Lets go to the movies. For more than half a century, these words have meant an invitation to magic. The magic of moving pictures. The spinning of dreams in a darkened theater. For three decades, the dreams were silent ones. The magic of movement alone. Then suddenly, on a night in october 1927, a voice was heard from the screen. Proclaiming a fabulous era in hollywood. The night the movies became the talkies with the premiere of a jazz singer and the voice of al jolson. Its interesting the first sound Motion Picture was a musical in which al jolson only sang and the reason for that is they said, well, who wants to hear actors talk. Most of the running time its a silent film using titles with an orchestra score. Every once in a while the orchestra stops and jolson pops up and starts singing. Wonderful tales are always hard to find some folks have one some folks have none jolson always talked to his audience. He was known for his patter. And specifically, his catch phrase which hed been saying since 1906. You aint heard nothing yet. Wait a minute. You aint heard nothing. He said that when they were recording the audio so the first words we hear in dialogue in a film were, you aint heard nothing yet. The first full talking feature, lights of new york, is a very dull pseudogangster film with people youve never heard of sitting around a table and a telephone in the middle where, obviously, the microphone exists. And theyre all leaning toward it. Take him for a ride. Oh. And the film came out, and it just blew the roof off. And nobody could figure it out because everybody knew it was a terrible movie. The only thing that could possibly be responsible for that kind of public response was the fact that it was all talking. So thats the movie that really changed the equation. Actresses and actors in the silent period had to look a certain way. You get sound and a lot of those people are put out of a job if they dont sound the right way. I dont mind if you close that door. I like them open. Theyre easier to get out through. John gill bert was having trouble in sound and his films werent making money. A very big star. I was walking up and down. Made one or two talkies. Quit the business. The very last silent film mgm made called the kiss was a greta garbo film. They were afraid their biggest star would lose their audience when they heard her speak with her swedish accent. It was called Anna Christie and garbo talks was the tag line. Everyone was excited to hear what shed sound like, and she didnt disappoint. If you look at that famous scene in the barks theres a good 20 seconds of no music, no dialogue, no nothing, and it really builds the suspense. Give me a whiskey. Give me a whiskey, baby. Greta garbo was full of mystery and beauty and talent. She just didnt try so much. You know what i mean . She was cool. Mgm was sort of like the harvard of hollywood. It was the place that every star wanted to graduate to. It had garbo. It had gabel, spencer tracy. It offered to the public a sense of escape into a world of class and refinement. On the other hand, Universal Pictures was constantly on the financial shoals throughout the 1930s. They couldnt afford movie stars. And the strategy is finally settled on was making horror movies. I am dracula. The universal horror movies are primal. They just driping with atmosphere. Look at dracula. The look of it is part of the energy of it. Part of the character. Its part of the vibe. The spider is spinning his web for the fly. The blood is delight. I love dracula. It gets better every time i watch it. Legosi is acting on this other level. The whole pace of the scene revolves around him. He sucks all the air out of the room in a good way. When dracula became such a box office hit, they went, oh, that worked. What else is out there . In the name of god i know what it feels like to be god. It was james wells frankenstein that made me want to make movies. I remember seeing the burning windmill sequence. I was 6 years old. And from that point on, i wanted to make films. The bride of frankenstein. Everybody made horror pictures but what was unique about universals was the care with which they were made, plus, they made a lot and had big success. A little bit of an underdog studio. And then david selsnik came in and had a real sense of what audiences wanted and gave them king kong. King kong was one of my early traumatic experiences at the movies. I remember closing all of my blinds in our house because of the one scene where king kong looks into the window and finds faye ray and his hand comes in and abducts her. Watching king kong when i was a kid was an amazing experience. If youve ever been around a stopmotion puppet and moved it one frame at a time, theres something quite magical about that. Thats why that form of animation has always been so inspirational to me. Do you know who snuck into my state room at 3 00 . Nobody. Thats the problem. The Marx Brothers changed american humor. The jokes were like hitting. And they still hit. You watch them over generations. The stuff is really still that funny. Groucho is like the smart comedy. Chico is the dumb comedy. Its like such a Great Variety pack. This was escapism for depressionera audiences. Almost all of their films are about this group of working class comedians taking on an institution of great dignity and respect. The art world and animal crackers, university in horse feathers. An opera house in a night at the opera, the entire system of government in duck soup. Were in the money were in the money weve got a lot of what it takes to get along totally a fan. His Warner Brothers musicals were the best. They were real. They were about women working and show business, trying to get a job during the depression. Remember my forgotten man . One of the most incredible numbers is remember my forgotten man with joan blondell. Its just heartbreaking with all the soldiers on the big archway, and its just brilliant. Busby birkley just blew peoples minds. He turned musical from this black facing dance number to a kaleidoscope. He actually built special holes in the sound stage to really film down. Bus berkeley knew it was a medium. Theyd have the sets move with the choreography. Its amazing. Nothings impossible i have found when my chin is on the ground i pick myself up dust myself off and start all over again my father was under contract at rko, and they asked him to make a musical. I think what he brought to a stair in rogers was a believability. Start all over again seeing that film during the depression where people are surrounded by hopelessness when they see this buoyant and brilliant and comic number that would have been the most satisfying experience. Pick yourself up. The habts of movie going in the 30s were different from today. They didnt just come for one picture. There was a b picture, a news reel, a short and a cartoon. Walt disney who created mickey mouse, he was a visionary. And he got this idea, maybe ill make a feature length cartoon. No one ever thought about this. They thought he was out of his mind. No one had ever attempted this before. And the attempt is difficult for us to understand because it isnt just making feature animation. It is to see if an audience would care about drawings. Snow white is based on a european fairytale, but its not a childrens picture. It was intended for a mixed audience of adults and kids. Goodbye. Goodbye. Walt was not afraid to have dramatic power. I cant do it. He was not afraid to go there. Not afraid to have scenes that would be scary, traumatic even. People were shocked to find out that they were genuinely afraid in the scary parts and genuinely moved when snow white is under the sleeping death because of the tenderness of the animation. Grown adults wept at the premiere. So disney did everything that they said couldnt be done. It was a giant hit. Way surpassed expectations and allowed walt to really build the studio. Every animated feature we have today, it all stems from snow white. Without snow white none of this would exist. Great presentation, tim. Could you email me the part about geico making it easy to switch and save hundreds . Oh yeah, sure. Um. You dont know my name, do you . laughs nervously of course i know your name. I just get you mixed up with the other guy. Whats his name . Whats your name . Switch to geico®. You could save 15 or more on Car Insurance. Could you just tell me . I want this to be over. Number one in Overall Network performance. Full of awards. Highest in Wireless NetworkQuality Performance. 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When he was diagnosed with cancer, his team at ctca created a Personalized Care plan to treat his cancer and side effects. So job could continue to work and stay strong for his family. This is how we inspire hope. This is how we heal. We love you, daddy. Good night. I love you guys. Cancer Treatment Centers of america. Appointments available now. Cancer Treatment Centers of america. Listen this is not the end for you. I already put on my comfy pants. Im so. Cozy. Here. Old spice swagger. Listen, there is a place, full of sports, people, people watching sports, the guys are waiting. Come on ahhh. You cant buy family bonding moments like this. Actually, you can. And with the travelocity price match guarantee, you wont lose any sleep over how much you paid. Travelocity. Wander wisely. Red, this cant go on. Why . I love my wife. Ive never loved anybody else. Weve been sweethearts since we were kids. But she doesnt need to know about us. Between 1930 and 193 4, filmmakers were free to explore subjects like sex and violence. What you get is some fascinating female characters who were sexually liberated. Its quite shocking to see what they were able to get away with. I always did like a man in uniform. That one fits you grand. Why dont you come and see me some time. Mae west was not afraid to own her status as a sex symbol. She was incredibly intelligent and wrote all her own films. She starred with cary grant. She loved his voice. That helped him to become a leading man. Tonight you were especially good. When im good, im very good. But when im bad, im better. Her films were incredibly successful, but the catholic legion of decency, the moral groups were not happy at all. They were petitioning the government to step in and start enforcing censorship if the studios didnt do it themselves. Hollywood is trying to figure out how to deal with the pressure theyre getting because of mae west. Because of all of these early gangster films like little segar and public enemy and scarface. Whats going to happen as a result is hollywood would create the Code Administration in 34 to reign it in. What this country needs more than a good fivecent cigar is clean rollicking comedy. Next time you drop in, bring your folks. The 1934, the beginnings of the screwball comedy come up. It happened one night. Pits clark gable against claudet colbert. A spoiled heiress who has run away from her dad. When you get the code which makes it impossible to show people in bed together, you have to invent. Youll not give up on sex but you have to talk around it. You create an intrigue. It created banter. That, i suppose, makes everything quite all right. Oh, this . Well, i like privacy when i retire. Im very delicate in that respect. Prying eyes annoy me. It happened one night is genius. The walls of jericho scene say classic for anyone that wants to direct romantsic comedies. The walls of jericho will protect you from the big, bad wolf. It pushed him to create an even better, in many ways, sexier scene. It happened one night was so successful winning five Academy Awards. All the major californias and it kicked off the whole idea that we should all be making screwball comedies. Cant be seen talking to this man. What will they think . Godfrey is going to be our butler. They were particularly popular in the 30s because of the depression. You saw generally wealthy people, or people well off making fools of themselves. Just leave everything to godfrey. The phrase screwball came from a review in variety of Carole Lombards screwball performance in my man godfrey. Forget that you have any sense. Godfrey, dont go away. Oh, you now i know you love me. I do not love you and youre getting me all wet. Whats the meaning of this . Godfrey loves me. He put me in the shower. She was extraordinary. She played a lot of kukiness but she had logic to her humor. Your timing cant be like that unless youre very, very clever. The trick was that the leading characters did slapstick. One of my favorites is the awful truth. It was kind of the first real cary grant performance. What is the matter with you . The following year he did bringing up baby. The epitome of screwball comedy. Discovering the romantic comedies of the 30s and 40s, that really took over my life for a long time. The philadelphia story is one of my alltime favorites. Hello. Fancy seeing you. Three of the most impeccable actors in a movie together. Cinderellas slipper. Its callhampagne. Its a great leveller. Jimmy stewarts drunken scene is one of the alltime great drunken performances. Hes just so convincing. And its just so funny and beautiful and you root for this one and then you root for that one. It gives you everything you could ever want from a movie. I know you any time, any place. Anywhere. Youre repeating yourself. Thats the speech you made the night ryou proposed. Of course i remember it. If i didnt remember you, id have divorced you. More words per square inch in his girl friday. I imagine the script is probably that thick and Roslyn Russell clearly was the best at it. Listen, walter i made a great reporter oufts you you wont be sold tell him were flexible. Dont worry. My dutch is ok. Just ok . in dutch tell him we need this merger. in dutch its happening. just ok is not ok. Especially when it comes to your network. At t is americas best Wireless Network and now, get the option of spotify premium on us, with your unlimited plan. More for your thing. Thats our thing. Theres brushing and theres oralb power brushing. Oralb just cleans better. Its the one inspired by dentists. With the round brush head. Oralbs gentle rounded brush head removes more plaque along the gumline. For cleaner teeth and healthier gums. Oralb. Brush like a pro. And with new features and richer stories,d youre from. It can lead you on an unexpected journey. That brings you closer to home. Its only 59 to discover your heritage. So instead of telling stories of where you went. You can tell the story of where you come from. Get your dna kit now for just 59 at ancestry. Com. Many of these films that you get in hollywood in the 30s showcase some of the top black performers of that era. So you get the nicholas brothers, for instance, or bill borobinson. Many people found them entertaining but these black characters were often stereotypical and problematic. Hallelujah Hattie Mcdaniel was known for playing mamietype roles. You know, ive been under the impression that you is a oneman woman. I am. One man at a time. Figures like the nanny were really racial caricatures. What a mamie on the plantation would have been. They dont have much agency. They exist as the backdrop for the narrative world that the white characters live in. Try and find out what he wants. Those images were damaging but she didnt create them. They were created by the white people who control hollywood. I believe youre the lazyiest man that ever lived on this river. Thats saying a whole lot. Paul robeson was always bigger than the material he was given. Old man river that Old Man River in show boat he was able to change Old Man River into something much more complex and ultimately much more critical of the racism that character is experiencing. And youll land in jail Oscar Michelle was one of the pioneers of africanamerican cinema. He was part of a genre known as the race film. And race films were made since the beginning of the birth film, by black filmmakers for black audiences. In the very early days of cinema, its easier, not only for africanamericans, but also for women to get into the industry. It was considered the norm to have women in all levels of hollywood. They were drcirectors. Half of all films written between 1912 and 1921 were written by women. We aint telling nobody until we get ready to make the break outside of you. The big house was one of two films that Francis Marion won her oscars for. The other film, of course, is the champ. I think thats enough for today, dont you . She was incredibly prolific. She has a huge filmography. She made films in genres you might think of as masculine. As the Film Industry consolidated into studios, both women and africanamericans are being pushed out as shapers bill makers. And a studio system thats organized around stars and women become the objects of that comodification. When you have someone like Marlena Dietrich come from germany, she has to represent the exotic, the other, the unknown. Her great appeal is her fabulous androgeny. Everybody seems to like that about her. Shes playing a cabaret singer dressed in a top hat and tails which had become an iconic outfit she wore in performances for the rest of her life. She takes this young woman from the audience and gives the woman a kiss right on the lips. Particularly in the films she made,