The Jazz Age (film)

The Jazz Age (1929)
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Lynn Shores
Written by	Paul Gangelin (script) Randolph Bartlett (intertitles)
Produced by	Joseph P. Kennedy (presenter)
Starring	Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Marceline Day Henry B. Walthall Joel McCrea
Cinematography	Ted Pahle
Edited by	Ann McKnight
Music by	Josiah Zuro
Production company	Film Booking Offices of America
Distributed by	Film Booking Offices of America
Release date	January 6, 1929 (1929-01-06)(U.S.)
Running time	64 minutes (7 reels; 6246 ft.)
Country	United States
Languages	Sound (Part-Talkie) English Intertitles

The Jazz Age is a 1929 American sound part-talkie romantic drama film starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Marceline Day, and Joel McCrea in his first leading role. 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, directed by Lynn Shores and written by Randolph Bartlett, was released by RKO Radio Pictures soon after RKO was created from Film Booking Offices of America, RCA, and the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theater chain.

Plot

Steve Maxwell (Fairbanks) and Sue Randall (Day), during an escapade, wreck one of her father's streetcars. The elder Randall uses this incident to stop the elder Maxwell (Walthall) from opposing Randall's illegal contract with the city. When Steve tells all to the city council, Mr. Randall (Ratcliffe) threatens Steve with arrest, Sue admits her culpability, and announces her intentions of marrying Steve. ^[1]

Cast

• Douglas Fairbanks Jr. as Steve Maxwell
• Marceline Day as Sue Randall
• Henry B. Walthall as Mr. Maxwell (billed as H. B. Walthall)
• Myrtle Stedman as Mrs. Maxwell
• Gertrude Messinger as Marjorie
• Joel McCrea as Todd Sayles
• William Bechtel as Mr. Sayles
• E. J. Ratcliffe as Mr. Randall
• Ione Holmes as Ellen McBride
• Edgar Dearing as Motor Cop

Production background

Like the majority of early sound films, RKO released The Jazz Age in a cut-down edited silent version for those theatres not yet equipped for sound. The sound part-talkie version was recorded using the RCA Photophone sound system. ^[2]

There was a later documentary film produced by NBC News Project 20, narrated by Fred Allen also titled The Jazz Age (1956), and a 15-episode TV series of the same name on the BBC (1968). Both the IMDB and TCM websites, for the 1929 film, show the 1956 film as available on DVD for purchase. No information is given about the availability of the 1929 title.

Censorship

When The Jazz Age was released, many states and cities in the United States had censor boards that could require cuts or other eliminations before the film could be shown. The Kansas censor board ordered the elimination of a view of a bruised spot on a young woman's knee. ^[3]

Preservation

The film is preserved in the Library of Congress collection Packard Campus for Audio-Visual Conservation. ^{[4] [5]}

See also

• List of early sound feature films (1926–1929)

References

1. "The Jazz Age (1929) - Overview - TCM.com". Turner Classic Movies.
2. "Silent Era : Progressive Silent Film List". www.silentera.com.
3. "Eliminations Ordered in 1928 by Kansas Censor Board with Woman Members". Variety . 94 (6). New York City: Variety, Inc.: 5 February 20, 1929. Retrieved May 9, 2025.
4. Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artists Collection at The Library of Congress, p. 92, c.1978 by the American Film Institute
5. The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: The Jazz Age

External links

• The Jazz Age at IMDb
• The Jazz Age at the TCM Movie Database
• The AFI Catalog of Feature Films: The Jazz Age (AFI Catalog)