Betty Compson was an American actress and film producer who got her start during Hollywood's silent era. She is best known for her performances in The Docks of New York and The Barker, the latter of which earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.
May Irene McAvoy was an American actress who worked mainly during the silent-film era. Some of her major roles are Laura Pennington in The Enchanted Cottage, Esther in Ben-Hur, and Mary Dale in The Jazz Singer.
The Singing Fool is a 1928 American musical drama part-talkie motion picture directed by Lloyd Bacon which was released by Warner Bros. 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.
On with the Show! is a 1929 American pre-Code musical film produced by Warner Bros. Filmed in two-color Technicolor, the film is noted as the first all-talking, all-color feature length film, and the second color film released by Warner Bros.; the first was the partly color, black-and-white musical The Desert Song (1929).
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 $850,000 and was shot almost entirely in Technicolor.
My Man is a 1928 black and white part-talkie American comedy-drama musical film directed by Archie Mayo starring Fanny Brice and featuring Guinn "Big Boy" Williams. It was Brice's feature film debut at the age of 37. She was a star in the Ziegfeld Follies before she started acting in motion pictures. At the time Warner Bros. made this film there were still some silent movies in production and being released. My Man used intertitles but included talking sequences, synchronized music, and sound effects using a Vitaphone sound-on-disc system. It was not until 1929 that talking movies would completely take over, but Warner Bros. had completely stopped making silent movies and switched to sound pictures by the end of that year, either part talking or full talking. Warner Bros. also started making movies in color as well as sound movies.
The Terror is a 1928 American pre-Code horror film written by Harvey Gates and directed by Roy Del Ruth, based on the 1927 play of the same name by Edgar Wallace. It was the second "all-talking" motion picture released by Warner Bros., following Lights of New York. It was also the first all-talking horror film, made using the Vitaphone sound-on-disc system.
Synthetic Sin is a 1929 American comedy film directed by William A. Seiter, based on a play of the same name. While filmed as a silent, it was released by Warner Bros. accompanied with a Vitaphone music soundtrack and sound effects. However most of the Vitaphone discs are still lost, apart from the final reel.
Weary River is a 1929 American romantic drama film directed by Frank Lloyd and starring Richard Barthelmess, Betty Compson, and William Holden. Produced and distributed by First National Pictures, the film, like many made during the changeover from silent to sound movies, is mostly silent with a few sequences featuring synchronized dialogue and singing. Based on a story by Courtney Riley Cooper, the film is about a gangster who goes to prison and finds salvation through music while serving his time. After he is released and falls back into a life of temptation, he is saved by the love of a woman and the warden who befriended him. The film received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Director in 1930.
State Street Sadie is a 1928 American crime drama film directed by Archie Mayo, and released as a silent film with talking sequences using Warner Bros.' Vitaphone sound-on-disc process. This is regarded as a lost film.
Tiger Rose is a 1929 American Pre-Code early sound adventure film produced and distributed by Warner Bros. It was directed by George Fitzmaurice and is based on a 1917 play, Tiger Rose, by Willard Mack. This film is a remake of the 1923 film Tiger Rose Warner Bros. silent that starred Lenore Ulric, who also starred on Broadway in Mack's play. Among the cast members in this film are Monte Blue, Lupe Vélez and Rin Tin Tin.
Those Who Dance is a 1930 American Pre-Code crime film produced and distributed by Warner Bros., directed by William Beaudine, and starring Monte Blue, Lila Lee, William "Stage" Boyd and Betty Compson. It is a remake of the 1924 silent film Those Who Dance starring Bessie Love and Blanche Sweet. The story, written by George Kibbe Turner, was based on events that occurred among gangsters in Chicago.
Scarlet Seas is a surviving 1929 American silent romantic adventure film produced by Richard A. Rowland and distributed by First National Pictures. The picture was directed by John Francis Dillon. It starred Richard Barthelmess, Betty Compson, and a teen-aged Loretta Young. This film was released with a Vitaphone soundtrack of music and effects which survive. Originally, the film was presumed lost.
The Green Temptation is a lost 1922 American silent melodrama film directed by William Desmond Taylor and starring Betty Compson. It was written by Julia Crawford Ivers and Monte Katterjohn based upon the short story "The Noose" by Constance Lindsay Skinner.
The Greyhound Limited is 1929 part-talkie crime drama and railroad theme film directed by Howard Bretherton and starring Monte Blue. Warner Bros. produced and distributed releasing the film in the Vitaphone process, with a music score and sound effects. The film is a follow up to the 1927 film The Black Diamond Express.
The Bush Leaguer is a lost 1927 American silent comedy film directed by Howard Bretherton and starring Monte Blue and Leila Hyams. It was produced and distributed by the Warner Bros. and had a Vitaphone soundtrack of music and sound effects.
No Defense is a 1929 American romantic drama film directed by Lloyd Bacon and starring Monte Blue. It was a silent film with part talking and sound-effects using the Vitaphone system. It was distributed by Warner Brothers.
Skin Deep is a 1922 silent film crime drama directed by Lambert Hillyer and starring Milton Sills and Florence Vidor. It was based on a novel, Lucky Damage, by Marc Edmund Jones.
Domestic Troubles is a lost 1928 American comedy film directed by Ray Enright and starring Clyde Cook, Louise Fazenda and Betty Blythe. It was produced and released by Warner Brothers with a Vitaphone musical track.
Conquest is a 1928 American aviation drama film, based on the short story Conquest by Mary Imlay Taylor. The film was made using the Vitaphone sound process. Conquest was directed by Roy Del Ruth, and stars Monte Blue, H.B. Warner and Lois Wilson. The film is a melodrama about an aircraft crash in Antarctica. Conquest is now considered a lost film.
