Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans is a 1927 American synchronized sound romantic drama directed by German director F. W. Murnau and starring George O'Brien, Janet Gaynor, and Margaret Livingston. The film's plot follows a married farmer (O'Brien) who falls for a woman vacationing from the city (Livingston), who tries to convince him to murder his wife (Gaynor) in order to be with her. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using the Movietone sound-on-film process. The story was adapted by Carl Mayer from the short story "The Excursion to Tilsit", from the 1917 collection with the same title by Hermann Sudermann.
The Divine Lady is a 1929 American pre-Code Vitaphone sound film with a synchronized musical score, sound effects, and some synchronized singing, but no spoken dialogue. It stars Corinne Griffith and tells the story of the love affair between Horatio Nelson and Emma Hamilton. It featured the theme song "Lady Divine", with lyrics by Richard Kountz and music by Nathaniel Shilkret, which became a popular hit in 1929 and was recorded by numerous artists, such as Shilkret, Frank Munn, Ben Selvin, Smith Ballew, Adrian Schubert, Sam Lanin, and Bob Haring.
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.
Don Juan is a 1926 synchronized sound American romantic adventure film directed by Alan Crosland. It is the first feature-length film to utilize the Vitaphone sound-on-disc sound system with a synchronized musical score and sound effects, though it has no spoken dialogue. The film is inspired by Lord Byron's 1821 epic poem of the same name. The screenplay was written by Bess Meredyth with intertitles by Maude Fulton and Walter Anthony.
Abie's Irish Rose is a 1928 early sound (part-talkie) film directed by Victor Fleming and starring Charles "Buddy" Rogers, Nancy Carroll, Jean Hersholt, and J. Farrell MacDonald. 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 based on the 1922 play Abie's Irish Rose by Anne Nichols. The film was later remade in 1946. In the 1930s, author Nichols revealed that her deal with Paramount brought her $300,000 plus half the film's profits.
The Cavalier is a 1928 American synchronized sound Western film directed by Irvin Willat, distributed by Tiffany Studios, and starring Richard Talmadge and Barbara Bedford. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using both the sound-on-disc and sound-on-film process.
Mother Machree is a 1928 American synchronized sound drama film directed by John Ford that is based on the 1924 work The Story of Mother Machree by Rida Johnson Young about a poor Irish immigrant in America. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score, singing and sound effects using the sound-on-film movietone process. Rida Johnson Young had invented Mother Machree in the stage show Barry of Ballymoore in 1910. John Wayne has a minor role in the film.
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.
The Battle of the Sexes is a 1928 American synchronized sound comedy film directed by D. W. Griffith. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score, singing and sound effects using both the sound-on-disc and sound-on-film process. The film starred Jean Hersholt, Phyllis Haver, Belle Bennett, Don Alvarado, and Sally O'Neil. It was released by United Artists. The film was a remake by Griffith of an earlier film he directed in 1914, which starred Lillian Gish. Both films are based on the novel The Single Standard by Daniel Carson Goodman; the story was adapted for this production by Gerrit J. Lloyd.
My Man is a 1928 black and white sound part-talkie American comedy-drama musical film directed by Archie Mayo starring Fanny Brice and featuring Guinn "Big Boy" Williams. 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.
Broadway Babies, aka Broadway Daddies (UK) and Ragazze d'America (Italy), is a 1929 all-talking Pre-Code black and white American musical film produced and distributed by First National Pictures, a subsidiary of Warner Brothers. The film was directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starred Alice White and Charles Delaney. This was White's first sound film with dialogue. As a copyright renewed work from 1929, the film will enter the American public domain on January 1, 2025.
The Kiss is a 1929 American synchronized sound drama film directed by Jacques Feyder, starring Greta Garbo, Conrad Nagel, and Lew Ayres in his first feature film. The film has no audible dialogue but featured a synchronized musical score and sound effects. The soundtrack was recorded using the Western Electric Sound System sound-on-film process. The soundtrack was also transferred to discs for those theatres that were wired with sound-on-disc sound systems.
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.
Dry Martini is a 1928 synchronized sound film comedy produced and distributed by Fox Film Corporation starring Mary Astor and Matt Moore. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using the sound-on-film movietone process. Samuel L. Rothafel also contributed music for the film. It was adapted from the 1926 novel Dry Martini: a Gentleman Turns to Love by John Thomas. Ray Flynn was an assistant director.
Brotherly Love is a 1928 sound part-talkie comedy film produced and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and directed by Charles Reisner. It is a starring vehicle for the comedy team of Karl Dane and George K. Arthur. Young Jean Arthur supports the comedy duo. 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 Baby Cyclone is a lost 1928 American synchronized sound comedy film directed by A. Edward Sutherland and based upon the 1927 play by George M. Cohan, adapted for the screen by F. Hugh Herbert and Robert E. Hopkins. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using the sound-on-film Western Electric Sound System process. The film stars Lew Cody, Aileen Pringle, Robert Armstrong, Gwen Lee and Nora Cecil. The film was released on September 27, 1928, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Varsity is a lost 1928 American sound part-talkie comedy film directed by Frank Tuttle, written by Howard Estabrook, George Marion Jr. and Wells Root, and starring Charles "Buddy" Rogers, Mary Brian, Chester Conklin, Phillips Holmes, Robert Ellis and John Westwood. 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 released on October 27, 1928, by Paramount Pictures.
The Man and the Moment is a formerly lost 1929 sound part-talkie romantic comedy film directed by George Fitzmaurice and starring Billie Dove. 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 survives in a copy of the International Sound Version. The sound of the domestic part-talkie version was synchronized to the surviving print of the international sound version. Because of this, many scenes feature intertitles shown immediately after the spoken dialogue conveying the same words. The talking sequences on the international sound version were muted with music and intertitles were inserted to convey the dialogue replaced in the appropriate foreign language. Therefore, intertitles were left in the talking sequences during the restoration to maintain synchronization with the Vitaphone soundtrack. The story is from a 1914 novel by Elinor Glyn, the famous novelist. The film was produced by Richard A. Rowland and released by First National Pictures. A British silent film had been film of the same story in 1918.
Slightly Used is a 1927 American synchronized sound comedy film directed by Archie Mayo and written by C. Graham Baker and Jack Jarmuth. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using the Vitaphone sound-on-disc process. The film stars May McAvoy, Conrad Nagel, Robert Agnew, Audrey Ferris, Anders Randolf and Eugenie Besserer. The film was released by Warner Bros. on September 3, 1927.
The Good-Bye Kiss is a 1928 American synchronized sound comedy film directed by Mack Sennett and written by Jefferson Moffitt, Mack Sennett and Carl Harbaugh. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using the sound-on-disc Vitaphone process. The film stars Johnny Burke, Sally Eilers, Matty Kemp, Wheeler Oakman, Irving Bacon and Lionel Belmore. The film was released on July 8, 1928, by First National Pictures.
