Life, 1929-05-10 · page 6 of 44
Life — May 10, 1929 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is **primarily an advertisement**, not satire or political commentary. It promotes Western Electric's Sound System, marketed as "The Voice of Action." The central image shows studio logos and signage (Warner Bros., Fox Movietone, United Artists, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer), photographed at an angle to suggest the modern architecture of early sound-film studios. The headline "Great Names Pioneering in this great new art" references major film studios adopting Western Electric's synchronized sound technology for motion pictures—a recent innovation in the late 1920s. The right sidebar advertises Western Electric's broader product line: telephones, switchboards, cable, telegraph equipment, and public address systems. This is essentially a corporate advertisement celebrating the company's role in establishing synchronized sound in cinema.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
7, SPrionecrin the this great new are 2 OF - ue B ELL Telephone Laboratories—Western Electric —leading producers— pro- gressive exhibitors—together these bring to you Sound Pictures! Calling upon fifty years’ experience in the telephone art, Western Electric pro- duced the first practical system (used by Vitaphone and Movietone) for recording and reproducing Sound Pictures. Producers have standardized on Western Electric equipment and are successfully Wester SOUND meeting the technical difficulties natural to a new and revolutionary art. Discriminating exhibitors, eager to pro- vide the best in entertainment, have in- stalled the Western Electric Sound System. The success of Sound Pictures is history now. Continuing progress is certain. Make sure of enjoying it. Go to the theatres showing these great producers’ pictures with the sound equipment recognized as the world’s standard. Jeciric SYSTEM LOA Trans-Atlantic Telephone Equipment Pa Telephoto Machines comicbooks.com