ABSTRACT
If one were to poll film fans, film makers, critics, and other interested parties and ask them what was the most significant American film made before 1940, one would undoubtedly get dozens of answers. Surely some would nominate the brilliant comedies of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. The stunning mise-en-scéne of F. W. Murnau and Joseph von Sternberg would rank high. Other critics would push film makers who achieved a measure of social impact such as Frank Capra or D. W. Griffith. Simply put, each person would have certain criteria in mind for what makes for an influential film and then would search out and nominate the best within that category. And fans and historians alike would-because it was first-place Warners’ The Jazz Singer among the top films. After all, fans and scholars would say-no Jazz Singer, no talkies.
