Don Juan and before The Jazz Singer.

[@MIKE-TYTHON]

Hey dude, seen you haven’t uploaded in a while you should totally come back your videos are so interesting and informative you should do some 60s/70s films it would be great. Thanks for the content anyways X

[@ShatnerLover]

I’ve always wondered how sound found it’s way on film itself. I’m still not sure how it works.

[@nameismetatoo4591]

So sound is just a bunch of pressure waves moving through the air. Higher frequencies are like the surface ripples created when it's windy out at sea, whereas low frequencies are like the big waves that make boats move up and down. Multiple frequencies can exist in a sound wave, just like waves of all different sizes are found in water. The great thing about waves is that there is only one variable that you need to record: the amplitude of the wave. The amplitude of a wave in the ocean is its height, and the amplitude of a sound wave is its volume. Because film is an optical medium rather than mechanical, the sound waves need to be converted into light that changes its brightness with the amplitude of the sound waves. There were a number of different approaches to this, but in general they worked like this: Sound was recorded using a microphone, which converts sound waves into electrical waves (voltage changes with time). This electrical signal was then passed through an amplifier circuit so it could power a small light. This light was aimed at the film to create an image of the audio signal, which could later be played back by following the same process in reverse (light passes through the film, which goes to a light-sensitive photocell that converts the optical signal into an electrical signal, which goes to an amplifier and finally to the speakers).

[@julianbristow4793]

Acting and Entertainment sure has come a long way since the forums of Ancient Greece. …………..I always thought “ The Lights of New York” was the first sound film 🎥 but it was actually the “Jazz Singer” a year before in 1927. Of course there were many experimental attempts of sound on film since Edison was able to capture sound and record it🙂

[@alanbehrens4231]

Lights Of New York was the first all-talking film. The Jazz Singer has snippets of sound.

[@tremorsfan]

The Lights of New York deserves much more than a 30 second blurb.

[@AranooGames]

you are great, pls dont stop, and pls make a Playlist of your videos

[@joansmith6092]

Ripley's Believe it or Not said the Jazz Singer is 23 percent sound, and it caused a sensation, but it was Lights of New York that caused the PANIC.

[@garrysnett9986]

Joan Smith lights.of.new.York.is.pretty Good.movie..it.has.the Same.plot.later.used.in.little.caeser.&.public.enemy.

[@banurahettiarachchi2834]

Thank you.

[@96libertytt]

Really enjoyed that one.

[@ege6311]

great documentary

[@secretariatgirl4249]

Wonderful video! Frustrating to me is that a huge star like Valentino recorded 2 songs in May 1923, with an introduction given by a man..instead of Valentino! What would it have taken to have Valentino speak...or any other actor at the time....just to have voices preserved, if nothing else?

[@AnnoyingMoose]

4:06 "...the most expensive film in the studio's history" You ain't spent nothin' yet!!

[@1970Dobby]

"The Jazz Singer", from 1927, may be considered, "The First Sound Film", but I believe that, cause other than a few verbal dialogue exchanges and the musical numbers, IT WASN'T THE FIRST ALL TALKING MOTION PICTURE!! And that's an Historical Fact! Early Sound Motion Pictures, were being made, Experimentally, in the Early 1920's, and probably Before that...Thanks to Thomas A. Edison!

[@vikhdez9306]

THIS CHANNEL IS AMAZING OMG

[@APUGuru]

have you thought about starting a patreon? I'd love to support this series.

[@onehundredyearsofcinema]

+asdf4455Gamez hey, thank you so much for saying that! I will be launching a patreon, along with my next video which will be a Halloween special! Thanks for your encouragement.

[@APUGuru]

One Hundred Years of Cinema no problem man. these videos are so interesting.

[@LogoAttitude]

In less than three weeks this movie will be in the American public domain. We'll see if someone decides to upload the full movie for free at that point.

[@moldyoldie7888]

Great collection of "techie" films from over the years.

[@xandrine7603]

That's awesome

[@stanleybest8833]

No. Parts of The Jazz Singer were silent and others were dubbed. Vitaphone was a favorite separate soundtrack system and the film reel NYP ( Lindbergh "New York" Paris) was earlier sound on film. Al Jolson was an evil racketeer gangster from New York City with a flair for plays and performances.

[@AnthonySmith-ty7ij]

After the Jazz Singer, I wish you did for 1928, the first all talking picture, Lights of New York?

[@bobbyfrancis8957]

Anthony Smith - According to my "talkie" book (I call it " The Silent Scream") "Jazz Singer" caused a sensation, but it was "Lights of New York" that caused the panic ...

[@trfjulio]

Taken as the first film with sound synchronized to the image, but in fact the first was "The photo-drama of creation ', from 1914. Its system was much better than Vitaphone.

[@paulhelman2376]

Case! Not mentioned d though DeForest depended on his ability.

[@danielabruscodesousa]

John Barrymore, Drew Barrymore's grandfather.

[@philipinchina]

How does the background music add anything to this?

[@daviddonnelly585]

This series is pretty dapper.

[@Brainbaskit]

1:40 Alice Guy, the first director?

[@deckofcards87]

One of the saddest days on KZbin is when 100 Years stopped making videos... Hope he's alright.

[@ezraakhaled4513]

Your background music was good

[@gregoriogarfinkelgmg1421]

Historia de al jolson

[@wilburbonzo]

6:14 it's not Paramount it's Warner Bros.

[@Stroheim333]

The Jazz Singer -- with the culty Warner Oland? You always learn...

[@Bigbadwhitecracker]

Charlie Chan - the first and only

[@ProfBowen]

The Jazz Singer was produced by Warner Brothers not Paramount

[@lukeswall5999]

ProfBowen yeah Paramount didn’t even produce sound pictures in till about 1929, 1930ish

[@hamburgareable]

Correct.

[@stevekarno9790]

Who the hell was Al Johnson?

[@joemancini327]

Did this get removed?

[@csr2298]

learnt?

[@goldenphonautogram6141]

Learned*

[@VampiraVonGhoulscout]

Did Edison actually invent that or did he nick it from Tesla?

[@Bigbadwhitecracker]

Who didn't nick from Tesla

[@robertprochko6331]

The phonograph wasn't "nicked" from anyone, and you do know that Edison and Tesla were cordial right up to Edison's death, there was no real rivalry there. The two men were brilliant, but Tesla (rightly) thought Edison's methods wasteful and old-fashioned.

[@deadpan80]

6:25 I recently had the pleasure (?) of catching The Lights of New York on TCM. Woof! It’s lucky it was the first full sound film because it was so bad it should have been destroyed like so many other less worthy films of the period.

[@cornishchris8404]

You kinda sound like Harry Potter

[@onehundredyearsofcinema]

u wot mate?

[@cornishchris8404]

Idk your voice kinda reminded me of Daniel Radcliffe's voice

[@onehundredyearsofcinema]

+cornishchris 69420 cor blimy!

[@hamburgareable]

Good grief!

[@theminecraft2516]

Al was pretty sus

[@kingsleycasper]

As a black creator, it's hard to balance my love for cinema with our inherently racist history.

[@ShatnerLover]

I wish the Jazz Singer didn’t include black face.

[@michaelanthony9773]

Wahh wahhh