The Silver Screen Oasis

Well, I really like Rouben Mamoulian, and Applause is among his best. It was made in 1929, and I have yet to see an early talkie better than it, so it begs the question: is Applause the first great talkie?

It has solid acting, a solid story, and great music, as well as having a fluid moving camera. Mamoulian's direction seems like a continuation of the innovations of the silent era.

Compared with the other pre 1930 talkies I've seen, it stands out like a sore thumb. King Vidor's Hallelujah is pretty darn good, but that was filmed silent, so I don't think it's fair to compare the two.

If Applause isn't the first great talkie, what is?

I have investigated a lot early talkies. And believe me MLID, there are some absolute gems produced in this period!
Applause and Hallelujah are certainly among them. But, what about the fabulous Laughter (1930) by Harry d'Abbadie d'Arrast? Fredric March & Nancy Carroll are literaly inventing screwball comedy before our eyes.
Ronald Colman made some great pictures around that time as well! In 1929, his two films Bulldog Drummond and Condemned are both fabulous: humorous, fluid and undated. Best of all, The Devil to Pay! (1930), a brilliant comedy (with both Myrna Loy & Loretta Young ) which is at least 3 years ahead of its time.

I saw Big Time (1929), a Kenneth Hawks feature with Mae Clarke recently. It's also a superb backstage musical/melodrama.
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The Royal Family of Broadway (1930) has some surprisingly fluid tacking shots and Ina Claire's acting is really superb. So is March in his parody of John Barrymore.

I loved APPLAUSE and the great Helen Morgan's performance in it. I also liked Joan Peers and Henry Wadsworth as the young couple. But I disliked Fuller Mellish (what a name!) as the villain.

But overall Mamoulian has crafted a solid early talkie with some great camera work. The old saw about the stiffness and staginess of early talkies is certainly true in many cases but there are plenty of examples of good camera work and solid sound recording among the crops of early talkies that survive.

Another great early talkie is the rarely seen Gloria Swanson talkie debut--THE TRESPASSER.

Applause is ahead of it's time. The film most like it in my mind is The Broadway Melody, a good film but it does feel a bit 'stagey'. Applause doesn't feel at all like that to me, Helen Morgan's performance is so good too.

I haven't seen too many film from this period though.

THE BROADWAY MELODY is excellent and very underrated now. It was a daring and technically advanced film for its time (MGM's first all talkie) with some good musical numbers and a great performance by Bessie Love.

I thought Broadway Melody was pretty bad. It was so stagey and forced, and I couldn't stand the lead actor Charles King, he was so sleazy, and he was the hero of the story. I wanted to strangle him, man he was irritating.

Anita Page, and Bessie Love weren't too bad, and the music was pretty good, but my dislike for King, and some of the amateurishness of everything really killed any of my interest.

It's interesting as a historical curiosity, but was very disappointing.

I love Anita Page in most things, to me Broadway Melody was her most dissappointing movie. I love the precodes she did especially Night Court. She was Buster Keaton's best costar in his talkies at MGM too.

I haven’t seen Applause so I guess I can’t really comment on that one, but one of the early talkies I’m most impressed with on the technical side is The Virginian from 1929. I would say about half of this film was made outdoors and I can only imagine how challenging that was; especially considering there are many scenes with animals including horses, cattle, and chickens. I just have a dvd-r copy but the sound is good and you can clearly hear all the actors throughout the entire film.

I get tickled when watching some of the early talkies and if someone turns away from the mic, they kind of fade out for a few words until they turn back towards it. I love the transition films though, even with their flaws .

I just watched Applause again and if it's not the Best Picture of 1928-29, it surely should've been nominated (as should Helen Morgan for Best Actress). That Hollywood Revue was even nominated is ridiculous. It's a curio, yes, but hardly one of the best films of the year. By contrast, Applause is a real work of film art.

-Stephen