Jolson Sings.

The Jazz Singer starring Al Jolson opened at the Warner Theatre in New York on 6 October 1927 and inaugurated the motion-picture talkie era. But the movie renowned as the first talkie was actually a silent with partial sound. It was not even the first feature movie with synchronized sound: Don Juan in 1926 had a synchronized music score and sound effects. Nonetheless, Jolson spoke the first line of dialogue in a full-length movie: "Wait a minute. Wait a minute. You ain't heard nothin' yet."

Rush to Sound.

There was an apparent economic motive, apart from technological and personnel costs, to resist the change: the restoration of language to drama immediately limited the audience, which had been worldwide. With the transition to sound, the only universally accessible form of dramatic narrative ceased to exist. But, although some movie-industry people dismissed sound as a fad, audience demand...