As has often been pointed out, especially since the turn of the century with the renewed interest in silent movies, 1927’s THE JAZZ SINGER is not the first sound feature. It is a silent movie complete with title cards that has only a few sound sequences featuring Al Jolson singing although those scenes did hasten the end of the silent era. THE LIGHTS OF NEW YORK was made the following year in what was originally meant to be a Vitaphone sound short. Director Bryan Foy discreetly expanded it to an hour making it the first true talkie feature. It was originally released over Jack Warner’s objections but he quickly changed his tune when it became a smash hit. Why then was it forgotten for so many years? The short answer is that it isn’t very good.
The limitations of the new sound technology combined with the actors’ understandable trepidation in dealing with it led to stiff and awkward performances. Also extremely limited was the mobility of the new sound cameras which led to static scenes that were devoid of visual interest. Just compare it with any of the non-singing segments of THE JAZZ SINGER and you can easily see the difference. Only the original Vitaphone musical numbers shot before the film was expanded have any real life to them. LIGHTS was a novelty picture that made a bundle at the box office but aged very quickly once the novelty wore off. Better pictures were quickly being made with the new technology and sound was here to stay,
While it’s easy to see why it was allowed to pass into obscurity, looking at LIGHTS is still of interest today. It is a true slice of movie history and it allows us to see a number of noteworthy performers at the start or at the end of their careers. Frog voiced Eugene Pallette would go on to become a very portly and very successful character actor for many years. Child star Helene Costello (sister of Delores) would soon retire from the screen while Wheeler “take him for a ride” Oakman would continue on in Westerns. Silent film character actress Gladys Brockwell (7TH HEAVEN, HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME), who is not seen to her best advantage here due largely to terrible dialogue, would die in a car accident a year later.
Warner Brothers should be given credit for finally releasing the film as part of their Archive MOD (made on demand) DVD series. The print looks astonishingly good for its age and more importantly the primitive early soundtrack is quite clear and the dialogue can be easily understood. While that’s not always a plus, it does add to the fun for fans of early movies who, like myself, are just happy to be able to see the film period. Also worth checking out from WB Archive are 1926’s DON JUAN with John Barrymore (the first synchronized sound feature) and Michael Curtiz’s NOAH’S ARK, made the same year as LIGHTS, which is part sound and part silent.
The Capsule Critic 