The Jazz Singer Premier Vitaphone Promo

Vitaphone Short Sent Out to Promote "The Jazz Singer" Outside Of NYC.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• Jolson
• Vitaphone
• Warner Brothers
• Sam
• Harry
• Jack
• Hollywood
• New York
• Wintergarden
• Talkies
• Kol Nidre
• Lower East Side
• Sunset Boulevard
• blackface
• minstrel

[3investigators]

This announcer is the whole show. Wonderful!

[JackCelliars]

Thanks for posting such rare--and fascinating--antiquated footage.

[Fyrzon]

When the audience heard him clear his throat, they were probably like "...Wait, was that one of us?"

Then they see him talking, and they shit themselves.

[nuts4clara]

@calvinnme2 John Miljan is in SUSAN LENOX(1931), with Greta Garbo, THE UNCHASTEN LOVER(1925), Theda Bara's next-to-last movie, among others.

[stoob1969]

@a07002 No, the autocue operator was the drunk one

[calvinnme2]

The announcer is John Miljan. He played slimy villain types in the very early days of talking pictures. The trailer probably does not have any of the talking parts of the Jazz Singer in it because it was impossible to splice together different Vitaphone films. All they could do in this Vitaphone trailer is show you the silent parts of The Jazz Singer.

[fromthesidelines]

Yes, the "Vitaphone" discs did wear out rather quickly (after about 10 plays for each). But if you know anything about the movie business, 'mbmorrison', this trailer- and the "special engagement" of the film- was designed to be as enticing to the theater patron as possible. By limiting the show times of the film to "twice daily" in each theater it played in, that only made MORE people want to see it. If it appeared more than twice a day, it would have been "just another movie".

[HarborGuy]

I have a copy of the Jazz Singer. It is silent in parts. But the scene where he talking to his mom made the day! Sound was on its way...........

[a07002]

Was the announcer drunk?

[szewei85]

i gotta love the late 20s seriously with old fashion of all the HAT on men n thick jewellery plus big dresses on the ladies where showing boobies r not important 2 get serious attention that time haha

[szewei85]

@makkertje that is y its scary 2 think what will happen when our turn dead has come next hahaha

[albertusj]

@mbmorrison The discs would wear out too quickly. Really.