Imagine going to a movie theater having only seen silent films and hearing sound for the first time. The black and white pictures on screen were suddenly alive with dialogue, overtures, and sound effects. Charlie Chaplin's pantomimes were out; Clark Gable's dramas were in.
The "talkies," as they were known in the early 1930s, were touted as a scientific transformation—"the most marvelous accomplishment since the discovery of electricity,” Hollywood director Roy Del Ruth said at the time. The new technology minted stars, ruined corporations, established Hollywood as a power center and, ultimately, changed the way people interact with not only entertainment but also each other. "Hollywood possessed the nation," historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. wrote. "It formed our images and shaped our dreams."
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