By 1929, “silent cinema” had become an international language. The film, shot in Germany, could be understood and felt, both in America and in Europe. But the appearance of the phone required the movie to "speak."
Will “talking films” destroy the international language? Will they sweep away everything that cinema learned in the era of "silent cinema"? This did not happen right away. For a while, “silent films” existed in parallel with “speakers.”
Two years earlier, with the release of "The Jazz Singer" (1927), sound cinema came to America. In Europe, the film was originally shown in a silent version, so the Vitapfone system was used to sound it - the sound on a separate record was synchronized with the image. George Pearson, director, watched "Jazz Singer" in London: "I was sitting next to my wife and I said to her:" Honey, you know, we are present at the end of silent films. "
But "silent films" were never silent - their display was always accompanied by live music, sometimes performed by full orchestras. What happened when the music had to stop? Thousands of musicians were unemployed. Peter Hopkinson, assistant operator: “A gentleman in a good but well-worn suit was playing a decent violin near the train station. A hat was lying on the pavement near his feet, passers-by threw coins. A sign on his chest hung with the inscription“ Busted by talking films. ”Musicians were the first victims of a sound movie.
The appearance on the screens of London "Jazz Singer" forced large film companies to go on an experiment. The movie "Kitty" (1929) starring John Stuart and Esther Brody starring in BIP Studios. It was released as a silent film, but it was decided to re-shoot the last part with sound. In 1928, there was no recording equipment at this studio and the director and actors went to New York ... This made a stunning impression on the audience. They watched a completely dumb movie with captions, and suddenly voices came from the screen. Everyone was amazed, the whole hall was shocked. The experiment was so successful that the company decided to purchase American equipment for recording sound on film. The storage shed was converted into a makeshift sound studio. Sound episodes were filmed by Freddy Young, who later became the most famous English cameraman.
The second victims of sound cinema were actors, great actors who did not have a well-set voice or spoke with an accent. Lilian Hill-Davis was a great silent film actress, when she lost her job, then committed suicide by cutting her throat. In France, the victims of sound were mainly Russian emigrants. Shakhatunin hardly spoke French and he had to become a make-up artist. Ivan Mazhukhin lost his enormous popularity, but continued to star in the cast despite a strong emphasis. Even many French actors could no longer act in certain roles, because they did not have a "real Parisian pronunciation." In silent films, they were all “stars” - no one heard them.
The largest of the early European sound films was Atlantic (1929), staged by the German Ewald Dupont, and was based on the death of Titanic. In Berlin, he was considered the first one hundred percent German sound picture. But actually it was shot at the BIP studio. The Americans hoped to make English the sound of the international language using sound films, but this idea aroused the indignation of Europeans. Atlantic was the first film shot in three language versions. The best American cameraman, a native of England, Charles Rocher, was invited to work with Dupont. The German and English versions were very different in terms of direction. Working with English, Dupont felt less confident. The Germans preferred a slower rhythm. Dupont did everything in German heavyweight, everything was a little slowed down, but the actors trusted him and the German filming technique began to serve as an example for the whole world. The film "Atlantic" attracted a huge number of viewers, and in London it was shown in two language versions, in German and in English.
Those who, in the era of the silent film, left for America, began to return to German cinema. Emil Yanings, who won the Oscar in Hollywood, had to return to Germany because he did not speak enough English. Ironically, he was invited to the film "Blue Angel" (1930) for the role of an English teacher. For the filming of this film, Yanings recommended Hollywood director Joseph von Sternberg, who shot samples of many actresses before settling on Marlene Dietrich. By the way, she always claimed that this was her first film, but in fact she had already appeared in seventeen silent films. The German and English versions of Blue Angel were so successful that the company Ufa for the first time, after a long period, made a profit.
