The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

A while ago I picked up this part of the audio for the 1929 film Times Square. I haven't ever heard it because it is way too massive (16 inches) to be played on anything I own, but I find it interesting that it was never played and also made by Sonora, who I didn't think got involved in this field. I also never heard of the film studio that created the movie.

If you're feeling public spirited, you might contact the Vitaphone Project http://www.picking.com/vitaphone.html , which is devoted to rejoining early talkies to their missing soundtracks.

Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Times_Square_(1929_film) has this poster for the movie:

drh wrote: Sat Mar 26, 2022 5:55 pm If you're feeling public spirited, you might contact the Vitaphone Project http://www.picking.com/vitaphone.html , which is devoted to rejoining early talkies to their missing soundtracks.

Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Times_Square_(1929_film) has this poster for the movie:

Just shot them a message. Unfortunately I only have part two out of who knows how many.

"With human dialogue and unique sound effects"!
So cool to get the audio from this record back together with the film - I hope you are successful!!!

Ho_Hum wrote: Sat Mar 26, 2022 6:20 pm

drh wrote: Sat Mar 26, 2022 5:55 pm If you're feeling public spirited, you might contact the Vitaphone Project http://www.picking.com/vitaphone.html , which is devoted to rejoining early talkies to their missing soundtracks.

Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Times_Square_(1929_film) has this poster for the movie:

Just shot them a message. Unfortunately I only have part two out of who knows how many.

No matter; as I understand things, the project not infrequently will assemble a complete set from different sources, each having a fraction. I'm no early movie expert, but I think 2 reels was a common length, so you may even have half the soundtrack. I was interested to see that the movie was released in both talkie and silent versions.

drh wrote: Tue Mar 29, 2022 12:00 am No matter; as I understand things, the project not infrequently will assemble a complete set from different sources, each having a fraction. I'm no early movie expert, but I think 2 reels was a common length, so you may even have half the soundtrack. I was interested to see that the movie was released in both talkie and silent versions.

Looks to be about ¼ of the sound track. The movie is/was nearly 80 minutes long.

Here are the technical specs about "Times Square":

Runtime -- 1 hr 18 min (78 min)
Sound Mix -- Mono (talking sequences)
Color -- Black and White
Aspect Ratio -- 1.33 : 1
Film Length -- 1,800 m (6 reels)
Negative Format -- 35 mm
Cinematographic Process -- Spherical
Printed Film Format -- 35 mm
FROM -- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0019479/

I see no user reviews or other references, so I'd guess that this is a lost film.

OrthoFan