Tweet NOAH'S ARK (28)

In most late silent films I don't find the talking sequences any more jarring than when a director of today suddenly decides to go silent and does a scene in silence and slow motion.The exception is "Lonesome" (1929). What I find jarring, and what takes me out of a late silent film are not the goat gland scenes, but the silent scenes in which loud songs suddenly burst out of nowhere - a bleating male voice splitting one's ears about "Cara Mia", or "Old Timer", as one struggles to pay attention to what is going on in the scene on the screen.

Just as distrubing to my enjoyment is the excessive amount of sound effects that Douglas Shearer and company put into MGM's silents of 1928-29. "White Shadows in the South Seas"(1928) is ruined by all that moaning, and "The Kiss"(1929) becomes absolutely ridiculous. As Anders Randolph beats up Lew Ayre (unbelievable to begin with) one is treated to every conceivable sound- e.g. furniture breaking, bodies making deafening thuds on the carpet, but no sounds of the shrieking voices on the titlecards. It's very bizarre, and actually makes one long to hear a natural human voice.

In 1928 "Our Dancing Daughters" was released with a particularly noisy soundtrack, according to contemporary reviews, but, mercifully, that seems to have been lost or discarded.

In 1928 "Our Dancing Daughters" was released with a particularly noisy soundtrack, according to contemporary reviews, but, mercifully, that seems to have been lost or discarded.

Isn't the music-and-effects soundtrack on the Warner Archive DVD the original one?

I really hope this excellent film gets properly restored at some point.

Isn't the music-and-effects soundtrack on the Warner Archive DVD the original one?

I'd be pretty surprised if it wasn't. Perhaps the original reviewers were speaking literally when they described it as 'noisy' - the sound effects are nothing but background noises, and rather unnecessary ones at that.

In 1928 "Our Dancing Daughters" was released with a particularly noisy soundtrack, according to contemporary reviews, but, mercifully, that seems to have been lost or discarded.

Isn't the music-and-effects soundtrack on the Warner Archive DVD the original one?

Yes, the soundtrack on that DVD and on the print that TCM runs is the real original genuine 1928 track.

As it should be!

Isn't the music-and-effects soundtrack on the Warner Archive DVD the original one?

I'd be pretty surprised if it wasn't. Perhaps the original reviewers were speaking literally when they described it as 'noisy' - the sound effects are nothing but background noises, and rather unnecessary ones at that.

I saw it years ago and found the background noises exceedingly distracting. It didn't sound as though the effects were recorded with the film and so produced a sort of alienation effect in me whenever they came on.

I saw it years ago and found the background noises exceedingly distracting. It didn't sound as though the effects were recorded with the film and so produced a sort of alienation effect in me whenever they came on

Yes. that is what I feel when I watch "White Shadows ...", etc.

I guess the original 1928 soundtrack has been restored to "Our Dancing Daughters". The print I saw on PBS years ago had a William Perry soundtrack. James Card was referring to this, in "Spellbound in Darkness", when he wrote

"Relieved of its original noisy music-and-sound-effects, and run with a straight musical accompaniment, OUR DANCING DAUGHTERS is probably a better film today than it was when it was first released."

Card goes on to quote Mordaunt Hall in his review of Oct. 8, 1928, and who, as usual, was not entirely pleased:
" ... while OUR DANCING DAUGHTERS is not furnished with dialogue, it has a musical accompaniment, several love songs, stentorian cheering and, at the end, a chorus of shrieks. ... It assuredly detracts from the action of the picture, ... the romantic melodies that accompany the love sick looks and violent embraces of of the principal characters are reminiscent of the old time singing along to lantern slides, .... and the shrieks of the closing scenes come from mute figures to whom terror has suddenly given tongues."

OUR DANCING DAUGHTERS is just fine with the original track. An excellent picture. At what point was it released with an alternative soundtrack?

In most late silent films I don't find the talking sequences any more jarring than when a director of today suddenly decides to go silent and does a scene in silence and slow motion.

I do hate it when they do the silent slow motion. What a cliche that has become.

Isn't the music-and-effects soundtrack on the Warner Archive DVD the original one?

I'd be pretty surprised if it wasn't. Perhaps the original reviewers were speaking literally when they described it as 'noisy' - the sound effects are nothing but background noises, and rather unnecessary ones at that.

I saw it years ago and found the background noises exceedingly distracting. It didn't sound as though the effects were recorded with the film and so produced a sort of alienation effect in me whenever they came on.

I love some of the scores they came up with for the silent film with sound tracks. I really liked the soundtrack for Our Dancing Daughters with all of the pop tunes interspersed, it's like a step back in time.

OUR DANCING DAUGHTERS is just fine with the original track. An excellent picture. At what point was it released with an alternative soundtrack?

Agreed, I like the original track just fine. As for an alternate soundtrack, George posted above that he saw a print on PBS with a soundtrack by William Perry.