I'm not asking if "Little Caesar" was the first major talking picture since I know it isn't. I'm just hoping there's a helpful film historian around who can tell me which one was it? Thanks.
shareIt was The Jazz Singer from 1927.
imdb linky: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0018037/
yeah, but the only "dialogue" from the Jazz Singer is Al singing the songs. no true dialogue between characters.
shareThe first full-lenth talking picture was Lights of New York released in 1928. The Jazz Singer, released a year earlier, had some sound dialogue but was mostly a silent film.
shareThe Barrymore version of Don Juan was the first to have a synchronized soundtrack although it is not a "talkie"; that honor goes to the Jazz Singer. Read the trivia section of Don Juan. It may answer all your questions. Edison as well as DW Griffiths experimented with sound with mixed success.
Tiberius: Fate chose me to govern swine, in my old age, I have become a swineherd.
The earliest filmmakers,especially European ones, experimented with synchronized sound. I have footage from Italian and French movies before 1910 with very dim sound included. The problem was always projecting sound loud enough to be heard by a theater of viewers.
"We're fighting for this woman's honor, which is more than she ever did."
[deleted]