Lights Of New York 1928 Crime/Drama ★★★ (CC) First All-Talkie Feature Film [00:59:12]

About this film

Lights of New York is a 1928 American crime drama film starring Helene Costello , Cullen Landis , Wheeler Oakman and Eugene Pallette , and directed by Bryan Foy . Filmed in the Vitaphone sound-on-disc sound system, it is the first all-talking full-length feature film. It was released by Warner Bros. , who had introduced the first feature-length film with synchronized sound, Don Juan , in 1926; and the first with spoken dialogue, The Jazz Singer , in 1927. The film cost $23,000 to produce (a "B" picture ), and grossed over $1 million. The enthusiasm with which audiences greeted the talkies was so great that by the end of 1929, Hollywood was producing sound films exclusively . Eddie (Cullen Landis) a kid from Upstate New York, is conned into fronting for a speakeasy on Broadway. Throughout the con there is an inevitable chorus-girl with a heart of gold (Helene Costello), a cop-killing gangster boss (Wheeler Oakman) and his downtrodden ex-girlfriend (Eugene Brockwell). Plot: This brisk crime story tells “a story that might have been torn out of last night’s newspaper,” an approach that would shortly become Warner Bros. studio’s signature style. Small-town yokels Eddie (Cullen Landis)…

Directors & creators

Bryan Foy

Subjects

First Talkie Feature Film, New York, Swindlers, Crime, Gangsters, Barber Shop, Showgirl, Chorus Girl, Bootleggers

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