Mechanical linkages synchronized gramophone records to silent film frames as early as 1903

While 'The Jazz Singer' is often credited with the birth of sound film in 1927, Oskar Messter successfully demonstrated synchronized audio in Berlin's Apollo Theater in 1903. His 'Biophon' system utilized a Geneva drive to mechanically link a gramophone to the film projector, ensuring the sound matched the actors' movements. He produced over 100 'Tonbilder,' or sound pictures, which featured singers and speakers performing 12-minute loops.