Cinemas conversion to sound: Technology and film style in France and the U.S.

Cinemas Conversion to Sound: Technology and Film Style in France and the U.S.

Volumn , Issue , 2005, Pages 1-200

  O'Brien, Charles ^a  

^a CARLETON UNIVERSITY   (Canada)

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EID: 84900621240     PISSN: None     EISSN: None     Source Type: Book    
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References (316)

1. In Michel Chion, Le cinéma et ses métiers [The cinema and its crafts] (Paris: Bordas, 1990), 180.
2. See Michèle Deroyer, "Ce que Pirandello attend du cinéma" [What Pirandelloexpects from the cinema], Pour vous, no. 148 (17 September 1931), 3.
3. In Alexandre Arnoux, "Les auteurs dramatiques et les 'talkies'" [Dramatistsand the talkies], Pour vous, no. 35 (18 July 1929), 2;
4. see also André Berge, "Dira-t-on maintenant: êtes-vous phonogénique?" [Are you phonogenic?], Pour vous, no. 28 (30 May 1929), 2;
5. C. A. Gonnet, "Comment on devientstar" [How to become a star], Almanach de Mon Ciné (1932), 24.
6. See, for instance, "Des film parfumés?" [Perfumed films?], La cinématographiefrançaise, vol. 12, no. 595 (29 March 1930), 16;
7. Emile Roux-Parassac, "En écoutant le parlant" [While listening to the talkie], Le cinéopse, vol. 13, no. 141 (May 1931), 223.
8. See Martin Barnier, En route vers le parlant: histoire d'une evolution technologique, économique et esthéthique du cinéma (1926-1934) (Liège, Belgium: Ed. Du Céfal, 2002), 207-208.
9. See here remarks on sound conversion in Peter Wollen, "Cinema and Technology: A Historical Overview," Readings and Writings: Semiotic Counter-Strategies (London: Verso, 1982), 169-177.
10. See Alan Williams, Republic of Images: A History of French Filmmaking (Cambridge, Mass., and London: Harvard University Press, 1992), 138ff.
11. In Colin Crisp, The Classic French Cinema, 1930-1960 (Bloomington: IndianaUniversity Press, 1993), 109-110.
12. Regarding the filmic avant-garde's decline, see Leo Hirsch, "Film sonore etfilm muet" [Sound film and silent film], La technique cinématographique, vol. 4, no. 26 (February 1933), 79.
13. In Jean Fayard, "Acteurs de théâtre et acteurs de cinéma" [Theatre actors andfilm actors], Pour vous, no. 394 (4 June 1936), 2.
14. In Jean Mitry, Histoire du cinéma, art et industrie, vol. 4: les années trentes (Paris: J.-P. Delarge, 1980), 166-167.
15. In Jacques Vivien, "Broadway Melody," Petit Parisien (2 August 1929).
16. See Abel Gance, "Il y a le cinéma et il y a l'art du cinéma" [There is cinemaand there is cinema art] (1934), in Roger Icart, Abel Gance (Lausanne: L'âged'homme, 1983), 261;
17. René Clair, "René Clair défend le parlant contre leparlant" [René Clair defends the talkie against the talkie], Pour vous, no. 56 (12 December 1929), 7;
18. Georges Charensol, "Panorama du cinéma," Pourvous, no. 61 (16 June 1930), 11.
19. Martin Barnier, En route vers le parlant: histoired'une evolution technologique, économique et esthétique du cinéma (1926- 1934) (Liège, Belgium: Ed. Du Céfal, 2002), 137-195;
20. Christian Belaygue, ed., La passage de muet au parlant: panorama mondial de la production cinématographiquemondial, 1925-1935 (Toulouse: Cinémathèque de Toulouse/ Ed. Milan, 1988).
21. See Martin Barnier, "Le Cinéphone et l'Idéal-Sonore, deux appareils sonoresGaumont des années 1920-1930," 1895, no. 24 (June 1998), 37-53.
22. Concerning the formation of Tobis-Klangfilm, see Karel Dibbets, "L'Europe, le son, Tobis" [Europe, sound, Tobis], Le passage du muet au parlant [Thepassage from silent to speaking cinema], ed. Christian Belaygue (Toulouse: Cinémathèque de Toulouse/Ed. Milan, 1988), 38-41;
23. Douglas Gomery, "Economic Struggle and Hollywood Imperialism: Europe Converts to Sound," Yale French Studies, vol. 60, no. 1 (1980), 80-93.
24. See Marcel Colin-Reval, "La répartition des teritoires Européens par lesgroupements Germano-Américains, Détenteurs des brevets sonores" [Thedivision of European territories by German and American sound-patentowningcompanies], La technique cinématographique, vol. 13, no. 660 (27 June 1931), 75.
25. See Francis Courtade, Les Malédictions du cinéma français: une histoire ducinéma français parlant, 1928-1978 (Paris: Aláin Moreau, 1978), 39-43.
26. See Martin Barnier, En route vers le parlant (Liège, Belgium: Ed. Du Céfal, 2002), 150.
27. See David Bordwell, Janet Staiger, and Kristin Thompson, The Classical HollywoodCinema (New York: Columbia University Press, 1985).
28. In Brian Winston, Technologies of Seeing: Photography, Cinematography, andTelevision (London: British Film Institute, 1996), 8.
29. See Douglas Gomery, "Technological Film History," in Robert Allen andDouglas Gomery, Film History: Theory and Practice (New York: Knopf, 1985).
30. These figures are cited in James P. Kraft, Stage to Studio: Musicians and theSound Revolution, 1890-1950 (Baltimore and London: Johns Hopkins UniversityPress, 1996), 49.
31. See Jean-Marie Lo Duca, La technique du cinéma (Paris: Presses UniversitairesFrançaises, 1948), 118.
32. A detailed analysis of these and other film-theatre receipts in Paris can befound in Reginald Ford, "Statistiques des cinémas de Paris," La cinématographiefrançaise, vol. 13, no. 629 (22 November 1930), 14.
33. See René Guy-Grand, "Debuts et avenir du film sonore" [The beginnings andfuture of the sound film], Grand revue (1 April 1930), 209-222. "The creationof the sound film is essentially an American effort."
34. In Paul Morand, "Les cinq sens de la terre," Figaro (15 April 1935), n.p.
35. In Ruth Vasey, The World According to Hollywood (Madison: University ofWisconsin Press, 1997), 63-99.
36. Marcel Colin-Reval, "La Convention Paramount à Berlin," La cinematographie française, vol. 13, no. 661 (4 July 1931), 9.
37. See "Braunberger-Richebé, specialists du 'parlant,'" La cinématographiefrançaise, vol. 12, no. 607 (21 June 1930), 7.
38. On vertical integration in Britain, see Ian Jarvie, Hollywood's Overseas Campaign, The North Atlantic Movie Trade, 1920-1950 (Cambridge: CambridgeUniversity Press, 1992), 135-143.
39. On Ufa's vertical structure, see Klaus Kreirmeier, The Ufa Story, trans. Robertand Rita Kimber (New York: Hill and Wang, 1996), 39-44, 61-73, 80-82.
40. On the formation of Tobis-Klangfilm, see "Une fusion sensationnelle: Tobiset Klang Film vont collaborer" [A sensational fusion: Tobis and Klangfilm beginto collaborate], La cinématographie française, vol. 11, no. 541 (16 March 1929), 11.
41. On the notion of intermediality, see Richard Abel and Rick Altman, eds., The Sounds of Early Cinema (Bloomington: Indiana University Press), xiii.
42. In Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno, "The Culture Industry: Enlightenmentas Mass Deception," Dialectic of Enlightenment (New York: Continuum, 1989), 132ff.
43. See Christian Brochard, Histoiregenérale de la radio et de la télévision en France, vol. 1 (1921-1944) (Paris: La Documentation Française, 1994), 390-405.
44. In André Beucler, "Music-Hall et cinéma," Pour vous, no. 13 (14 February 1929), 3.
45. On the topic of projection speed, see Paolo Cherchi Usai, Burning Passions: An Introduction to the Study of Silent Cinema (London: British Film Institute, 1994);
46. Jean Mitry, Histoire du cinéma, art et industrie, vol. 4: les annéestrentes (Paris: J.-P. Delarge, 1980), 19.
47. In Marcel L'Herbier, "Devoir de la critique" [Criticism's duty], La cinématographiefrançaise, vol. 13, no. 642 (21 February 1931), 7;
48. Marcel Carné, "Comment on realize un film parlant française" [How a French talkie ismade], Cinémagazine (July 1930), 16.
49. See Emile Vuillermoz, "Les trahisons du haut-parleur" [The betrayals of theloudspeaker], Pour vous, no. 365 (14 November 1935), 2.
50. See, for instance, R. Berner, "Trop de bons fauteuils et pas assez de bons films" [Too many good armchairs, not enough good films], La technique cinématographique, vol. 15, no. 745 (11 February 1933), 15;
51. Pierre Hémardinquer, "L'art et technique," La technique cinématographique, vol. 3, no. 1 (January 1932), 42.
52. See remarks in Karel Dibbets, "The Introduction of Sound," in The OxfordHistory of World Cinema, ed. Geoffrey Nowell-Smith (Oxford: Oxford UniversityPress, 1996), 214.
53. See Donald Crafton, The Talkies: American Cinema's Transition to Sound, 1926- 1931 (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California, 1997), 250-253.
54. On the plight of film-theatre musicians, see James P. Kraft, Stage to Studio: Musicians and the Sound Revolution, 1890-1950 (Baltimore and London: JohnsHopkins University Press, 1996), 38-56.
55. See Raymond Berner, "Ce qu'est le circuit Pathé-Natan" [Pathé-Natan'stheatre circuit], La cinématographie française, vol. 12, no. 596 (5 April 1930), 23.
56. Concerning the scale and quality of live performances in Paris's top moviehouses, see René Miquel, "La vie secrète d'un grand cinéma" [The secret lifeof a great moviehouse], Pour vous, no. 224 (2 March 1933), 8-9.
57. Jean-Pierre Jeancolas, Quinze ans des années trentes: le cinéma des français, 1929-1944 (Paris: Stock, 1983), 95-97.
58. In Pierre Autré, "Depuis le début du film parlant, nos producteurs ont adapté 171 pièces de théâtre et 100 romans" [Since the talkies' debut, our producershave adapted 171 stage plays and 100 novels], La cinématographie française, vol. 15, no. 778 (30 September 1933), 87.
59. In René Clair, "The Art of Sound," in Film Sound: Theory and Practice, ed. Elisabeth Weis and John Belton (New York: Columbia University Press, 1985), 95.
60. See, for instance, remarks in Nino Frank, "Comment Jean de Limur conçoit leparlant français" [How Jean de Limur conceives the French talkie], Pour vous, no. 66 (20 February 1930), 3.
61. On Shumyatsky's plans, see Jay Leyda, Kino: A History of the Russian andSoviet Film (New York: Collier Books, 1973), 323-324, 339-340;
62. Richard Taylor and Ian Christie, eds., The Film Factory: Russian and Soviet Cinema inDocuments, 1896-1939 (London and New York: Routledge, 1988), 323-324, 339, 369.
63. My use of the term "hegemony" is indebted to the geohistorical interpretationof Gramsci in Peter Taylor, The Way the Modern World Works: WorldHegemony to World Impasse (Chichester, UK: John Wiley and Sons, 1996), 31ff.
64. See P. A. Harlé, "Excellent accueil: le délégation Pathé-Natan en Amérique" [Excellent welcome: the Pathé-Natan delegation in America], La cinématographiefrançaise, vol. 11, no. 554 (15 June 1929), 11.
65. See also Blaise Cendrars, Hollywood, Mecca of the Movies, trans. Garrett White (Berkeley and LosAngeles: University of California Press, 1995). Cendrars's text was publishedin French in 1936.
66. See Roger Régent, "La colonie française est appréciée à Hollywood" [TheFrench colony is appreciated in Hollywood], Pour vous, no. 109 (18 December 1930), 3;
67. Antoine de la Chevasnerie, "Avec la colonie française d'Hollywood," Pour vous, no. 198 (1 September 1932), 11.
68. For an example, see P. A. Harlé, "Les secrets des américains," La cinématographiefrançaise, vol. 11, no. 552 (31 May 1929), 11.
69. In J. G. Auriol, "L'importance des 'compagnies' dans le cinéma," Pour vous, no. 280 (29 March 1934), 2.
70. In Roger Leenhardt, "Continuité du cinéma français" (1945), Chroniques decinéma (Paris: Ed. De l'Etoile, 1986), 131.
71. In André Bazin, "The Evolution of the Language of Cinema," What IsCinema? Volume One (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California, 1967), 28.
72. In Arthur Knight, The Liveliest Art: A Panoramic History of the Movies (New York: Macmillan, 1957), 188-189.
73. In Robert Sklar, Film: An International History of the Medium, 2d ed. (UpperSaddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 2002), 208.
74. See, for instance, remarks in Penelope Houston, Keepers of the Frame: TheFilm Archives (London: British Film Institute, 1994), 69-70.
75. In Colin Crisp, Genre, Myth and Convention in the French Cinema, 1929-1939 (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2002), xii.
76. See, for instance, G. Sadoul, Histoire d'un art: le cinéma des origines à nos jours (Paris: Flammarion, 1949), 263;
77. Jean Mitry, Histoire du cinéma, art et industrie, vol. 4: les années trentes (Paris: J.-P. Delarge, 1980), 16-17;
78. Paul Rotha, The Film Till Now: A Survey of World Cinema (Middlesex, UK: Hamlyn, 1967), 530.
79. In Pierre Autré, "Depuis le début du film parlant, nos producteurs ont adapté 171 pièces de théâtre et 100 romans," La cinématographie française, 87.
80. In Emile Vuillermoz, "Essai d'esthétique du sonore" [Essay on sound-filmaesthetics], La revue musicale, no. 151 (December 1934), 52.
81. See Richard Dyer and Ginette Vincendeau, "Introduction," in Popular European Cinema, ed. Dyer and Vincendeau (London and New York: Routledge, 1992), 1-14.
82. See S. M. Eisenstein, V. I. Pudovkin, and G. V. Alexandrov, "A Statement," in Film Sound: Theory and Practice, ed. Elisabeth Weis and John Belton (NewYork: Columbia University Press, 1985), 84-86;
83. Rudolf Arnheim, Filmas Art (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1957).
84. See the survey of approaches to film-historical research and writing in Robert Allen and Douglas Gomery, Film History: Theory and Practice (New York: Knopf, 1985);
85. Michèle Lagny, De l'histoire du cinéma: méthode historiqueet histoire du cinéma (Paris: Armand Colin, 1992).
86. In Charlie Chaplin, "Après le 'parlant' aurons-nous le film odorant?" [Afterthe talkie, will we have the smellie?], Pour vous, no. 129 (7 May 1931), 3.
87. Concerning Eisenstein, see "Les idées de M. Eisenstein sur le film sonore," La cinématographie française, vol. 12, no. 602 (17 May 1930), 15-16.
88. Donald Crafton, The Talkies: American Cinema's Transition to Sound, 1926-1931 (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California, 1997), 19-22.
89. Quoted in Roger Régent, "Point de vue d'un producteur français: M. Natan" [A French producer's point of view: Mr. Natan], Pour vous, no. 92 (21 August 1930), 2.
90. In Fernand Braudel, On History, trans. Sarah Matthews (Chicago: Universityof Chicago Press, 1980), 4.
91. Richard Abel, "Cinégraphieand the Search for Specificity," in French Film Theory and Criticism, vol. 1: 1907-1929 (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1988), 194-223.
92. A. P. Richard, "Considérations théoriques sur le film sonore" [Theoretical considerations on the sound film], La cinématographie française, vol. 15, no. 751 (25 March 1933), i.
93. See, for instance, Scott Eyman, The Speed of Sound: Hollywood and the TalkieRevolution, 1926-1930 (Baltimore and London: Johns Hopkins University), 1999.
94. In the editorial, "20e anniversaire du parlant" [Twentieth anniversary of thetalkie], La technique cinématographique," vol. 17, no. 28 (3 October 1946), 1.
95. David Bordwell, On theHistory of Film Style (Cambridge, Mass., and London: Harvard UniversityPress, 1997), 60, 82.
96. In Georges Charensol, "Le film parlant," in Le cinéma par ceux qui le font [The cinema according to those who make it], ed. Denis Marion (Paris: Fayard, 1949), 54.
97. In André Bazin, "The Evolution of the Language of Cinema," What IsCinema? Volume One, trans. Hugh Gray (Berkeley and Los Angeles: Universityof California, 1967), 23.
98. Peter Burke, The French Historical Revolution: The Annales School, 1929-1989 (Stanford, Calif.: Stanford UniversityPress, 1990).
99. Michèle Lagny, De l'histoire du cinéma: méthode historique et histoire du cinéma (Paris: Armand Colin, 1992), 32-35ff.
100. See here Barry Salt, "Statistical Style Analysis of Motion Pictures," in Moviesand Methods, ed. Bill Nichols, vol. 2 (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University ofCalifornia Press, 1985), 691-703.
101. Thomas Elsaesser and Warren Buckland, "Mise-en-scène Criticismand Statistical Style Analysis," in Studying Contemporary American Film (London: Arnold, 2002), 102-116.
102. In D. Crafton, The Talkies, 3.
103. In Alexander Walker, The Shattered Silents: How the Talkies Came to Stay (London: Elm Tree Books, 1978), vii.
104. See David Bordwell, Janet Staiger, and Kristin Thompson, The Classical HollywoodCinema: Film Style and Mode of Production to 1960 (New York: ColumbiaUniversity Press, 1985), 298-308.
105. In Jan Mukarovsky, Aesthetic Function, Norm and Value as Social Facts, trans. Mark Suino (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, 1979), 12-13.
106. Quoted in "Une révolution dans la technique du film sonore" [A revolution insound-film technique], Le cinéopse, vol. 13, no. 141 (May 1931), 247.
107. In Dudley Andrew, Mists of Regret: Culture and Sensibility in Classic FrenchFilm (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1995), 119.
108. In Jacques Gerber, ed., Pierre Braunberger, Producteur (Paris: CNC/CentrePompidou, 1987), 81-82.
109. See also remarks in Ginette Vincendeau, Stars andStardom in French Film (New York: Continuum, 2000), 5.
110. Quoted in Roger Régent, "'Je joue pour le cinéma comme au theater,' ditRaimu" ["I perform for the cinema as for the theater," says Raimu], Pourvous, no. 20 (22 September 1932), 3.
111. Olivier Barrot and Raymond Chirat, "Ciné-Boulevard," in Jeux d'auteurs, motsd'acteurs: Scénaristes et dialogistes du cinéma français, 1930-1945 [Authors' performances, actors' words: scenarists and dialogists in French cinema, 1930- 1945] (Lyon: Institut Lumière/Actes Sud, 1994), 81-130.
112. In Pierre Descaux, "Comment le film parlant a modifié le cinéma mondial" [How the talkie has changed world cinema], Almanach de Mon Ciné (1932), 40.
113. See Raymond Bernier, "Un extraordinaire con®it à propos de David Golder," La cinématographie française, vol. 13, no. 630 (29 November 1930), 17.
114. See Lucien Wahl, "Bouboule au Music-Hall," Pour vous, no. 160 (10 December, 1931), 2.
115. In Michèle Lagny, Marie-Claire Ropars, and Pierre Sorlin, Génériques desannées trentes (Vincennes: Presses Universitaires de Vincennes, 1986), 16.
116. See Ursula Hardt, From Caligari to California: Erich Pommer's Life in the InternationalFilm Wars (Providence, R.I.: Berghahn, 1996), 128.
117. In Léonce Perret, "Enlevez-moi! sera la première opérette vraiment française" [Enlevez-moi! will be the first truly French operetta], La cinématographiefrançaise, vol. 14, no. 721 (27 August 1932), 26.
118. See Jean Mitry, Histoire du cinéma, art et industrie, vol. 4: les années trentes (Paris: J.-P. Delarge, 1980), 23.
119. See Pierre Autré, "Au sujet des films américains," La technique cinématographique, vol. 15, no. 743 (28 January 1933), 35.
120. Cited in Jacques Kermabon, "Un cinéma pour le paradis," Pathé, premièreempire du cinema, ed. J. Kermabon (Paris: Centre Pompidou, 1994), 229.
121. See Richard Abel, French Cinema: The First Wave, 1915-1929 (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1984), 64.
122. In Jean Renaitour, ed., Où va le cinéma français? [Where is the French cinemaheaded?] (Paris: Ed. Baudinière, 1937), 52.
123. See remarks from film distributor Marcel Spreher in Jean-Georges Auriol, "Opinions sur les causes d'un malaise," Pour vous, no. 171 (25 February 1932), 3.
124. See Jens Ulff-Møller, Hollywood's Film Wars with France: Film-Trade Diplo-macy and the Emergence of the French Film Quota Policy (Rochester, N.Y.: University of Rochester Press, 2001), 38-39.
125. In Jean Renaitour, ed., Où va le cinéma français? 45.
126. In Andrew Higson, "The Concept of National Cinema," in Film and Nationalism, ed. Alan Williams (New Brunswick, N.J., and London: Rutgers UniversityPress, 2002), 63.
127. See the figures reported in Marcel Colin-Reval, "Seulement 52 films français" [Only 52 French films], La cinématographie française, vol. 12, no. 581 (21 December 1929), 36-37.
128. See Donald Crafton, "Buying Broadway," in Post-Theory: ReconstructingFilm Studies, ed. David Bordwell and Noel Carroll (Madison: University ofWisconsin Press, 1996).
129. Francis Courtade, Les malédictions du cinéma français (Paris: Alain Moreau, 1978), 38.
130. See R. Icart, La révolution du parlant (Perpignan, France: Institut Jean Vigo, 1988), 119-222;
131. Courtade, Les malédictions du cinéma français, 37-38.
132. In Raymond Bernier, "Quelques considérations internationals sur le cinémaparlant" [A few international considerations on the talking cinema], Lacinématographie française, vol. 12, no. 621 (29 September 1930), 162.
133. Claude Jantel, "Le chanteur de jazz," Action française (5 April 1929), n.p.
134. See Pierre Hémardinquer, Le cinématographe sonore et la projection en relief [The sound cinema and 3-D projection], 3d rev. ed. (Paris: Eyrolles, 1935), 137.
135. See J. Bruno-Ruby, "Film sonore, film parlant?" Ciné-miroir, vol. 8, no. 239 (1 November 1929), 691.
136. On the ®ood of films sonores in France, see P. A. Harlé, "Propos de find'année... et du début de l'autre" [Apropos of the end of one year... and the beginning of another], La cinématographie française, vol. 13, no. 633 (20 December 1930), 43.
137. R. Vellard, Le cinéma sonore et sa technique (Paris: Etienne Cheron, 1933), 110-111.
138. Quoted in Jean Lenauer, "Pabst, lui aussi, croit au film parlant" [Pabst, too, believes in the talkie], Pour vous, no. 35 (18 July 1929), 11.
139. In J. Feyder, "Je crois au film parlant" [I believe in the talkie], Pour vous, no. 31 (20 June 1929), 3.
140. See "Les idées de M. Eisenstein sur le film sonore" [Mr. Eisenstein's ideas onthe sound film], La cinématographie française, vol. 12, no. 602 (17 May 1930), 15-16.
141. See, for instance, P. A. Harlé, "Pas de guerre de brevets' en France" [No patentswar in France], La cinématographie française, vol. 12, no. 602 (17 May 1930), 15.
142. In Emile Roux-Parassac, "Des paroles sur le 'parlant'" [A few remarks on the "talkie"], Le cinéopse, vol. 13, no. 142 (June 1931), 293.
143. In P. A. Harlé, "Ne confondons pas films parlants et films sonorisés" [Do notconfuse talkies with sonorized films], La cinématographie française, vol. 12, no. 600 (3 May 1930), 11.
144. In A. Arnoux, "A propos du Chanteur de jazz," Pour vous, no. 11 (31 January 1929).
145. In Lucien Wahl, "Le miracle de la voix qu'on n'entend pas" [The miracle ofthe voice that can't be heard], Oeuvre (6 July 1929), n.p.
146. In Paul Gordeaux, "Le chanteur de jazz," Le journal (1 February 1929), n.p.
147. Claude Jantel, "Lechanteur de Jazz," Action française (5 April 1929), n.p.
148. See Raoul de Givrey, "Le chanteur de Jazz," Ric à Rac (26 March 1929), n.p.;
149. A. Arnoux, "Muet contre parlant, premières escarmouches" [Speechlessversus speaking, opening skirmishes], Pour vous, no. 51 (7 November 1929), 2.
150. See "Robert Florey a terminé La route est belle" [Robert Florey has finished La route est belle], La cinématographiefrançaise, vol. 12, no. 576 (16 November 1929), 11.
151. In "Le film sonore, entre le théâtre et le cinéma" [Sound film, between theatreand cinema], La cinématographie française, vol. 12, no. 604 (31 May 1930), ii.
152. In Jean Fayard, "Le chemin du paradis," Candide (21 November 1930), n.p.
153. In Emile Vuillermoz, "Le chemin du paradis," Nouvelles Littéraires (22 November 1930), n.p.
154. See the interview with Clair in Suzanne Chantal, "René Clair dirige une scènede Million" [René Clair directs a scene from Le million], Cinémonde, vol. 4, no. 124 (5 May 1931), 147.
155. In Alexandre Arnoux, "Une journée aux studios de Neubabelsberg" [A day atthe studios in Neubabelsberg], Pour vous, no. 113 (15 January 1931), 3.
156. In François Porcile, "Preface," in La chanson française dans le cinema desannées trentes: Discographie, ed. Guisy Basile and Chantal Gavouyère (Paris: Bibliothèque Nationale de France, 1996), 11.
157. See Jean Vincent-Bréchignac, "Ce que nous dit M. Erich Pommer" [WhatMr. Erich Pommer tells us], Pour vous, no. 148 (17 September 1931), 3;
158. Guisy Basile and Chantal Gavouyère, eds., La chanson française dans lecinéma des années trentes: Discographie, 42.
159. See Jean Vincent-Bréchignac, "Ce que nous dit M. Erich Pommer," 3;
160. See Pierre Leprohon, "Cinéma allemand et opérettes françaises" [Germancinema and French operettas], Le cinéopse, vol. 4, no. 150 (3 September 1931), 566.
161. In J.-M. Aimot, "Film opérette," Le soir (22 November 1930), n.p.
162. In Pierre Autré, "En France, triomphe du théâtre photographié" [Triumph ofthe filmed stage production in France], La cinématographie française, vol. 15, no. 782 (28 October 1933), 95.
163. In Dudley Andrew, Mists of Regret, 54.
164. Quoted in Claude Vermorel, "Pour faire des films vraiment français?" [How tomake truly French films], Pour vous, no. 235 (18 May 1933), 11.
165. Quoted in Pierre Bret., "Quand René Clair tourne Quatorze juillet" [WhenRené Clair shoots Quatorze juillet], Pour vous, no. 204 (13 October 1932), 4.
166. In Ernest Lindgren, The Art of the Film (London: Allen and Unwin, 1948), 55.
167. See, for instance, V. I. Pudovkin, Film Technique and Film Acting, Memorialed., trans. Ivor Montagu (New York: Grove Press, 1970), 23.
168. Karel Reisz and Gavin Millar, The Technique of Film Editing (London andNew York: Focal Press, 1968), 41-66.
169. In S. M. Eisenstein, V. I. Pudovkin, and G. V. Alexandrov, "A Statement," in Film Sound: Theory and Practice, ed. Elisabeth Weis and John Belton (New York: Columbia University Press, 1985), 84.
170. In André Bazin, "The Evolution of the Language of Cinema," What IsCinema? Volume One (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California, 1967), 28.
171. In Barry Salt, Film Style and Technology: History and Analysis, 2d ed. (London: Starword, 1992), 218.
172. In Colin Crisp, The Classic French Cinema, 1930-1960 (Bloomington: IndianaUniversity Press, 1993), 410.
173. See Salt, Film Style and Technology, 174, 190-191.
174. See Jill Forbes and Sarah Street, European Cinema: An Introduction (Hampshire, UK, and New York: Palgrave, 2000), 44ff.
175. See, for instance, the discussion of art cinema in David Bordwell, Narration inthe Fiction Film (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1985), 228-229.
176. In Erich Pommer, "Peut-on faire des films internationaux" [Can internationalfilms be made?], La cinématographie française, vol. 11, no. 542 (23 March 1929), 35.
177. In Kristin Thompson, "National or International Films? The EuropeanDebate During the 1920s," Film History, vol. 8, no. 3 (1996), 289.
178. See Ben Brewster and Lea Jacobs, Theatre to Cinema (Oxford: Oxford UniversityPress, 1997), 4.
179. Luis Buñuel, "Buster Keaton's College" (1927), in The Shadow and Its Shadow: Surrealist Writings on the Cinema, 2d ed., ed. Paul Hammond (Edinburgh: Polygon, 1991), 64-65.
180. See Richard Dyer and Ginette Vincendeau, eds., "Introduction," Popular European Cinema (London and New York: Routledge, 1992), 1.
181. Tom Gunning, "Notes and Queries about the Year 1913 and Film Style: National Style and Deep Staging," 1895 (October 1993), 195-204.
182. See Barry Salt, Film Style and Technology: History and Analysis, 2d ed. (London: Starword, 1992), 214-226;
183. Colin Crisp, The Classic French Cinema (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1993), 400-414.
184. See Thomas Elsaesser and Warren Buckland, Studying Contemporary American Film (London: Arnold, 2002), 106-116.
185. See Salt, Film Style and Technology, 214-216.
186. In Raymond Bernier, "Quelques considérations internationales du cinéma parlant" [Some international considerations of the talkie], La cinématographiefrançaise, vol. 12, no. 621 (29 September 1930), 162.
187. Quoted in Nino Frank, "Les confidences de M. Julien Duvivier" [Mr. JulienDuvivier's confidences], Pour vous, no. 117 (12 February 1931), 11.
188. Quoted in R. de Thomasson, "Mon ambition est de distraire et d'amuser lepublic dit M. René Pujol" [My ambition is to distract and amuse the public, Mr. René Pujol tells us], Pour vous, no. 257 (19 October 1933), 11.
189. Quoted in Nino Frank, "Pierre Colombier, metteur-en-scène des 'Rois'" [Pierre Colombier, director of the Rois], Pour vous, no. 118 (19 February 1931), 6.
190. In Crisp, The Classic French Cinema, 406-414.
191. In A. P. Richard, "Où en est la technique américaine?" [What's happeningwith American technique?], La cinématographie française, no. 699 (26 March 1932), ii;
192. Jean Morienval, "Les lois de l'art" [The laws of the art], Lecinéopse, vol. 16, no. 176 (April 1934), 111
193. In J.-G. Auriol, "La chienne" (from Revue du cinéma, 1931), in R. Abel, ed., French Film Theory and Criticism, vol. 2 (Princeton: Princeton UniversityPress, 1988), 87.
194. In Michel Chion, Audio-Vision: Sound on Screen, trans. Claudia Gorbman (New York: Columbia University Press, 1994).
195. A discussion of scale-matching can be found in J. P. Maxfield, "Technic ofRecording Control for Sound Pictures," American Cinematographer, vol. 11, no. 1 (May 1930), 11-12, 18, 24, 44.
196. Rick Altman, "Sound Space," in Sound Theory/Sound Practice (New York andLondon: Routledge, 1992), 46-64.
197. See J. Lastra, "Standards and Practices: Aesthetic Norm and TechnologicalInnovation in the American Cinema," in The Studio System, ed. Janet Staiger (New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1995).
198. In Constant Mic., "Comment on monte un film sonore" [How a sound film isedited], Pour vous, no. 81 (5 June 1930), 2.
199. In Emile Vuillermoz, "Essai d'esthéthique du sonore" [Essay on sound-filmaesthetics], La revue musicale, no. 151 (December 1934), 52.
200. In Jean Epstein, "Découpage (construction sonore)," La technique cinématographique, vol. 18, no. 46 (12 June 1947), 1065.
201. Quoted in Michel Chion, Le cinéma et ses métiers (Paris: Bordas, 1990), 125.
202. See also Jean Marguet, "Le dialogue à l'écran" [Dialogue on the screen], Cinémonde, vol. 2, no. 84 (29 May 1930), 343.
203. In Barry Salt, Film Style and Technology, 214. Regarding the effect of editingtechnology on American film style
204. Richard Maltby, Hollywood Cinema, 2d ed. (London: Blackwell, 2003), 258.
205. See Suzanne Albarran, "Les travailleurs obscures du cinéma" [The cinema'sobscure laborers], Pour vous, no. 173 (10 March 1932), 9.
206. See A. Richard, "Les milles et un métiers du film parlant" [The talkies' thousand-and-one crafts], Pour vous, no. 343 (13 June 1935), 14.
207. See Pierre Autré, "L'association des monteurs de films vient de se créer" [TheAssociation of Film Editors is created], La cinématographie française, vol. 15, no. 767 (29 July 1933), 28.
208. See A. P. Richard, "Le montage exige un véritable métier" [Film editing demandstrue craftsmanship], La cinématographie française, vol. 15, no. 756 (29 April 1933), 43-44.
209. In Emile Vuillermoz, "Essai d'esthétique du sonore."
210. In Crisp, The Classic French Cinema, 405-406.
211. In Henri-Diamant Berger, "Technique de Hollywood et technique de Paris," Pour vous, no. 560 (9 August 1939), 2.
212. See, for instance, James Lastra, Sound Technology and the American Cinema (New York: Columbia University Press, 2000);
213. Donald Crafton, The Talkies: American Cinema's Transition to Sound, 1926-1931 (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California, 1997), 236.
214. Quoted in Raymond Barkan, "M. Willem Sivel: ingénieur du son" [Mr. Willem Sivel, sound engineer], La technique cinématographique, vol. 19, no. 74 (2 September 1948), 368.
215. In Crafton, The Talkies, 355-380.
216. For an account by a film-sound engineer, see the historical overview in James R. Cameron, "Historical-Sound Transmission," in Sound Motion Pictures: Recording and Reproducing (Coral Gables, Fla.: Cameron Publishing, 1959), 33-58.
217. In Nathan Levinson, "Rerecording, Dubbing or Duping," American Cinematographer, vol. 13, no. 11 (March 1933), 6-7.
218. See, for instance, S. Silka, "Comment placer le microphone au studio" [Howto position the microphone in the studio], La technique cinématographique, vol. 3, no. 4 (April 1932), 188-189.
219. In P. A. Harle, "La qualité du son" [Sound quality], La cinématographiefrançaise, vol. 20, no. 1013 (1 April 1938), 6;
220. see also R. Singer, "Quelquesidées nouvelles en Amérique" [Some new ideas from America], La techniquecinématographique, vol. 10, no. 96 (December 1938), 1320.
221. On the separation of sound from image production, see Rick Altman, "Evolutionof Sound Technology," Film Sound: Theory and Practice, ed., ElisabethWeis and John Belton (New York: Columbia University Press, 1985), 44-53.
222. See P. Thomas, "Les studios moderne et son traitement acoustique" [Modernstudios and their acoustic treatment], La technique cinématographique, vol. 5, no. 37 (January 1934), 33.
223. See A. P. Richard, Cinématographie française, no. 965 (30 April 1937), ix.
224. See O. Blemmec, "A propos de l'enregistrement avec bandes de fréquencesmultiples" [Apropos of recording with multiple frequency tracks], Lecinéopse, vol. 21, no. 238 (June 1939), 119.
225. See, for instance, A. Lovichi, "La technique du réenregistrement" [The techniqueof re-recording], La technique cinématographique, vol. 2, no. 6 (July 1931), 9-12.
226. For a discussion of re-recording, see Arthur Hoerée, "La travail du filmsonore," La revue musicale, no. 151 (December 1934), 73.
227. The figure concerning re-recording is cited in David Bordwell, Janet Staiger, and Kristin Thompson, The Classical Hollywood Cinema (New York: ColumbiaUniversity Press, 1985), 303.
228. In Pierre Autré, "High Fidelity," La cinématographie française, vol. 15, no. 747 (25 February 1933), 8.
229. See A. P. Richard, "La qualité du son," La cinématographie française, vol. 15, no. 750 (18 March 1933), 7.
230. See A. P. Richard, "La technique 1938, une marche constante vers le progrès" [Technique in 1938: a steady course toward progress], La cinématographiefrançaise, vol. 20, no. 1052 (30 December 1938), iv.
231. In O. Blemmec, "La situation des opérateurs au cinéma" [The situationregarding film projectionists], Le cinéopse, vol. 16, no. 178 (June 1934), 150.
232. See Bordwell, Staiger, and Thompson, The Classical Hollywood Cinema, 302.
233. In Michel Chion, The Voice in Cinema (New York: Columbia University Press, 1999), 5.
234. Quoted in Barkan, "M. Willem Sivel, ingénieur du son," 368
235. From an interview with cinema tographer Michel Kelber, quoted in ColinCrisp, The Classic French Cinema, 1930-1960 (Bloomington: Indiana UniversityPress, 1993), 383.
236. Quoted in André Arnyvelde, "En marge de Quatorze Juillet: entretien avecRené Clair" [A footnore to Quatorze Juillet: an interview with René Clair], Pour vous, no. 213 (15 December 1932), 3.
237. In Arthur Hoerée, "La travail du film sonore," La revue musicale, no. 151 (December 1934), 64.
238. See remarks in P. Jacquin, "Considérations générales sur l'enregistrementdu son" [General considerations on sound recording], La technique cinématographique, vol. 18, no. 47 (26 June 1947), 1083.
239. In Michel Chion, Le cinéma et ses métiers (Paris: Bordas, 1990), 124-125.
240. In Henry Hamelin, ed., L'industrie du cinéma (Paris: Société Nouvelle Mercure, 1954).
241. Regarding the situation in the United States, see Harold Lewis, "Getting GoodSound Is an Art," American Cinematographer, vol. 15, no. 2 (June 1934), 65, 73-74.
242. Paul Honoré, A Handbook of SoundRecording (South Brunswick, N.J.: A. S. Barnes, 1980), 41.
243. W. Sivel, "Le son et le micro" [Sound and the microphone], L'é cranfrançais, vol. 5, no. 91 (25 March 1947), 13, 14.
244. See O. Blemmec, "A propos de l'enregistrement avec bandes de frequenciesmultiples," Le cinéopse, vol. 21, no. 238 (June 1939), 119.
245. See also R. Singer, "Quelques idées nouvelles en Amérique," La technique cinématographique, vol. 10, no. 96 (December 1938), 1319-1320.
246. In Pierre Hémardinquer, Le cinématographe sonore et la projection en relief, 3d rev. ed., corrected (Paris: Eyrolles, 1935), 164-165.
247. See O. Blemmec, "Les microphones," Le cinéopse, vol. 16, no. 176 (April 1934), 116.
248. See O. Blemmec, "Variétés sur les studios" [Observations on the studios], Le cinéopse, vol. 20, no. 222 (February 1938), 43.
249. See, for instance, "L'évolution de la technique cinématographique en 1933" [Evolution of cinematography techniques in 1933], Le cinéopse, vol. 16, no. 173 (January 1934), 15.
250. Concerning Vitaphone technique, see, for instance, Edwin Schallert, "VitaphoneActivity in Hollywood," Motion Picture News (8 July 1927), 35-36;
251. "How Vitaphone Enters In," New York Times (28 August 1927), 7: 4.
252. Bothpieces are reprinted in Robert Carringer, ed., The Jazz Singer (Madison: Universityof Wisconsin Press, 1979), 175-181.
253. A description of multiple-camera shooting can be found in Robert Florey, "Comment on met en scène un film sonore, parlant, et chantant" [How atalking and singing film is made], Cinémagazine, no. 36 (6 September 1929), pt. 1, and Cinémagazine, no. 37 (13 September 1929), pt. 2.
254. See Fernand Vincent, "Les studios Pathé-Natan de Joinville," La cinématographiefrançaise, vol. 12, no. 594 (22 March 1930), 57.
255. Philip Auslander, Liveness: Performance in a Mediatized Culture (New Yorkand London: Routledge, 1999), 19-22.
256. See Léon Moussinac, Panoramique du cinéma (Paris: Le Sans Pareil, 1929).
257. See also P.-A. Harlé, "Des technicians du scènario et du découpage" [Techniciansof the shooting script], La cinématographie française, vol. 11, no. 542 (23 March 1929), 32.
258. In H. Fescourt, La foi et les montagnes, ou le septième art au passé (Paris: PaulMontel, 1959), 385-386.
259. Charles-Felix Tavano, quoted in D. Marion, ed., Le cinéma par ceux qui le font (Paris: Fayard, 1949), 90.
260. See P. Leprohon, Les milles et un métiers du cinéma (Paris: Melot, 1947), 162.
261. In A.-P. Richard, "Petites questions techniques importantes: à propos duparler 'susurré'" [Important little technical questions: apropos of speakingin a whisper], Cinématographie française, vol. 19, no. 965 (30 April 1937), ix.
262. See Pierre Autré, "Les technicians français sont trop modestes" [French techniciansare too modest], La cinématographie française, vol. 15, no. 764 (24 June 1933), viii.
263. In Marcel Pagnol, Cinématurgie de Paris (Paris: Editions de Fallois, 1991), 43.
264. For a sound engineer's assessment, see L. E. Clark, "Sound Recording: Art or Trade," American Cinematographer, vol. 13, no. 2 (June 1932), 17
265. See Carl Dreher, "Sound Personnel and Organization," American Cinematographer, vol. 10, no. 13 (April 1930), 18.
266. See "Sound Men and Cinematographers Discuss their Mutual Problems," American Cinematographer, vol. 10, no. 5 (August 1929), 8, 39.
267. See Bordwell, Staiger, and Thompson, The Classical Hollywood Cinema, 299-301.
268. See J. Lastra, "Standards and Practices: Aesthetic Norm and TechnologicalInnovation in the American Cinema," in The Studio System, ed. Janet Staiger (New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1995).
269. See P. Michaut, "Un musicien: M. Maurice Thiriet," Cinématographie française, no. 1077 (24 June 1939), xii.
270. In G. Gérardot, "L'importance du role de l'ingénieur du son dans une production" [The sound engineer's important role in a production], La cinematographiefrançaise (22-29 December 1934), 149.
271. See Pierre Autré, "Le film parlant à reconquis le plein air" [The talkieconquers the outdoors], La technique cinématographique, vol. 14, no. 738 (24 December 1932), 173.
272. See Colin Crisp, The Classic French Cinema, 1930-1960 (Bloomington: IndianaUniversity Press, 1993), 95.
273. In A. P. Richard, "Tendances actuelles de la technique sonore américaine: comparaison avec méthodes françaises" [Current trends in American soundtechnique: a comparison with French methods], La cinématographie française, vol. 27, no. 1137 (29 December 1945), 7.
274. Quoted in G. Sadoul, "En marge de l'affaire Pathé-Natan" [A footnote to thePathé-Natan Affair], Regards, no. 262 (19 January 1939).
275. Martin Barnier, En route vers le parlant (Liège, Belgium: Ed. du Céfal, 2002), 142-144.
276. See Philippe d'Hughes and Dominique Muller, Gaumont, 90 ans de cinéma (Paris: Ramsey/La cinématheque françaises, 1986), 84.
277. In Roger Manvell, Film (London: Pelican Books, 1944), 148.
278. In G. Sadoul, Histoire d'un art: le cinéma des origins á nos jours (Paris: Flammarion, 1949), 265.
279. See, for instance, "Les affaires de Cinéma-Pathé prospèrent" [Cinéma-Pathé'sbusiness prospers], La cinématographie française, vol. 12, no. 590 (22 February 1930), 11.
280. In Louis D'Herbeumont, "Film parlant et sonore," Le cinéopse, vol. 11, no. 124 (1 December 1929), 955.
281. In Ilya Ehrenbourg, Usine de rêves [Industry of dreams] (Paris: Gallimard, 1936), 106.
282. Quoted in Christian Brieu, Laurent Ikor, and J. Michel Viguier, Joinville lecinéma: le temps des studios (Paris: Ramsey, 1985), 58, 60.
283. See André Rossel-Kirschen and Gilles Willems, "Bernard Natan à la directionde Pathé-Cinéma," 1895, no. 21 (December 1996), 163.
284. Marc-Antoine Robert, "L'affaire Natan," in Jacques Kermabon, ed., Pathé, première empire du cinéma (Paris: CentrePompidou, 1994), 260-267.
285. See Richard Abel, The Ciné Goes to Town (Berkeley and Los Angeles: Universityof California Press, 1994), 9-58.
286. See also remarks in D. Gomery, Movie History: A Survey (Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth, 1991), 113.
287. See Charles Pathé, De Pathé Frères à Pathé Cinéma (Lyon: SERDOC, 1970). These memoirs were first published in 1940.
288. See Abel, "Survivre à un nouvel ordre mondial," 158-189.
289. See F. Garçon, Gaumont, un siècle de cinéma (Paris: Gallimard, 1992), 34-35.
290. See Raymond Berner, "Le circuit Pathé-Natan," La cinématographie française, vol. 13, no. 672 (19 September 1931), 97
291. See Marc-Antoine Robert, "La naissance d'un grand circuit" [The birth ofa great theatre chain], in Jacques Kermabon, ed., Pathé, première empire ducinéma, 280-285.
292. See Raymond Bernier, "Le circuit Pathé-Natan," 97;
293. R. Bernier, "Les grandscircuits français," La cinématographie française, vol. 13, no. 634 (27 December 1930), 105-106;
294. André Rossel-Kirschen and Gilles Willems, "BernardNatan à la direction de Pathé-Cinéma," 170.
295. See R. Bernier, "Une opération monstre" [An enormous operation], La cinématographiefrançaise, vol. 12, no. 614 (9 August 1930).
296. See R. Bernier, "Ce qu'est le circuit Pathé-Natan," La cinématographiefrançaise, vol. 12, no. 596 (5 April 1930), 23.
297. See Roger Régent, "Les indépendants contre les circuits" [Independents versusthe chains], Pour vous, no. 90 (7 August 1930), 2.
298. See Jacques Gerber, ed., Pierre Braunberger, producteur (Paris: CNC/CentreG. Pompidou, 1987), 66.
299. In Louis Saurel, "Le nouveau programme de production Pathé-Natan" [Pathé-Natan's new production program], La cinématographie française, vol. 14, nos. 715-716 (23 July 1932), 19.
300. See R. Régent, "Point de vue d'un producteur français: M. Natan," Pour vous, no. 92 (21 August 1930), 2.
301. See Ginette Vincendeau, Stars and Stardom in French Film (London andNew York: Continuum, 2000).
302. See Kermabon, "Un cinéma pour le paradis," in Pathé, première empire ducinéma, 232-236.
303. In R. Régent, "Charles Vanel met en scène son premier parlant," Pour vous, no. 164 (7 January 1932), 6.
304. In André Arnyvelde, "Quand G. Milton tourne Le roi du cirage" [WhenG. Milton shoots Le roi du cirage], Pour vous, no. 123 (26 March 1931), 6.
305. See André Arneyville, "Léonce Perret tourne Sapho avec Mary Marguet" [Léonce Perret shoots Sapho with Mary Marguet], Pour vous, no. 258 (26 October 1933), 6.
306. See S. Chantal, "A Joinville, on tourne Au nom de la loi" [Au nom de la loi isbeing shot in Joinville], Cinémonde, vol. 4, no. 150 (3 September 1930), 564.
307. In Michel Chion, "Problèmes et solutions pour developer l'étude du son, en Europe et dans le monde" [Problems and solutions for the developmentof sound-film study in Europe and in the world], Iris, no. 27 (spring 1999), 21-22.
308. In Alan Williams, "Introduction," Film and Nationalism (New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press), 19-20.
309. See Barton Byg, Landscapes of Resistance: The German Films of Danièle Huilletand Jean-Marie Straub (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of CaliforniaPress, 1995), 22-23.
310. See Andrew, Mists of Regret, 106, 111.
311. In F. Courtade, Les malédictions du cinéma français (Paris: Alain Moreau, 1978), 79.
312. In Jean Renoir, Ma vie et mes films (Paris: Flammarion, 1974), 141.
313. In H. Fescourt, La foi et les montagnes (Paris: Paul Montel, 1959), 378.
314. In R. Abel, French Film Theory and Criticism, vol. 2 (Princeton, N.J.: PrincetonUniversity Press, 1988), 5.
315. See Michel Chion, Audio-Vision: Sound on Screen, trans. C. Gorbman (New York: Columbia University Press, 1994), 95.
316. In Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet, "Direct Sound: An Interview," in Film Sound: Theory and Practice, 152.