The Jazz Age (1929) is a sound part-talkie film starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Marceline Day, and Joel McCrea in his first leading role. In addition to sequences with audible dialogue or talking sequences, the film features a synchronized musical score and sound effects along with English intertitles. The film, directed by Lynn Shores and written by Randolph Bartlett, was released by RKO Radio Pictures soon after RKO was created from Film Booking Offices of America, RCA, and the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theater chain.
| The Jazz Age (1929) | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | Lynn Shores |
| Written by | Paul Gangelin (script) Randolph Bartlett (intertitles) |
| Starring | Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Marceline Day Henry B. Walthall Joel McCrea |
| Cinematography | Ted Pahle |
| Edited by | Ann McKnight |
| Music by | Josiah Zuro |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Film Booking Offices of America |
Release date |
|
Running time | 64 minutes (7 reels; 6246 ft.) |
| Country | United States |
| Languages | Sound (Part-Talkie) English Intertitles |
Plot
editSteve Maxwell (Fairbanks) and Sue Randall (Day), during an escapade, wreck one of her father's streetcars. The elder Randall uses this incident to stop the elder Maxwell (Walthall) from opposing Randall's illegal contract with the city. When Steve tells all to the city council, Mr. Randall (Ratcliffe) threatens Steve with arrest, Sue admits her culpability, and announces her intentions of marrying Steve.[1]
Cast
edit- Douglas Fairbanks Jr. as Steve Maxwell
- Marceline Day as Sue Randall
- Henry B. Walthall as Mr. Maxwell (billed as H. B. Walthall)
- Myrtle Stedman as Mrs. Maxwell
- Gertrude Messinger as Marjorie
- Joel McCrea as Todd Sayles
- William Bechtel as Mr. Sayles
- E. J. Ratcliffe as Mr. Randall
- Ione Holmes as Ellen McBride
- Edgar Dearing as Motor Cop
Preservation status
edit- The film is preserved in the Library of Congress collection Packard Campus for Audio-Visual Conservation.[2][3]
Production background
editLike the majority of early sound films, RKO released The Jazz Age in a cut-down edited silent version for those theatres not yet equipped for sound. The sound part-talkie version was recorded using the RCA Photophone sound system.[4]
There was a later documentary film produced by NBC News Project 20, narrated by Fred Allen also titled The Jazz Age (1956), and a 15-episode TV series of the same name on the BBC (1968). Both the IMDB and TCM websites, for the 1929 film, show the 1956 film as available on DVD for purchase. No info is given about the availability of the 1929 title.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "The Jazz Age (1929) - Overview - TCM.com". Turner Classic Movies.
- ^ Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artists Collection at The Library of Congress (<-book title) page 92 c.1978 by the American Film Institute
- ^ The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog:..The Jazz Age
- ^ "Silent Era : Progressive Silent Film List". www.silentera.com.
External links
edit- The Jazz Age at IMDb
- The Jazz Age at the TCM Movie Database
- The AFI Catalog of Feature Films:..The Jazz Age(AFI Catalog)
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