Silent Films

• Silent films dominated the Hollywood landscape in the 20's. This era consisted of one to two-hour movies with no recorded dialogue. In silent movies, the scene occurred and was followed by written dialogue on the screen. The silent film era ended in the late 1920's, when filmmakers discovered how to make recorded sound synchronize with the film -- these were known as talking pictures or "talkies." Some examples of famous silent films are "Birth of a Nation" (1915), "Nosferatu" (1922), "The Gold Rush" (1925) and "All Quiet on the Western Front" (1930).
  
  

Talking Pictures

• The birth of talking pictures happened in 1926, when Warner Brothers released "Don Juan," the first motion picture where recorded dialogue was synchronized with the film. However, Hollywood historians acknowledge the movie "Jazz Singer" (1927) starring Al Jolson, as the primary movie that ignited the talking picture revolution. From the late 1920's on, talking pictures became the standard for the Hollywood industry. Popular talking pictures in the 30's were "Tarzan, the Ape Man" (1932), "Gone With the Wind" (1936), "Boys Town" (1939) and "The Wizard of Oz" (1939).
  
  

Hollywood Actors

• Due to the lack of audio, silent film actors were required to be melodramatic in order for the audience to understand their emotions. Also, live theater was initially the dramatic model for silent films; as a result, silent film stars -- Charles Chaplin, Enid Bennett, Douglas Fairbanks, Rudolph Valentino, Will Rogers, Mary Pickford -- resorted to theatrical techniques while performing on camera. However, the introduction of talking pictures presented a problem for many silent film stars. Silent movie acting appeared too over-the-top" for talking pictures, which required more subtle approaches to performance -- due to the intimacy of the camera -- and sensitivity of recorded sound. Spencer Tracy, Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, Clark Gable and Olivia De Havilland were some of Hollywood's brightest stars in the early years of talking pictures.
  
  

Golden Age of Hollywood

• With the arrival of talking pictures, many Hollywood historians refer to the 1930's as part of the Golden Age of Hollywood; since this decade saw the introduction of new genres, the proliferation of new movie stars and the movie studios raked in record profits from their films. In the Golden Age, movie studios produced 95 percent of all Hollywood films. Also, the Golden Age coincided with the Great Depression of the United States. During this time, the nation's economy was shattered and watching movies was one of the few activities many American citizens felt could help them forget their financial woes -- if only temporarily.