1927 THE FIRST ‘TALKIE’ IS RELEASED
Al Jolson shocks and delights the world with the first feature.-length ‘talkie’, featuring a full two minutes of dialogue
At a New York City cinema on 6 October 1927, filmgoers gathered to watch the premiere of a new Hollywood movie, e Jazz Singer. The plot revolved around young Jewish singer Jakie Rabinowitz, torn between his orthodox family and his love of jazz. When Jakie (played by singer Al Jolson) exclaimed, “Wait a minute, wait a minute! You ain’t heard nothing yet”, viewers gasped with surprise and joy. After all, this was the very first motion picture to feature dialogue and spoken word, otherwise known as a ‘talkie’.