When the Talkies Were Young

This short film was produced and written by Robert Youngson--a man who gained notoriety with his compilations of the early history of film comedies--such as THE GOLDEN AGE OF COMEDY and WHEN COMEDY WAS KING. Each of these films consisted of silent clips that were accompanied by narration.

This film is different from Youngson's more famous compilations because comedy is NOT the theme. Instead, it's about early sound films--with a particular emphasis on the early films of the major Warner Brothers stars of the 1930s. The film was NOT a chronological or exhaustive history of such films, but was more designed to feature current stars (as of 1955). A lot of actors whose careers had ended years before were pretty much ignored--and it was, in many ways, an ad for Warner Brothers films. Featured actors are Jimmy Cagney, Spencer Tracy, Edward G. Robinson and others.

Because the film is not a perfect or complete history of early sound stars, it's interesting but not all that important. Film experts will be left wondering why some actors were ignored while others were featured. Of all the extras included on the second of three DVDs in "The Jazz Singer" set, this is by far the weakest and least interesting.