Synchronized Sound Cinema in Montreai 1926-1 93 1 Joanne
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That's Not What 1 Heard: Synchronized Sound Cinema in Montreai 1926-1 93 1 JoAnne Stober A Thesis in The Dement of Communication Studies Resented in mal Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts at Conwrdia University Montreai, Quebec, Canada 8 JoAnne Stober, 200 1 National library Bibliiothèque nationale 1*1 &Ma du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographii Services services bibliographiques The author has granteci a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive permettant à la National Liirary of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distniute or seil reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microfonn, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfichelfih, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownershtp of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts from it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. ABSTRACT That's Not What 1 Heard: Synchronized Sound Cinema in Montreal 1926-193 1 JoAnne Stober This thesis recognizes the introduction of synchronized sound cinema as a point of departure into a sîudy of the cultural and social dimensions of moviegoing. This research focuses on Montreal between 1926 and 193 1 where the tbt Canadian demonstrations and exhibitions of synchronized sound cinema took place. Using film critiques, advertisements for theatres, letters to the editor and editoriais in the Montreal popular press to examine appeals made to audiences, 1 locate patterns and reiationships of moviegoing. This study makes cIearer the development of a process through which social and cultural experience is articulateci, inteqxeted and contesteci al1 of which point to a neeâ to revisit Canadian film history and audiences. By situating early cinema and early audiences within a cornpiex cuitirral space of performance, diversity of entertainment, theatre architecture and interior design it is clear that more than tedmology is implicated in shaping cinematic spectatorship and the conception of historical audiences. The relationship between technology and culture is examineci in a synchronie manner to avoid rnissing the crucial dimensions of moviegoing as it pertains to Montreal. Acknowledgements First and foremost, I wish to thank my supervisor Charles Acland for his encouragement, fiiendship and belief in me. Without his invaluable guidance through this field, sMng of knowledge, insight, and patience Iwould not be doing what I am today. I would atm like to recognize the camaraderie of my peers in the program at Concordia who have provided entertainment outlets laced with academia Also, Andrea,stufF who having been through this herself, gave me al1 the dirt and out of her own desire agreed to read drafts of my work-Montreal has never been the same since you le& And Mark for his fnendship and editing even though I kept forgetting to send him tfie I aiso want to tbank Jennifer McLennan for sharing her passion for discourse with me way back at the U of L. Russel Barsch for insisting on and inspiring new mettiods of iquiry to agesld problems. Barbara Williams for her unraveling belief in me. Bill Buxton, at Concordia, for sharing his interest in media history as well as for his numenous laers of support. Finally, for her willingness to listen to my daily thesis musings even den she wasn't quite sure what I was reaily up to, her love and for always king there, I ttiank my mom, And most importantly, to Carneron who induiged my fiequent trips ta the moon and knew just when to bring me back again, Without your love, encouragement and extra effort in our daily lives I would not be nearly as punctuai- You showed me how to perform at a Ievel I never thought was capable of and your determination and spirit inspire me always. Table of Contents Chapter 1 : Window of Opportunity : Rethinking Canadian Film History Chapter 2: You Heard it Here First: -ng to the Amval of Sync-Sound in the United States Chapter 3: de Forest's Debut in Monîreal Chapter 4: They Al1 Talk in the Important Scenes Chapter 5: Something ta Suit Everyone Chapter 6: Moveable Feasî Appendix Bibiiography introduction To coïncide with the 300" anniversary of the signing of La Grand Paix-The Great ~eace'in Montreai, organizers at the Montreal Museum of Archlogy and History sponsored a series of performances in the narrow, cobblestone streets and aIIeys of OId Montreal. Situated along a walking path, specbtors were invited to move from performance CO performance. Despite cloudy skies, hundreds of people gathered in Old Montreai to experience 170 1 through the dramatic recreations in the streets. Since the group of spectators was very large and everyone began at the same point, a long fine of people began to file along the street to the site of the first perfiomance. A smalI theatre troupe was at each site and gave a reenacûnent of life in Montreal three hundred years ago. After a crowd had gathered, the performers wodd begin. At each speciai station, audience members wodd watch quietly as the drama played out and then a cast member wodd indicate the end of the skit by yelling "circuiaîe." This was both the cue for members of the audience to move on to the next reenactment and for the long Iine of peopie waiting to mow forward and take their places- Those who had been in the ba~kof the group wodd then file into positio-the good seats-and wait as the actors prepared IO perfiorm the skit again. On more chan one occasion, 1 was at the edge of the audience: that is, I was dose enough to see most of the action but too Eir away to be able to hear cIearly what was ' Commemoraùng the ratification of the Great Peace Treaty in 170 1 behveen 39 repesambes of Amenndian nations and the French inhabitants of Monûeal- Tbe Treaty was si@ in Montreai and 200t marks îhe 300" iiItIilverrary of the event t king said. This was an obscure position From my vantage point, 1 was acutely aware of a "borderland" space between the audience and those wing in line to see the performance. The people behind me, unable to see or hear, would talk amongst themselves, laugh and cary on as if the performance was not even happening The people in fiont of me would Iean forward intently to catch the action- The "borderland" was a precarious place and while inhabiting it, I was aware of the performance because I wuid hear and see bits and pieces yet I was also aware of those who were not able to see the action because 1 could feel their pushg and hear their private discussions. As the crowd behind me grew, it seerned those in the "borderland" began to also talk amongst themselves, admire the arcbitecaae of Old Montreai, ancl make plans for der the performance. This conduct bled fonvard untiI it seemed only audience members in the first NOcows were actually watching and listening to the pecformets. In the end. i spent more the in the "borderland" than 1 did watching the skits, even when 1 was able to move into the tkst couple of mws of spectators 1 found myself struggling to sepatate tiom the people behind me in order to direct my fidl attention toward the performance. The vigor I normally devote to live performance, was absent The venue of the street, the mobility required of spectators and the autowmy that this gave the audience resulted in an atmosphere îbat shaped rhe way viewhg took place. 1 offer this anecdote to remind the reader that the conceptuaiization of the public as "a m&ue of competing fmof organizing social experience meaos thinking of it as a potentially volatile process, defined by diIfere1 speeds and temporal markers."l Tae specîatorai situation of the re-enacmient of the Great Peace was influenced by the Hansen, &am, "Transformtions of the Public Sphere" Viewina Positions: Ways of Seeinn Film, ed Linda Williams (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgets UP, 1994) 144. location, the tirne, the performance schedule, the surroundings of Old Montreal, the size of the crowds, the amplification of the perfomers voices, and the movement required of the spectators, not to mention the wide range of non-spectral activities and reasons for people to be at the performance-wanting to get out of the house, a chance for a Mly activity, an occasion for walking in the romantic srreets with a love interest, something to do before going for a drink at the pub. With certainty, the anecdote reminds us of al1 the influences on spectatorship present at the site of the performance. In addition, competing popular forms of entertainment influence audience behavior and etiqueue. if we are to situate audiences in a specific historical and social fiamework, it is necessary to consider the cultural pacbces of that time. in other wotds, the process of envisioning the public is as unpredictable as understanding al1 elements of exhibition and performance. As Catherine Russell considers; By Iocating early cinema within a complex cdNai space of architecture, theam, joumalism, and a divemvemtyof ppular entertainments, the activity of film-viewing is conceived as a function of weryday Iife. Moreover, the mobility of the spectator through the diversïty of spectacles, dong wnb the deof interîexhiality in early cinema, renâers the viewer's participation highIy interactive.' WhiIe the foundation of classicai theories of spectatorsbip presumed a distanced, decorporeaiized, monocular eye completcly unimplicated by the objects in its vision,' researchers later began to view the body as subjective ratber than a fixed object-vision -- - - 3 Russell, Catherine, "Parallax Historiography: The Fiâneuse as Cyberfeminist," ScoDeScoDe (ianuary 7,2000).