![]() Thalberg was a notorious perfectionist, often sending a movie back for extensive re-takes after sneak previews. Shearer, who became one of the most honored figures in the history of the industry, revolutionized post-production on the film by introducing filming to play- back. Thalberg’s impetus was that year’s The Singing Fool, the part-talkie with Al Jolson singing original songs written for the movie, which grossed a record-break- ing $5 million. In late 1928, Shearer was assigned to The Broadway Melody, which was conceived as the studio’s first all-talking musical picture with original songs––by Freed and Brown––including the immortal “You Were Meant for Me” and the title song. The picture editor was Sam Zimbalist, who became one of the studio’s major producers, culminating his career with Ben Hur (1959), the last best picture Oscar that MGM won. On virtually his first assignment in the transitional era of sound recording of synchronized music and sound effects for silent films, he excelled as a sound engineer on White Shadows in the South Seas (1928) and was appointed head of the sound department. The Canadian-born Shearer was hired for the camera department in the late 1920s. ![]() But the film’s craftsman with the most lasting impact on the industry was another brother-in-law of Thalberg––Douglas Shearer–– who was the brother of the Queen of MGM, legendary star Norma Shearer. Irving Thalberg produced it with his brother-in-law, Lawrence Weingarten. After Freed became a producer with The Wizard of Oz (1939), he organized the Freed Unit, which was responsible for the glorious reign of the MGM musicals, including the Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, Fred Astaire vehicles, An American in Paris (1951), Singin’ in the Rain (1952)––the satire of early talkies, which featured the Freed-Nacio Herb Brown songbook––and Gigi (1958). Four of MGM’s official eight Best Picture Oscars were for musicals, and The Broadway Melody (1929), released 80 years ago in February 1929, was its first winner in the second year of the Academy Awards.Īpart from its distinction as the first original all-talking sound musical––both The Jazz Singer (1927) and The Singing Fool (1928) were part-talkies–– The Broadway Melody is notable because it introduced Arthur Freed, the film’s composer, to MGM and because it marked the debut of lip-synching to the playback of pre-recorded music. Perhaps because it was the most politically conservative of the major studios, MGM was more comfortable with melodramas and musicals than with social issues. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s film legacy is its musicals.
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