The First Talkie:
The Jazz Singer
The Jazz Singer, made in 1927, was the first feature length film to use recorded song and dialogue. It is, however, only part-talkie with sound-synchronized, vocal musical numbers and accompaniment. The Jazz Singer was never intended to be a talking picture and was made as a silent film with the recorded musical score and several synch songs sung by Al Jolson. His famous line from the song, "You ain't heard nothin' yet!", was spoken when he was ad-libbing with his mother at the piano.
The Jazz Singer was Vitaphone sound-on-disc using Bell Telephone Labs. This was state of the art Orthophonic recording with reproduction through Western Electric high power amplifiers and newly designed loudspeakers. The natural sounds that the film incorporated into its background made it different from previous attempts at productions of film with sound. Common sounds that occur during the movie like when the actors are in the cafe and the audience can hear the glasses and cups clink took the movie a step ahead of the rest.
The plot of the story is basically as follows: Al Jolson plays the role of a contor's son who'd rather be a singing sensation on Broadway than follow in his father's footsteps. But forsaking his religious duties may cost him his family's love. Tunes from the film include: My Mammy, Toot Toot Tootsie Goodbye and Blue Skies. Although there were only a few musical and conversational sequences, audiences loved it and Warner Brothers received a special award for producing the first talking picture. The film demonstrated forcefully the importance of star voices in the sounds film, the appeal of popular music, and the potential rewards for adding dialogue to otherwise silent films.
For more information click here: The First Talkie
The Consequences of Sound - Page Two
New Technology - Page Three