In the early Nickolodean years, film was a single reel, ten minute endeavor; it was often viewed in one-room store fronts or penny arcades. After legal struggles over distribution rights, some independents broke away, deciding to create their own films. These were longer pieces. They later incorporated musical drama with orchestras, then the Wurlitzer organ.

Over time, as the studio system expanded, few directors exercised the broad-based control enjoyed by the pioneers like Cecil B. DeMille and Charles Chaplin who had both produced and directed their films. There were many more specialized jobs and many people swarming to Hollywood to fill them.

Then-struggling Warner Brothers stepped up to the plate with new sound technology: the Vitaphone process. It paid off almost instantly. By the summer of 1928 the first theaters were wired to show "talkies." Other studios rushed to catch up, securing equipment, building sound proof stages, and forcing the silent stars to speak (with mixed results).

The new sound equipment had a disasterous effect the first few years. Quality was terrible. Critics hated it. But the public loved it and flocked to the movies as never before. Shortly, the problems were resolved. Microphones were improved, allowing actors mobility to move, changing static film quality of the silents. Over time sound continued to improve creating an exciting theater-going experience.