The Coming of Sound

The coming of sound to film was an event whose importance can hardly be overestimated; sound transformed not only the Hollywood film industry but all of world cinema as well. As economic and film historian Douglas Gomery explains, the business of film became not only bigger but much more complex. As sound spread its power, the talkies became an agent of economic and social change through the globe, extending America's reach in ways that had never before been imaginable. Over the years, Douglas Gomery's essays on the coming of sound have been key documents in the study of film. Revisiting and amplifying them in the light of new archival research, he has produced a book that provides important historical insight into such topics as the development of movie chains, the early history of Warner Brothers and Fox, and the struggle for control of sound itself. This will be an essential work for anyone interested in early film, film history and economics, and the history of the American media. Alsoincludes an eight page insert.