Thunderbolt (1929).

Review #1837: Thunderbolt.

Cast: 

George Bancroft (Thunderbolt Jim Lang), Fay Wray (Ritzy), Richard Arlen (Bob Moran), Tully Marshall (Warden), Eugenie Besserer (Mrs. Moran), James Spottswood ('Snapper' O'Shea), Robert Elliott (Prison Chaplain), Fred Kohler ('Bad Al' Frieberg), E. H. Calvert (Dist. Atty. McKay), and George Irving (Mr. Corwin) Directed by Josef von Sternberg (#1325 - Underworld and #1337 - Shanghai Express)

Review: 

It is interesting to consider what the turn of a decade or the turn of new technology can do to (or for) a director. In the case of Josef von Sternberg, going from silent films to sound would only keep him right where he needed to be to express his vision of filmmaking. This is his ninth feature film (three are lost, with two of them not even having a full release), one that started in 1925 that would span three decades over various studios; he had a distinct style that did not always lead to box office success, but most of his films generally still seem ripe for further research and curiosity, with the level of that depending on just what film of his you see, whether that was his debut with The Salvation Hunters (1925) or Underworld (1927) or The Last Command (1928, where he directed his lead actor to an Oscar) or The Docks of New York (1928). If you remember, Bancroft was the star in Underworld, and this film was the fourth and final collaboration between him and von Sternberg, with all of them featuring him getting swept up in crime (two as gangsters, one as a brawler, and one as a police captain) with two of them involving him trying to cope with the loss of his girl. He went from serving on merchant ships and a stint in the Navy to becoming an actor on Broadway and film, having a career in the latter for seventeen years, but it was the early parts of his career that saw him as a name star (complete with a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Actor with this film) before moving into supporting roles before moving into ranching full-time in 1942, which he did until his death at the age of 74 in 1956.

One can say that the transition into sound did not hinder the qualities shown by von Sternberg when it comes to making curious features of entertainment (there was a silent version of this film made for theaters without sound). He doesn't seem stilted by the addition of a microphone for sound, if only because he utilizes his sets and actors for interesting arrangements and dialogue that makes its 85-minute run-time go by fairly smoothly. The screenplay was written by Jules Furthman and Herman Mankiewicz while the story was done by Charles and Jules Furthman. So yes, the movie is about a guy named "Thunderbolt" and his attempts at trying to get what he wants from his girl and the law before a fateful climatic decision; the movie spends a good chunk of its time in a prison set with a small assortment of characters that used for a bit of humor, since a musical group does play in certain scenes, for example. As such, it is Bancroft who dominates the film with the way that he commands attention with his ego that makes him a curious figure to view in the lines of crime, because there are layers that come out in a rough exterior without falling into easy sentiments (granted, there is a dog that he has a soft spot for, but this isn't too distracting). Wray got into acting as a sixteen-year-old Canadian in 1923, which can't be forgotten in a six-decade career that saw her known for being a "scream queen". She does fine with what is needed here in terms of calm allure, one who seems perfectly fine with "normalness" without being wrapped in hokum. Arlen makes an ideal square without falling into mockery, looking just fine when paired with Wray for their scenes together (Besserer being paired as his on-screen mother is a bit amusing, if only because one doesn't usually see mother figures...for non-criminals in these kind of movies). Marshall proves a worthy foil for Bancroft in generating a bit of amusement as bumbling authority, such as letting a prisoner get out of their cell to subdue a prisoner who grabbed a gun...which results in a punch-out. No matter how much the climax could be thought of as inevitable, the movie does handle its final moments well without springing for maudlin overkill. As a gangster film, it proves okay when compared to his previous work Underworld was in terms of overall excitement, but even being a minor work in von Sternberg's lineup is still a nice compliment to hand it for recommendation, proving a useful curiosity with a suitable lead presence that makes for a relatively charming time.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

The Jazz Singer.

Review #1326: The Jazz Singer.

Cast: 
Al Jolson (Jakie Rabinowitz / Jack Robin), Warner Oland (Cantor Rabinowitz), Eugenie Besserer (Sara Rabinowitz), May McAvoy (Mary Dale), Otto Lederer (Moisha Yudelson), Richard Tucker (Harry Lee), and Yossele Rosenblatt (Himself) Directed by Alan Crosland.

Review: 
Some films are just born to endure forever. When it comes to the transition from silent to sound in Hollywood's golden age, this film is often marked as the dawn of a new era and of a new genre - the musical. This was the first feature-length film where you could hear someone talk alongside music in the background. The film was adapted from the play of the same name by Samson Raphaelson (which he had adapted from his short story "The Day of Atonement" based on Jolson's real life) from Alfred A. Cohn as a Warner Bros. production through the Vitaphone sound-on-disc system. One thing I should make clear is that this is not the first time anyone heard any kind of sound in a film before. Several short films had dialogue present before 1927, and the studio had utilized the Vitaphone system for a synchronized musical score and sound effects with Don Juan (1926). D. W. Griffith's Dream Street (1921) had a single singing sequence alongside crowd noises with its Photokinema sound-on-disc system, including an introduction sequence of the director speaking to the audience, although not many theaters showed this due to not having the system installed. Sound-on-disc was the uses of phonograph (or an other disc) to record or play back sound that synced with a motion picture through a interlock with the movie projector. It wasn't as if sound film was a new idea that Warner Bros. did alone - the Fox Film Corporation had bought their own system in Fox Movietone, utilizing it first with Sunrise (1927) that included music and sound effects, which they used for motion pictures until 1931 and their newsreel service until 1939.

In the end, sound-on-film would become the standard for talking pictures by the time the 1930s were over, when studios didn't need to produce sound and silent versions of films anymore. Warner Brothers had started in 1923 from the creation of four brothers: Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack Warner, with the first three having emigrated as young kids from Poland to Canada. They had started their careers involved with film through the movie theater business, having a movie projector that they could use to show film, which led them to their first theater in 1903 with the Cascade. They soon grew onto distribution and production by the time they formally incorporated their company in 1923. When it comes to the moment one needs to hear a voice, the film certainly does not disappoint, doing so seventeen minutes in with the famous line of "Wait a minute, wait a minute, you ain't heard nothin' yet". This of course is preceded by a few songs and caption cards, since the film is mostly a silent production, with just two minutes of synchronized talking. Jolson certainly seems in his element when it comes to singing, for which he has six songs. Jolson wasn't once dubbed "The World's Greatest Entertainer" for nothing. Today the film may seem a bit over-sentimental, but it certainly played well to a crowd that made Jolson the right man at the right time to give sound film a push forward with his voice. Jolson's performances in blackface makeup are considered dated and viewed as implicit racism now, but it should be noted that Jolson himself fought against discrimination for African Americans when it came to Broadway productions. He has a complex legacy, but he should still be celebrated for the things that he did that aren't dated to time. The other actors do just fine, including Besserer when it comes to her key scene: a dialogue with her on-screen son, brief yet necessary to everything that followed in the next decade. The film as a whole is okay, holding together on the strength of Jolson's charisma with songs more than its family drama, but one can still find appreciation for what goes on screen without becoming bored in its 89 minute run-time (not including the seven minutes of overture and exit music that open and close the film, respectively) for too long. It is a film that holds to the traditions of the past in several ways that also looks to the future, with this being a key step in the evolution for filmmaking. It won an Honorary Academy Award for its studio and production chief Darryl F. Zanuck (who would become a prominent studio figure in his own right in the following decades), "for producing The Jazz Singer, the pioneer outstanding talking picture, which has revolutionized the industry". The film has been remade three times, having been done in 1952 (with Danny Thomas), 1959 (a TV adaptation with Jerry Lewis), and 1980 (with Neil Diamond). In any case, this is a fairly decent film that endures for its historical value alongside an alright foundation of actors and songs that helped in starting the tide for sound and songs for film.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.