The Broadway Melody, also known as The Broadway Melody of 1929, is a 1929 American pre-Code musical film and the first sound film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture. It was one of the early musicals to feature a Technicolor sequence, which sparked the trend of color being used in a flurry of musicals that would hit the screens in 1929–1930. Today, the Technicolor sequence survives only in black and white. The film was the first musical released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and was Hollywood's first all-talking musical.
The Phantom of the Opera is a 1925 American silent horror film adaptation of Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra, directed by Rupert Julian and starring Lon Chaney in the title role of the deformed Phantom who haunts the Paris Opera House, causing murder and mayhem in an attempt to make the woman he loves a star. The film remains most famous for Chaney's ghastly, self-devised make-up, which was kept a studio secret until the film's premiere. The picture also features Mary Philbin, Norman Kerry, Arthur Edmund Carewe, Gibson Gowland, John St. Polis and Snitz Edwards. The last surviving cast member was Carla Laemmle (1909-2014), niece of producer Carl Laemmle, who played a small role as a "prima ballerina" in the film when she was about 15 years old. The film was released on September 6, 1925, premiering at the Astor Theatre in New York. The film's final budget was $632,357.
Christine Daaé is a fictional character and the female protagonist of Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel The Phantom of the Opera and of the various adaptations of the work. Erik, the Phantom of the Opera and Viscount Raoul de Chagny both fall in love with her.
Ricardo Cortez was an American actor and film director. He was also credited as Jack Crane early in his acting career.
The Last Warning is a 1928 sound part-talkie American mystery film directed by Paul Leni, and starring Laura La Plante, Montagu Love, and Margaret Livingston. 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 film apparently only survives in a cut-down edited silent version which was made for theaters that had not yet converted to sound. The soundtrack for the sound version, which was also released on sound-on-disc format, survives in private hands on Vitaphone type discs.
The Last Performance is a 1929 American sound part-talkie film directed by Paul Fejos and starring Conrad Veidt and Mary Philbin. 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 Western Electric sound-on-film system. The talking sequences were featured on the last reel.
Tiffany Pictures, which also became Tiffany-Stahl Productions for a time, was a Hollywood motion picture studio in operation from 1921 until 1932. It is considered a Poverty Row studio, whose films had lower budgets, lesser-known stars, and overall lower production values than major studios.
The Case of the Black Cat is a 1936 American mystery film directed by William C. McGann and an uncredited Alan Crosland, based on the 1935 Perry Mason novel The Case of the Caretaker's Cat by Erle Stanley Gardner. The film stars Ricardo Cortez as Perry Mason and co-stars June Travis and Jane Bryan in her film debut. The film is the fifth Perry Mason adaptation distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures in the 1930s and the first in the series not to feature Warren William as Mason.
The Phantom in the House is a 1929 American pre-Code talking film directed by Phil Rosen and starring Ricardo Cortez. A silent version was prepared for release in theatres not yet equipped for sound.
The Younger Generation is a 1929 sound part-talkie American drama film directed by Frank Capra and starring Ricardo Cortez. 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 Western Electric sound-on-film system. The film was produced by Jack Cohn for Columbia Pictures. It was Capra's first sound film. The screenplay was adapted from a 1927 Fannie Hurst play, It Is to Laugh.
Her Private Life is a surviving 1929 American pre-Code drama film directed by Alexander Korda and starring Billie Dove, Walter Pidgeon and Holmes Herbert. The plot concerns an English aristocrat who causes a scandal when she divorces her husband and runs off with a young American. The film had been considered a lost film. However, in July 2016, according to the Library of Congress, the film was found in an Italian archive.
House of Horror is a 1929 American sound part-talkie comedy mystery film directed by Benjamin Christensen. 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 Louise Fazenda and Chester Conklin. The film portion of the House of Horror is now presumed lost while the sound survives on Vitaphone discs.
Big Business Girl is a 1931 American pre-Code First National sound comedy film directed by William A. Seiter and starring Loretta Young, then eighteen years old. It was released theatrically through First National's parent company Warner Bros.
The Lost Zeppelin is a 1929 sound adventure film directed by Edward Sloman and produced and distributed by Tiffany-Stahl. The film stars Conway Tearle, Virginia Valli and Ricardo Cortez.
The Grain of Dust is a 1928 silent drama film directed by George Archainbaud and starring Ricardo Cortez and Claire Windsor. It was produced by John M. Stahl and released through Tiffany Pictures.
Molly and Me is a 1929 sound part-talkie American comedy film directed by Albert Ray. 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 Tiffany-Tone sound system. The film stars Belle Bennett, Joe E. Brown and Alberta Vaughn.
Two Men and a Maid is a 1929 American sound part-talkie romantic drama film directed by George Archainbaud and starring William Collier Jr., Alma Bennett and Eddie Gribbon. 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 Tiffany-Tone sound-on-film system using RCA Photophone equipment.
New Orleans is a 1929 American sound part-talkie drama film directed by Reginald Barker and starring Ricardo Cortez, William Collier Jr., Alma Bennett. 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 Tiffany-Tone sound-on-film system using RCA Photophone equipment. The was produced and distributed by the independent Tiffany Pictures.
My Lady's Past is a 1929 American sound part-talkie drama film directed by Albert Ray and starring Belle Bennett, Joe E. Brown and Alma Bennett. 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 Tiffany-Tone sound-on-film system using RCA Photophone equipment. After completing his first novel, a writer abandons his wife for his secretary. The film survives at BFI/National Film And Television Archive.
Whispering Winds is a 1929 American sound part-talkie pre-Code drama film directed by James Flood and starring Patsy Ruth Miller, Malcolm McGregor and Eve Southern. 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 Tiffany-Tone sound-on-film system using RCA Photophone equipment.
