How Did Universal Transition from Silent Film to Sound?
Today we are taking a Universal journey from the silent era of film to sound. We’re going to look at the trials and triumphs of Universal under Carl Laemmle Sr. and Junior’s leadership, and how they finally managed to break through. I’ll be honest, Universal wasn’t the first studio to transition to sound, and they definitely didn’t have it all figured out. But Uncle Carl and Junior had the spirit, and they managed to work it out. A lot changed in just a few years.
Junior Laemmle and Carl Laemmle.
Universal was always a smart and innovative studio. Carl Laemmle, its founder, invented Universal City - the world’s first and only entire movie making city where people lived and worked together. He also invented the idea of the movie star, with Florence Lawrence and some wild publicity stunts he planned around her. He invented the movie studio tour, he was a master of publicity, and under his leadership, Universal made some amazing silent films.
Of course, my mind goes first to movies like The Hunchback of Notre Dame, the Phantom of the Opera, and The Man Who Laughs. Universal was also known for its Westerns, with stars like Harry Carey. In the old days of the studio tour, audiences would get to see the filming of a silent western - and they were encouraged to cheer for the good guys and boo the bad guys. We all know the first sound film was The Jazz Singer. Audiences were so excited to see finally hear somebody speak on screen, but with this Carl Laemmle had to make a choice: was this the future of film or was it just a flash in the pan?
Things were moving fast, and Uncle Carl didn’t have a lot of time to think. Lucky for him, Junior was already on it. Junior had been raised on the Universal Studios backlot, being primed since he was just a kid to one day take over his dad’s place as head of the studio. Fox and Warner Brothers were the first two studios making talkies - they were the only two, really - since they were the only two with the sound equipment, and they had advanced orders for all the new sound equipment from the manufacturer.
Junior Laemmle went rogue to make Melody of Love in less than a week as Universal’s first talkie film in 1928!
Thinking quickly, Junior reached out to Fox and asked if he could rent their sound equipment for a weekend. Just a weekend. He said he wanted to do some tests, and thinking that there wasn’t much he could do in a weekend, Fox said okay. Well wouldn’t you know it … Junior managed to make an entire movie in one weekend, and that is how Universal’s very first talkie got made in 1928. It was called Melody of Love, and today it’s considered a lost film.
For a few years, Universal made part-talkie films, or even sometimes both silent and sound versions of films at the same time. All Quiet on the Western Front shot both a silent and sound version of the film. Show Boat was a part talkie, and Phantom of the Opera even had a re-release that was part sound where they added some reshoots and new scenes. But this double duty couldn’t go on forever.
Hundreds of millions of dollars had been spent converting theaters to sound and then in the midst of it all, the Great Depression hit. Suddenly, nobody knew if they were going to be able to recoup their money. Thankfully, Universal hadn’t invested too much in theaters - so they weren’t in as a precarious position as some of the other studios. But they weren’t out of the woods either. Audiences dwindled, admission prices dropped, and suddenly the film industry - which was still relatively new - didn’t even know if it they could survive.
Studios spent hundreds of millions of dollars outfitting theaters for sound, but when the Depression hit, nobody knew if they’d make their money back.
As an aside, we often don’t think about this, but thousands of musicians lost their jobs in the midst of the Depression with the advent of sound, as theaters didn’t need the musicians to accompany films anymore. It’s just such an interesting byproduct of sound that I think gets forgotten.
Universal had to find a way to demonstrate its commitment to making movies that were truly universal and to get audiences in theaters, watching their sound films around the world. That’s how they started making multi-language versions of films. The most famous of these, being Dracula. When movies were silent, movies could be shown basically identically around the world. You would just swap out a few title cards, and you’re good to go! With sound film - not so easy.
Multi-language versions of films reuse stories, sets, costumes, sometimes even directors, but would swap out the cast with a new cast speaking Spanish, French, German, Italian any other language considered marketable, really! In the case of Universal’s Dracula - while during the day, Bela Lugosi, Dwight Frye, David Manners, and Helen Chandler would show up to film their scenes, at night when they went home, the Spanish Dracula cast would come in and shoot the very same movie on the very same set. Today, many people consider Spanish Dracula to be the superior version of Dracula. Multi-language versions of films were made for just a few years, as they became seen as too costly and time consuming, and other options like dubbing and subtitles became more common.
An aerial view of Universal Studios in 1936, shortly after breaking the sound barrier of film.
Let’s talk about some of the other struggles in the sound era that weren’t just exclusive to Universal. Many actors - even big stars in the silent era - struggled to get work in the sound era. Audiences just couldn’t accept when an actor’s voice didn’t match with what they’d imagined. Even acting styles changed! Acting became much more grounded in reality. It wasn’t as big or dramatic or exaggerated anymore. And actors couldn’t move as much since they had a microphone to take into account. Some actors struggled with memorizing lines, which they’d never had to do before.
Many foreign actors simply left the country, if they didn’t speak English well or if they had a thick accent. I think I most recently spoke about this in regard to Conrad Veidt, who left the country because he had a thick German accent, and finally moved back only to be typecast as nazis for the rest of his life. Directors struggled too at not being able to yell commands at the cast and crew while they were rolling. And of course, our precious studio tour had to come to an end. Though in the early days, it was part of the excitement to cheer on your hero and boo the villain, well now the smallest sound could ruin a take, so they couldn’t risk having an audience!
By 1931, just three years later, silent movies were basically ancient history. Junior Laemmle, now Head of Production at Universal, brought us some lavish productions, amazing musicals, and of course - The Universal Monsters. Uncle Carl and Junior were in uncharted territory, as they navigated the transition from silent to sound. Their work not only reshaped Universal but helped to reshape the entire industry. It’s a testament to their innovation and resilience. Today, when we watch movies full of sound and dialogue, we are watching the legacy of these pioneers who took a big chance on some big changes less than a century ago.