Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/600849
81 FALL 2015 / CINEMONTAGE ended and the title appeared. It would have been impossible to change the speed of curtains opening in thousands of theatres just for CinemaScope, so the solution for Fox was to extend the screen time of its logo. To match the extra seconds, the music also had to be longer, so its composer and Fox's musical director Alfred Newman added the grand notes that became the signature sound of 20th Century-Fox films. As for some of the other pressing myths and questions surrounding Hollywood's transition to sound, John Gilbert, "The Great Lover" of Greta Garbo both on and off-screen, had a voice probably quite well-suited to sound recording. The sudden demise of his career had much to do with the fact that he was reportedly detested by his MGM boss, Louis B. Mayer, who may have engineered Gilbert's downfall. A Century of Sound demonstrates Gilbert's vocal ability well in the "Hollywood Stars and the Transition to Sound" special feature on The Beginning disc. This feature also includes a revelatory comparison of Laurel and Hardy skits. First, in a 1928 silent short, Should Married People Go Home?, Stan and Ollie take two lovely young ladies to a soda fountain for refreshment, but only have enough money to pay for three sodas —"misunderstandings and comic transactions ensue" using intertitles. A year later, 1929's Men O'War short shows them doing the same bit, with the same cast of characters and same lines — only with recorded voices. The comic effect is the same; not only did their vaudeville-based routines work with or without dialogue, but their individual voices perfectly fit their personas. Having completed the monumental labor of love that is A Century of Sound, Gitt will not be participating in the forthcoming last volume of this trilogy, although UCLA and the Rick Chace Foundation will oversee the production. The on-camera authority for the third part will be Ioan Allen, senior vice president of Dolby Laboratories, who obviously has a high standard to hit. The spanner in the works of this grand project, if there is one, is copyright. The studios and stars, rightly recognizing the value of this project, granted rights to clips, soundtracks and images. The caveat is that the sets cannot be sold to the public, but can only be gifted to appropriate educational institutions and industry organizations. For more information on A Century of Sound, including its availability, please e-mail centuryofsound@cinema.ucla.edu. f Sonic Centennial CONTINUED FROM PAGE 71 demonstrates Gilbert's vocal ability well in the "Hollywood Century of Sound participating in the forthcoming last volume of this trilogy, although UCLA and the Rick Chace Foundation will oversee the production. The on-camera authority for the third part will be Ioan Allen, senior vice president of Dolby Laboratories, who obviously has a high standard to hit. grand project, if there is one, is copyright. The studios and stars, rightly recognizing the value of this project, granted rights to clips, soundtracks and images. The caveat is that the sets cannot be A Century of Sound: The History of Sound in Motion Pictures The Beginning: 1876-1932 (DVD 2007) The Sound of Movies: 1933-1975 (Blu-ray 2015) Written, Produced and Directed by Robert Gitt Executive Producers Robert J. Heiber, Jan-Christopher Horack, Tim Kittleson Production Supervisor Robert J. Heiber www.trcf.org