| The Better 'Ole | |
|---|---|
&sq=&lang=&file=File:The_Better_%27Ole_(1926_film).jpg) Film poster | |
| Directed by | Charles Reisner |
| Written by | Charles Reisner (adaptation) Darryl F. Zanuck (adaptation) Robert Hopkins (titles) |
| Based on | The Better 'Ole, or, The Romance of Old Bill (1918 play)[1] by Bruce Bairnsfather and Arthur Elliot |
| Starring | Sydney Chaplin Doris Hill Harold Goodwin Jack Ackroyd |
| Cinematography | Edwin B. DuPar |
| Music by | Maurice Baron |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 97 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Languages | Sound (Synchronized) (English Intertitles) |
| Budget | $449,000[2] |
| Box office | $1,273,000[2] |
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The Better 'Ole is a 1926 American synchronized sound World War I comedy drama film. Released by Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc., this film is the second full-length film to utilize the Vitaphone sound-on-disc process, two months after the first Vitaphone feature Don Juan; with no audible dialogue, the film does have a synchronized musical score and sound effects. This film was also the second onscreen adaptation of the 1917 musical The Better 'Ole by Bruce Bairnsfather and Arthur Elliot. Charlie Chaplin's eldest brother Sydney Chaplin played the main lead as Old Bill in perhaps his best-known film today. This film is also believed by many to have the first spoken word of dialog, "coffee", although there are those who disagree.[3] At one point during the film, Harold Goodwin's character whispers a word to Sydney Chaplin which is also faintly heard.[4] This was discovered by the UCLA's Robert Gitt, during the restoration of the sound discs for the film. The line was recorded in perfect sync, apparently during the orchestra recording sessions rather than live on set,[3] therefore making it the earliest known use of dubbing in a motion picture.
- ^ a b c The Better 'Ole at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- ^ a b Glancy, H Mark (1995). "Warner Bros Film Grosses, 1921–51: the William Schaefer ledger". Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. 15: 55–73. doi:10.1080/01439689500260031.
- ^ a b Eyman, Scott (1999). The Speed of Sound: Hollywood and the Talkie Revolution, 1926-1930. Baltimore, Maryland, USA: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 97. ISBN 9780801861925.
- ^ The Better 'Ole Trivia at the TCM Movie Database