The Jazz Singer is a 1927 American part-talkie musical drama film directed by Alan Crosland and produced by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is the first feature-length motion picture with both synchronized recorded music and lip-synchronous singing and speech. Its release heralded the commercial ascendance of sound films and effectively marked the end of the silent film era with the Vitaphone sound-on-disc system, featuring six songs performed by Al Jolson. Based on the 1925 play of the same title by Samson Raphaelson, the plot was adapted from his short story "The Day of Atonement".
Wallace Fitzgerald Beery was an American film and stage actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in Min and Bill (1930) opposite Marie Dressler, as General Director Preysing in Grand Hotel (1932), as Long John Silver in Treasure Island (1934), as Pancho Villa in Viva Villa! (1934), and his title role in The Champ (1931), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. Beery appeared in some 250 films during a 36-year career. His contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer stipulated in 1932 that he would be paid $1 more than any other contract player at the studio. This made Beery the highest-paid film actor in the world during the early 1930s. He was the brother of actor Noah Beery and uncle of actor Noah Beery Jr.
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1930.
Noah Nicholas Beery was an American actor who appeared in films from 1913 until his death in 1946. He was the older brother of Academy Award-winning actor Wallace Beery as well as the father of prominent character actor Noah Beery Jr. He was billed as either Noah Beery or Noah Beery Sr. depending upon the film.
The Singing Fool is a 1928 American sound part-talkie musical drama motion picture directed by Lloyd Bacon which was released by Warner Bros. In addition to sequences with audible dialogue or talking sequences, the film features a synchronized musical score and sound effects along with English intertitles. The soundtrack was recorded using the Vitaphone sound-on-disc system. The film stars Al Jolson and is a follow-up to his previous film, The Jazz Singer. It is credited with helping to cement the popularity of American films of both sound and the musical genre. The film entered the public domain on January 1, 2024.
The Show of Shows is a 1929 American pre-Code musical revue film directed by John G. Adolfi and distributed by Warner Bros. The all-talking Vitaphone production cost almost $800,000 and was shot almost entirely in Technicolor.
Noah's Ark is a 1928 American part-talkie epic disaster film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Dolores Costello and George O'Brien. In addition to sequences with audible dialogue or talking sequences, the film features a synchronized musical score and sound effects along with English intertitles. The soundtrack was recorded using the Vitaphone sound-on-disc system. The story is by Darryl F. Zanuck. The film was released by the Warner Bros. studio. Most scenes are silent with a synchronized music score and sound effects, in particular the biblical ones, while some scenes have dialogue.
Song of the Flame is a 1930 American pre-Code musical film photographed entirely in Technicolor. Based on the 1925 operetta of the same name, the film features a screenplay by Gordon Rigby adapted from the musical book written by Oscar Hammerstein II and Otto A. Harbach for the operetta. The movie also features many of the songs from the operetta which used lyrics by Hammerstein and Orbach and music by George Gershwin and Herbert Stothart. The film was produced and distributed by First National Pictures. It was the first color film to feature a widescreen sequence, using a process called Vitascope, the trademark name for Warner Bros.' widescreen process. The film, based on the 1925 Broadway musical of the same name, was nominated for an Academy Award for Sound Recording. It is part of the tradition of operetta films, popular at the time.
Sit Tight is a 1931 American Pre-Code musical comedy film, directed by Lloyd Bacon, written by Rex Taylor, edited by James Gibbon, and produced and distributed by Warner Bros. It was originally intended as a full musical, but due to the backlash against musicals, all the songs were cut from the film except for one – sung by Winnie Lightner – in all release prints in the United States.
Fifty Million Frenchmen is a 1931 American pre-Code Technicolor musical comedy film directed by Lloyd Bacon. The film was produced and released by Warner Brothers and was based on Cole Porter's 1929 Broadway musical Fifty Million Frenchmen.
Viennese Nights is a 1930 American all-talking pre-Code musical operetta film directed by Alan Crosland and starring Alexander Gray, Vivienne Segal, Walter Pidgeon, Jean Hersholt, Bela Lugosi and Louise Fazenda. It was photographed entirely in Technicolor and released by Warner Brothers. Viennese Nights was the first original operetta written especially for the screen by Oscar Hammerstein II and Sigmund Romberg. It was filmed in March and April 1930, before anyone realized the extent of the economic hardships that would arrive with the Great Depression, which had begun in the autumn of the previous year. Although not a box office hit in the United States, the film had long box office runs in Britain and Australia. It is one of the earliest sound films to have a short pre-credit sequence.
Showgirl in Hollywood is a 1930 American pre-Code all-talking musical film with Technicolor sequences, produced and distributed by First National Pictures, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. The film stars Alice White, Jack Mulhall and Blanche Sweet. It was adapted from the 1929 novel Hollywood Girl by J.P. McEvoy.
Paris is a 1929 American pre-Code musical comedy film, featuring Irène Bordoni. It was filmed with Technicolor sequences: four of the film's ten reels were originally photographed in Technicolor.
Say It with Songs is a 1929 American pre-Code musical drama film, directed by Lloyd Bacon and released by Warner Bros. The film stars Al Jolson and Davey Lee and was a follow-up to their previous film, The Singing Fool (1928).
Mammy (1930) is an American pre-Code musical comedy-drama film with Technicolor sequences, released by Warner Bros. The film starred Al Jolson and was a follow-up to his previous film, Say It with Songs (1929). Mammy became Al Jolson's fourth feature, following earlier screen efforts as The Jazz Singer (1927), The Singing Fool (1928) and Say It with Songs (1929). The film relives Jolson's early years as a minstrel man. The songs were written by Irving Berlin, who is also credited with the original story titled Mr. Bones.
Oh, Sailor, Behave! is a 1930 American pre-Code musical comedy film produced and released by Warner Brothers, and based on the play See Naples and Die, written by Elmer Rice. The film was originally intended to be entirely in Technicolor and was advertised as such in movie trade journals. Due to the backlash against musicals, it was apparently released in black-and-white only.
The Millionaire is a 1931 all-talking pre-Code comedy film produced and distributed by Warner Bros. and starring George Arliss in the title role. The film is a remake of the 1922 film titled The Ruling Passion, which also starred Arliss. The film was based on the short story "Idle Hands" by Earl Derr Biggers. In one of his early film roles, James Cagney had a brief but key appearance as a life insurance salesman. The supporting cast features Florence Arliss, David Manners, Evalyn Knapp, Noah Beery Sr., Cagney, J. Farrell MacDonald, Charley Grapewin and Tully Marshall.
Go into Your Dance is a 1935 American musical drama film starring Al Jolson, Ruby Keeler, and Glenda Farrell. The film was directed by Archie Mayo, and is based on the novel of the same name by Bradford Ropes. It was released by Warner Bros. on April 20, 1935. An irresponsible Broadway star gets mixed up with gambling and gangsters.
Main Street is a 1923 American silent drama film based on the 1920 novel of the same name by Sinclair Lewis. It was produced and distributed by Warner Bros. and directed by Harry Beaumont. A Broadway play version of the novel was produced in 1921. It was the first film to be released after the foundation of Warner Bros. Pictures on April 4, 1923.
The Isle of Lost Ships is an all-talking 1929 sound film. The picture was produced by Richard A. Rowland and distributed by Warner Bros. Irvin Willat was the director with Jason Robards Sr., Virginia Valli and Noah Beery Sr. in the leads. It is based on the 1909 novel The Isle of Dead Ships by Crittenden Marriott, and is also a remake of Maurice Tourneur's now lost 1923 classic of the same name. A mute copy of this film is preserved at the Library of Congress. The Vitaphone discs which contain the soundtrack to the film are currently lost. An almost complete copy of the sound version of the film survives at the Eye Filmmuseum archive with an estimated running time of 55:58.
