The American Film Industry

10. The Coming of Sound: Technological Change in the American Film Industry

Sound 10DDUG~SGOMERV The Coming of Sound: Technological Change in the American Film Industry The coming of sound during the late 1920s climaxed a decade of significant change within the American industry. Following the lead ofthe innovators-Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc., and the Fox Film Corporation -all companies moved, virtually en masse, to convert to sound. By the autumn of 1930, Hollywood produced only talkies. The speed ofconversion surprised almost everyone. Within twenty-four months a myriad oftechnical problems were surmounted, stages soundproofed, and theaters wired. Engineers invaded studios to coordinate sight with sound. Playwrights (from the East) replaced title writers; actors without stage experience rushed to sign up for voice lessons. At the time, chaos seemed to reign supreme. However, with some historical distance, we know that, although the switch-over to talkies seemed to come "overnight ," no major company toppled. Indeed the coming of sound produced one of the more lucrative eras in U.S. movie history. Speed of transformation must not be mistaken for disorder or confusion. On the contrary, the major film corporations-Paramount and Loew's (MGM)-werejoined by Fox, Warner, and RKO in a surge of profits, instituting a grip on the marketplace which continues to the present day. Moreover, sound films did not spring Minerva-like onto the movie screens of twenties America. Their antecedents reached back to the founding of the industry. We need a framework to structure this im229 The Jazz Singer at the Warners' Theatre portant thirty-year transformation. Here the neoclassical economic theory oftechnical change proves very useful. An enterprise introduces a new product (or process of production) in order to increase profits. Simplified somewhat, three distinct phases are involved: invention, 230 10. Gomery: The Coming of Sound 231 innovation, and diffusion. Although many small-inventory entrepreneurs attempted to marry motion pictures and sound, it took two corporate giants, the American Telephone & Telegraph Corporation (AT&T), and the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), to develop the necessary technology. AT&T desired to make better phone equipment ; RCA sought to improve its radio capabilities. As a secondary effect of such research, each perfected sound recording and reproduction equipment. With the inventions ready, two movie companies, Warner and Fox, adapted telephone and radio research for practical use. That is, they innovated sound movies. Each developed techniques to produce, distribute, and exhibit sound motion pictures. The final phase, diffusion, occurs when the product or process is adopted for widespread use. Initially, the movie industry giants hesitated to follow the lead of Warner and Fox but, after elaborate planning, decided to convert. All others followed. Because ofthe enormous economic power of the major firms, the diffusion proceeded quickly and smoothly. During each ofthe three phases, the movie studios and their suppliers ofsound equipment formulated business decisions with a view toward maximizing long-run profits. This motivation propelled the American motion picture industry (as it had other industries) into a new era of growth and prosperity. Invention Attempts to link sound to motion pictures originated in the 1890s. Entrepreneurs experimented with mechanical means to combine the phonograph and motion pictures. For example, in 1895 Thomas Alva Edison introduced such a device, his Kinetophone. He did not try to synchronize sound and image; the Kinetophone merely supplied a musical accompaniment to which a customer listened as he or she viewed a "peep show." Edison's crude novelty met with public indifference . Yet, at the same time, many other inventors attempted to better Edison's effort. One of these, Leon Gaumont, demonstrated his Chronophone before the French Photographic Society in 1902. Gaumont 's system linked a single projector to two phonographs by means of a series of cables. A dial adjustment synchronized the phonograph and motion picture. In an attempt to profit by his system, showman Gaumont filmed variety (vaudeville) acts. The premiere came in 1907 at the London Hippodrome. Impressed, the American monopoly, the Motion Picture Patents Company, licensed Chronophone for the United 232 Part II / Struggles for Control, 1908-1930 States. Within one year Gaumont's repertoire included opera, recitations , and even dramatic sketches. Despite initially bright prospects, Chronophone failed to secure a niche in the marketplace because the system, relatively expensive to install, produced only coarse sounds, lacked the necessary amplification, and rarely remained synchronized for long. In 1913, Gaumont returned to the United States for a second try with what he claimed was an improved synchronizing mechanism and an advanced compressed air system for...