Donald Crafton is Chair of the Department of Film, Television, and Theatre at the University of Notre Dame. He is the author of Before Mickey: The Animated Film, 1898-1928 (1993) and Emile Cohl, Caricature, and Film (1990).

• Acknowledgments1 Introduction: The Uncertainty of SoundPART 1: A NEW ERA IN ELECTRICAL ENTERTAINMENT2 Electric Affinities3 Virtual Broadway, Virtual Orchestra: De Forest and Vitaphone4 Fox-Case, Movietone, and the Talking Newsreel5 Enticing the Audience: Warner Bros. and Vitaphone6 Battle of the Giants: ERPI and RCA Consolidate Sound7 The Big Hedge: Hollywood's Defensive Strategies8 Boom to Bust9 Labor Troubles10 Inaudible Technology11 Exhibition: Talkies Change the BijouPART 2: THREE SEASONS: THE FILMS OF 1928-193112 The New Entertainment Vitamin: 1928-192913 Taming the Talkies: 1929-193014 The Well-Tempered Sound Track: 1930-193115 The Sound of Custard: Shorts, Travelogues, and Animated Cartoons16 Outside the Mainstream17 Foreign AffairsPART 3: HEARING THE AUDIENCE18 The Voice Squad19 Constructive Criticism: The Fans' Perspective20 Buying Broadway: THE JAZZ SINGER's Reception21 "The Great Ninety Per Cent"Appendix 1: Selected Box Office Grosses, 1928-1931Appendix 2: Academy Awards Related to Sound, 1927-1931List of AbbreviationsNotesBibliographyPicture SourcesGeneral IndexIndex of Films

Donald Crafton is Chair of the Department of Film, Television, and Theatre at the University of Notre Dame. He is the author of Before Mickey: The Animated Film, 1898-1928 (1993) and Emile Cohl, Caricature, and Film (1990).

• Acknowledgments1 Introduction: The Uncertainty of SoundPART 1: A NEW ERA IN ELECTRICAL ENTERTAINMENT2 Electric Affinities3 Virtual Broadway, Virtual Orchestra: De Forest and Vitaphone4 Fox-Case, Movietone, and the Talking Newsreel5 Enticing the Audience: Warner Bros. and Vitaphone6 Battle of the Giants: ERPI and RCA Consolidate Sound7 The Big Hedge: Hollywood's Defensive Strategies8 Boom to Bust9 Labor Troubles10 Inaudible Technology11 Exhibition: Talkies Change the BijouPART 2: THREE SEASONS: THE FILMS OF 1928-193112 The New Entertainment Vitamin: 1928-192913 Taming the Talkies: 1929-193014 The Well-Tempered Sound Track: 1930-193115 The Sound of Custard: Shorts, Travelogues, and Animated Cartoons16 Outside the Mainstream17 Foreign AffairsPART 3: HEARING THE AUDIENCE18 The Voice Squad19 Constructive Criticism: The Fans' Perspective20 Buying Broadway: THE JAZZ SINGER's Reception21 "The Great Ninety Per Cent"Appendix 1: Selected Box Office Grosses, 1928-1931Appendix 2: Academy Awards Related to Sound, 1927-1931List of AbbreviationsNotesBibliographyPicture SourcesGeneral IndexIndex of Films

Donald Crafton is Chair of the Department of Film, Television, and Theatre at the University of Notre Dame. He is the author of Before Mickey: The Animated Film, 1898-1928 (1993) and Emile Cohl, Caricature, and Film (1990).

• Acknowledgments1 Introduction: The Uncertainty of SoundPART 1: A NEW ERA IN ELECTRICAL ENTERTAINMENT2 Electric Affinities3 Virtual Broadway, Virtual Orchestra: De Forest and Vitaphone4 Fox-Case, Movietone, and the Talking Newsreel5 Enticing the Audience: Warner Bros. and Vitaphone6 Battle of the Giants: ERPI and RCA Consolidate Sound7 The Big Hedge: Hollywood's Defensive Strategies8 Boom to Bust9 Labor Troubles10 Inaudible Technology11 Exhibition: Talkies Change the BijouPART 2: THREE SEASONS: THE FILMS OF 1928-193112 The New Entertainment Vitamin: 1928-192913 Taming the Talkies: 1929-193014 The Well-Tempered Sound Track: 1930-193115 The Sound of Custard: Shorts, Travelogues, and Animated Cartoons16 Outside the Mainstream17 Foreign AffairsPART 3: HEARING THE AUDIENCE18 The Voice Squad19 Constructive Criticism: The Fans' Perspective20 Buying Broadway: THE JAZZ SINGER's Reception21 "The Great Ninety Per Cent"Appendix 1: Selected Box Office Grosses, 1928-1931Appendix 2: Academy Awards Related to Sound, 1927-1931List of AbbreviationsNotesBibliographyPicture SourcesGeneral IndexIndex of Films