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Introduction of Vitaphone Sound Pictures

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Introduction of Vitaphone Sound Pictures
StarringWill H. Hays
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • August 6, 1926 (1926-08-06)
Running time
4 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Introduction of Vitaphone Sound Pictures is a 1926 Vitaphone short film released by Warner Brothers on August 6, 1926. It was one of the first talking films. It utilized the Vitaphone sound-on-disc sound system.

Premise[edit]

Portrait of Will Hays (1921)

Will H. Hays, President of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America, introduces the audience to the Vitaphone sound system and muses on the possibilities of the technological advancement. This short played with a grouping of other shorts at the world premiere of Don Juan,[1] the first feature film to employ Vitaphone.[2][3] In the short film, Hays states:

It has been said that the art of vocalists and instrumentalists is ephemeral, that he creates but for the moment. Now neither the artist nor his art will ever wholly die.[4]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "[Vitaphone prelude--excerpts]". UW-Madison Libraries. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  2. ^ "Vitaphone Bow is Hailed a Marvel". Variety. August 11, 1926. p. 10. Retrieved May 28, 2018 – via Archive.org.
  3. ^ Bohn, Thomas W.; Stromgren, Richard L.; Johnson, Daniel H. (1975). Light and Shadows: A History of Motion Pictures. Port Washington, NY: Alfred Pub. Co. p. 207208. OCLC 1150213266 – via Internet Archive.
  4. ^ Gautreau, Justin Richard (2015). Fleeting Fictions: Film Technology, Adaptation, and a History of the Hollywood Novel, 1920-1950 (PhD thesis). Riverside, CA, US: University of California, Riverside. OCLC 1241725711.

External links[edit]