The Talk of Hollywood

1929 Comedy 70 minutes Directed by Mark Sandrich

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About The Talk of Hollywood

J. Pierpont Ginsburg (Nat Carr) hears that talking pictures are the new business and says they are 'in their infantry.' He puts his money into a musical starring Adoré Renée (Fay Marbe), billed as a Paris sensation, and leading man Reginald Whitlock (Gilbert Marbe). His daughter Ruth (Hope Sutherland) falls for his lawyer John Applegate (Sherling Oliver). At a screening for exhibitors, the projectionist mixes up the sound discs, so the voices and effects land on the wrong pictures.

Cast & crew

More about The Talk of Hollywood

Mark Sandrich directed and shared the story with Nat Carr. Darby Aaronson wrote the dialogue. Samuel Zierler produced for Prudence Pictures. Walter Strenge photographed it. Russell G. Shields edited. Al Goodman wrote the music and leads the orchestra on screen. Ernst Fegté designed the sets. Sono Art-World Wide Pictures released it on 1 December 1929. It was shot at RKO's New York studios. The listed running time is 70 minutes. It is a parody of the rush into sound and of producers in the Samuel Goldwyn line. It is not an RKO production.

Themes

  • a producer betting on talkies
  • a Paris import
  • sound discs played in the wrong order
  • Ginsburg
  • Adoré Renée
  • talkies
  • sound disc
  • Ruth
  • John Applegate

Background

Sono Art released it on 1 December 1929, a year and a half after the first wave of talkies, while many houses were still running sound-on-disc.

Making

Sandrich shot the musical-within-the-film at RKO's New York plant and then wrecked the buyers' screening by swapping the discs.

Look

Walter Strenge photographed the studio scenes and the scrambled screening.

Music

Al Goodman wrote the music. Al Goodman's Orchestra appears in the film.

Preservation

A print survives and is on the Internet Archive.

Notes

  • The Internet Archive identifier is TheTalkOfHollywood1929NatCarrFayMarbeHopeSutherlandMarkSandrich.
  • Edward LeSaint plays Edward Hamilton. John Troughton plays the butler. The Leonidoff Ballet is the dance troupe.
  • Some plot blurbs call the daughter Judy. The cast list names her Ruth Ginsburg.
  • The bad screening is a disc-system gag: the picture and the recorded track are on separate reels, and the projectionist pairs the wrong ones.
  • Carr, who plays Ginsburg, also wrote the story.

Scenes

  • Ginsburg announces that talking pictures are in their infantry and sinks his savings into the musical.
  • At the buyers' screening the discs are mismatched and the dialogue sticks to the wrong shots.

Also available

  • Internet Archive (TheTalkOfHollywood1929NatCarrFayMarbeHopeSutherlandMarkSandrich)

Quotes

Talking pictures are in their infantry.