German inventors created talking movies years before Hollywood
While Hollywood was still perfecting silent pantomime, a trio of German inventors had already mastered the art of making the silver screen speak.
Years before the first American 'talkie' took the world by storm, three German engineers—Josef Engl, Hans Vogt, and Joseph Massolle—created a system called Tri-Ergon. On September 17, 1922, they hosted a premiere at Berlin's Alhambra Kino that featured a full-length dramatic film with perfectly synchronized sound. Their technology was far more advanced than anything in the United States, using a specialized light valve to record audio with incredible clarity.
There's more to this story — open the app to keep reading.
Continue Reading in App
1 more paragraphs · plus a 1-question quiz