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 The Great Gatsby takes place during the period of silent movies. Despite the lack of sound, these films were widely popular - 35 million Americans were watching a movie weekly by 1920. By 1930, attendance had risen to 95 million weekly. Cinema's silent-screen stars were mimes, using their face and limbs to express themselves, exaggerating their motions. Caption cards were used to explain occurrences or provide dialogue for characters. (To understand the story, illiterates had to go with someone who could read, which resulted in much whispering) Along with sport heroes, film idols in the 1920s served to capture the imagination of a public eager for larger-than-life heroes. (Although at first, the film industries tried to keep the actors at a low profile to prevent them from commanding larger salaries.)
Like much of the entertainment of that decade, the staple generic movie featured classic success stories of poor boys struggling their way to wealth, nice young men marrying rich beautiful girls and other trite plots. Some of more notable movies of the decade were It, starring Clara Bow, the "It" girl, The Sheik, featuring Rudolph Valentino, and the many silent comedies of Charlie Chaplin. |
MAJOR STARS:
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| Charlie Chaplin |
Rudolph Valentino |
Clara Bow |
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 The era of silent film came to an end when The Jazz Singer, starring Al Jolson, was released in 1927. The arrival of "talkies" changed cinema forever. Extravagant gestures so frequently used now seem like bad acting. In addition, the general public was exposed to the real voices of major stars for the first time. Some could not make the adjustment because of the sound of their voices (as portrayed two decades later in the musical Singing in the Rain), such as John Gilbert, pictured at right. His voice was so high-pitched and squeaky that audiences laughed when they heard him speak. Many European actors had thick accents and thus had their careers end as well. One exception however was Greta Garbo, (pictured at top) whose husky Swedish voice matched her cool, mysterious image perfectly.
The 1920s was a notable period for cinema. In addition to the advent of movies with audio, it was an era of glamorous stars and of grand stories, the Golden era in the history of films. Many of today's movies draw upon or emulate the films of the past decade. (Chaplin, for instance, was an inspiration for later comics/actors, such as Buster Keaton and Jackie Chan.) |
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Page last updated March 28, 1999
Curator: Eric Phan
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