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