The Film Daily (1930)

THE -3^^ DAILY Wednesday, January 15, 1930, **SEE AKD HEAR" By -^s An Engrossing Resume of the Industry's Progress Chapter IV The Coming of Sound THE rapid and amazing adaptation of sound to motion picture entertainment since the fall of 1926 has led to the entirely erroneous belief that talking pictures are something new under the sun, when, as a matter of fact, the development of sound was certainly corollary with, and some say, was even the forerunner of the moving picture. We know that Thomas A. Edison was looking for eyes for his phonograph when he produced what turned out to be the first marketable motion picture machine. And there is much evidence to prove that scientists here and abroad were engaged more than fifty years ago in making photographs of sound. There was, for instance, a Doctor Czermak, of Vienna, who in 1862 succeeded in photographing the vocal chords in action although he did not, it is true, attempt to record the sound vibrations; and there was a Professor Eli Whitney Blake, of Brown University, who sixteen years later is reputed to have made pictures of the vibrations of a microphone diaphragm by means of a mirror which cast a light on a photographic plate. Instances of other experiments, similar to the many which resulted in the invention of a commercially possible moving picture, were from time to time recorded, leading up to the time of Professor Demeny's "Chronophotophone" in 1892, about which very little is known, and to the time of Edison's "Kinetoscope" in 1894 which, however crudely it was done, certainly synchronized sound with pictures. Like the peep-show pictures, the Kinetoscope was a oneman device, ear tubes being used to catch the sound. Public demonstrations were held at Raff and Gammon's amusement parlors at 1199 Broadway but the demand for the first "talkie" was so slight that the device was soon withdrawn. In the years that immediately followed the withdrawal of the Kinetoscope, scientists continued their investigations. They worked quietly, as is the way of science, out of the public's eye, being, for the most part, content to wait until they had learned the essential facts about recording sound before making known their discoveries. When thej' did speak they were able to speak of a commercially successful article; they were ready to turn out an almost finished product. That is why sound has come into universal use with such amazing rapidity. It was delivered on a silver platter in 1926 and the industry had only to adapt itself to its use. To me the most interesting phase in the whole development has been the ease with which the producing companies and the theaters have adjusted themselves to so revolutionary an addition. It is, of course, not within the scope of an article of this nature to go into the claims of various inventors as to their share in the development of talking pictures. Much has been said recently about men like Eugene Augustin Lauste, formerly an emplo}e of Mr. Edison, and about his early experiments with talking pictures. Unquestionably the work of many men has gone into the perfection of the present talking devices. Almost every great invention is the result of the combined efforts of scientists. There can be in these pages, therefore, no attempt to place final responsibility. Such a matter is for the inventors, the patents office, and the users of sound to decide. It is sufficient to say that there is evidence that Lauste, about 1907, was demonstrating a sound and film device in London. He did not meet with great success apparently and was never able to market his product for any widespread use. In an interview printed in The New York World, Mr. Lauste attributed his failure to the breaking up of his company during the war. Most of his stockholders were Germans, and the necessary capital for future developments was not forthcoming. Carl Laemmle, president of Universal Pictures Corporation, tells an interesting story of his early experiments with sound. Twenty years ago he imported from Germany a device which he advertised as the "greatest improvement in the moving picture." The name of the instrument was Synchroscope and the first exhibition was in Chicago for the benefit of exhibitors and representatives of the press. Confidentially Mr. Laemmle explained that "the craze for talking pictures will be even greater than the present craze for ordinary moving pictures." There were others who rather more than half-believed the Universal Company's president. Billboard, for instance, in an editorial at the time asked: "Is the movinji; picture business about to be revolutionized? Has the time arrived when vaudeville houses can put on a whole bill by machinery? . . ." "I was fairly stunned the other day," said the Billboard writer, "when I witnessed a performance that was so starthngly realistic that I don't hesitate to say the questions already are answered in the affirmative." For a time the Synchroscope was highly successful. Many exhibitors put in their orders and deliveries were accelerated. Other exhibitors who did not order the talking device made up for the deficit by engaging singers, and the day of the song-slides came into popularity. Still others attempted to make their own sound accompaniment through off-stage noises. At last the Synchroscope failed and was withdrawn. The difficulty was that there were not enough soundtilms to meet the market's demand, i he supply was exhausted. Another reason tor failure was that the phonograph records which were used were capable of holding material for only two reels while the theaters were demanding four and five reels. About 1908, Edison again turned his attention to the talking picture, this time with a device known as the Cameraphone which coupled a phonograph with a film projector by means of a wire belt. Making a Cameraphone picture was very simple. A phonograph record was selected and then the recording artist was photographed until the synchronization was at least passable. Of course the synchronization was not perfect. Today it would be instantly rejected but in those days close-ups had not come into popular use. Nobody had thought of throwing the head and face on a full screen and lip-movement was not regarded as important. Proponents of the Cameraphone argued with some justification that perfect synchronization was not imperative. For a short time the Cameraphone flourished. It was admittedly a novelty, however, and while the world is always interested in novelties, it soon tires of them. The Cameraphone ceased to be popular, and since improvements were not forthcoming, the device vanished from the market until 1913 when Mr. Edison again launched a talking device. An interesting story is told of the premiere of the Cameraphone, or the Kinetophone as it had come to be known. It was on a Monday afternoon, February 17, 1913, that three men set out to judge the audience reaction to Edison's newest invention. Those men were: Mr. Edison, John J. Murdock, and Martin Beck. Four theaters had been chosen for the experiments— the Colonial, the Fifth Avenue, Union Square and the Alhainbra. On the program of each of those theaters was the announcement: "Thomas A. Edison presents his latest and greatest invention, talking motion pictures, or the Kinetophone." The New York Times reviewed the events which led up to that afternoon's experiment. Mr. Edison had perfected his invention in his shops at Orange, N. J., and had tried out the results on a small theater adjoining his studio. A scene from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar was photo-; graphed with sound. Then there was' a short lecture explaining the device, concluding with the breaking of a china dish. A violinist, a singer, and. a pianist were on the program, and the whole was concluded with the barking of a dog. A review of the showing in the papers of the day reveals the following interesting comment: "For the present at least the prophecy that the 'talkies' soon will supplant grand opera or the legitimate drama seems to be fantastical. It was stated that soon well-known players of the legitimate stage will be seen and heard in^ tlie 'talkies.' Then no doubt the invention will give greater pleasure to critical audiences." The reviewer's comment was, for the time being at any rate, accurate. The Cameraphone did not become a sensation. Exhibitors shied away from it and within a short time it was withdrawn from the market. Not until 1921 was there another definite attempt to reach the public with talking pictures. In that year D. W. Griffith, always a pioneering spirit, showed his picture "Dream Street" at the Town Hall in New York City with a sound accompaniment. The device he used was known as the Photokinema and the dialogue consumed about 200 feet of film. It was an interesting experiment and many of the leading figures in the industry were in the Town Hall for the showing. Griffith was warmly applauded for his efforts but the general belief was that talking pictures were still far off in the future. Another name appears in the early history of sound — the name of Dr. Lee DeForest. Dr. DeForest in 1907 is said to have perfected a vacuum amplifying tube. About 1923 reports became current about the Phonofilm. Since then law suits have developed relative to patent rights, and those suits are still pending. Whatever the outcome may be, the name of Dr. DeForest is an interesting and important one in connection with the history of talking pictures. (Continued Tomorrow) Copyright, 1929, by Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America I TO-MORROW Chapter V "The Modern Talking Picture" Amazingly rapid development of sound and dialogue. Related in this interesting serial EVERY DAY in The FILM DAILY