The introduction of sound in films revolutionized American cinema in the 1920s.
For this week’s Carolina Curious, WFDD reporter DJ Simmons looked into some of the first theaters in North Carolina to show what were called “talkies.”
When sound came to the big screen, it changed entertainment forever.
“It was transformative to the movie industry. It literally made and destroyed careers instantaneously,” says Shawn Rogers, executive director of the Museum & Archives of Rockingham County.
He says records show the Rockingham Theatre in Reidsville presented a film with sound, or a "talkie," called Illusion in November of 1929. The building is now known as the Reidsville Showcase.
Owner Leslie Brown says that when she and her husband acquired the theatre in 2020, they learned about its impactful history.
“There were several plaques around the theater and some old equipment," Brown says. "The plaque stated that it was the first theatre in North Carolina to have sound in the films.”
But that title may be disputed. The Carolina Theatre of Greensboro showed its first talkie in August of 1928 with a feature film called Glorious Betty.
That’s according to Special Project Manager Brenda Studt.
"There was an article saying that the streets were lined with cars, and the plates — you could tell the people were not just from Greensboro, that they were from all around; they had come to listen," Studt says.
A newspaper clipping from the Greensboro Daily News describes the theatre being packed with attendees who came to see and hear a “modern miracle.”