Above are two clips depicting Hollywood premieres of the late 1920s. The first is the ‘real thing’–some marvelous, restored black&white newsreel footage of two different premieres, ‘Broadway Melody’ and ‘The Divine Lady’ (both 1929). The second clip is the opening sequence of ‘Singin’ In The Rain’ (1952), which is a recreation of a similar premiere event. Though exaggerated for effect (as well as being in color), the recreation feels to me damn close to the real thing–in tone, action, attitudes and costumes.

The first couple seen in the 1929 footage are Al Jolson and Ruby Keeler shortly after their wedding in 1929. The times were changing rapidly – notice the radio microphones – and many of the stars here would be let go by their studios within the coming year. Milton Sills is identified but not his wife, Doris Kenyon. Director Fred Niblo is seen near the end with Corinne Griffith; neither is identified. Most of the stars seem confused. The body language is fascinating: they don’t know where to go, where to stand, or where to look. Harold Lloyd forcefully pushes his way past the microphone, apparently unwilling to speak over the air. The notion of silent stars giving up the secret of their speaking voices was nerve-wracking for many and no silent star did so without intense conversations with lawyers and studio heads. Heads would be rolling shortly–so many of the silent stars went into quick decline with the talkies. Lloyd didn’t make his first talkie–‘Movie Crazy’–until three years after this. Buster Keaton, on the other hand, dove right into the talkie world and quickly descended. Keaton’s voice–a deep, frog-croak of a baritone–was so at odds with his body and face that it must have puzzled and even frightened some viewers. The story of John Gilbert is, of course, the most famous of the tragic endings…but it’s lunchtime now and I’ll have to save that for another day.