Character actor
A character actor or character actress is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters. The term contrasted with that of leading actor, is somewhat abstract and open to interpretation. In a literal sense, all actors can be considered character actors since they all play "characters", but in the usual sense it is an actor who plays a distinctive and important supporting role. A character actor may play characters who are different from the actor's off-screen real-life personality, while in another sense a character actor may be one who specializes in minor roles. In either case, character actor roles are more substantial than non-speaking extras; the term is used to describe television and film actors. An early use of the term was in the 1883 edition of The Stage, which defined a character actor as "one who portrays individualities and eccentricities". Actors with a long career history of playing character roles may be difficult for audiences to recognize as being the same actor.
Unlike leading actors, they are seen as less glamorous. While a leading actor has physical beauty needed to play the love interest, a character actor may be short or tall, heavy or thin, older, or unconventional-looking and distinctive in some physical way. For example, the face of Chicago character actor William Schutz was disfigured in a car accident when he was five years old, but his appearance despite reconstructive surgery helped him to be memorable and distinctive to theater audiences; the names of character actors are not featured prominently in movie and television advertising on the marquee, since a character actor's name is not expected to attract film audiences. The roles that character actors play in film or television are identified by only one name, such as "Officer Fred", while roles of leading actors have a full name, such as "Captain Jack Sparrow"; some character actors have distinctive voices or accents. A character actor with a long career may not have a well-known name, yet may be recognizable.
During the course of an acting career, an actor can sometimes shift between leading roles and secondary roles. Some leading actors, as they get older, find that access to leading roles is limited by their increasing age. In the past, actors of color, who were barred from roles for which they were otherwise suited, found work performing ethnic stereotypes. Sometimes character actors have developed careers based on specific talents needed in genre films, such as dancing, acrobatics, swimming ability, or boxing. Many up-and-coming actors find themselves typecast in character roles due to an early success with a particular part or in a certain genre, such that the actor becomes so identified with a particular type of role that casting directors steer the actor to similar roles; some character actors play the same character over and over, as with Andy Devine's humorous but resourceful sidekick, while other actors, such as Sir Laurence Olivier, have the capacity of submerging themselves in any role they play.
That being said, some character actors can be known as "chameleons", actors who can play roles that vary wildly. One such example of this is Gary Oldman; some character actors develop a cult following with a particular audience, such as with the fans of Star Trek or The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Character actors tend to play the same type of role throughout their careers, including Harvey Keitel as a "tough and determined guy", Dame Maggie Smith as an "upstanding lady matriarch", Christopher Lloyd as an eccentric, Claude Rains as a "sophisticated, sometimes ambiguously moral man", Abe Vigoda as a "leathery, sunken-eyed" and tired hoodlum on the verge of retirement, Christopher Walken as a "speech maker", Vincent Schiavelli as "the confused guy", Fairuza Balk as a "moody goth girl", Steve Buscemi as "a quirky, smart guy with a mind just outside of reality" and Forest Whitaker as a "calm, composed character with an edge and potential to explode". Ed Lauter portrayed a menacing figure because of his "long, angular face", recognized in public, although audiences knew his name.
Character actors can play a variety of types, such as the femme fatale, sidekick, town drunk, whore with a heart of gold, many others. A character actor's roles are perceived as being different from their perceived real-life persona, meaning that they do not portray an extension of themselves, but rather a character different from their off-screen persona. Character actors subsume themselves into the characters they portray, such that their off-screen acting persona is unrecognizable. According to one view, great character actors are out of work, have long careers that span decades, they are often regarded by fellow actors. Commedia dell ` David. Quinlan's Illustrated Directory of Film Character Actors. USA: Batsford Press. ISBN 0713470402. Voisin, Scott. Character Kings: Hollywood's Familiar Faces Discuss the Art & Business of Acting. BearManor Media. ISBN 978-1-59393-342-5
A Man Called Peter
A Man Called Peter is a 1955 American drama film directed by Henry Koster, starring Richard Todd. The film is based on the life of preacher Peter Marshall, who served as Chaplain of the United States Senate and pastor of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, D. C. before his early death. It is adapted from the 1951 biography of the same name, written by his widow Catherine Marshall; the film was a box-office hit in 1955, it was nominated for an Academy Award in 1956 for its cinematography. This was the final feature film of the actress Jean Peters. Alfred Newman reused much of his score from his 1948 film The Walls of Jericho; as a boy growing up in Coatbridge, Peter Marshall loves the sea and wishes to work on a ship. Several years he is caught in a fog, nearly falls over a ledge. Survival compels him to dedicate his life to the ministry, he begins working double-shifts to save enough money to go to school in America. He gets there, again works hard to save enough to pay for divinity school.
Upon graduation, he is called to serve as pastor at a rural church in Georgia. His sermons are well-received, soon, people are coming from near and far. Catherine Wood from nearby Agnes Scott College falls in love with Peter the first time she hears him speak. Catherine impresses Peter by helping him at an event for college students where she gives an extemporaneous speech using quotes from his sermons, they marry. Their honeymoon is spent on an ocean fishing trip. Catherine gets seasick, refuses to get into a fishing boat, they return from their honeymoon to Washington, D. C. Peter has accepted a position as pastor of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church. Services are sparsely attended, but Peter invites people from all walks of life, soon, services are overflowing. Peter's son, Peter John, is born the morning of December 7, 1941; that morning, as Pearl Harbor is attacked, Peter preaches at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis. He is inspired to change his planned sermon to a sermon about death and eternal life.
He describes death as going to sleep in one room and waking up the next morning in the room where you belong. Catherine contracts tuberculosis, is bedridden. Catherine listens to Peter's sermon about a woman healed by touching the hem of Jesus' robes; when Peter returns home, Catherine has left her bed and walked down the stairs of her home for the first time in three years. Peter and Catherine buy a vacation home in Cape Cod. Peter takes his son fishing; when they return, Peter is stricken ill while preaching, is rushed to the hospital. He has suffered a coronary thrombosis. After a short time of rest, he returns to preaching, accepts an appointment as Chaplain of the United States Senate. One night, Peter wakes Catherine; as an ambulance is taking him away, she asks to come along. He says she must stay with their son, that he will see her in the morning; the hospital calls to let her know Peter has died. That summer, she takes her son to the cottage at Cape Cod, he wants to go out on the boat. She realizes he can't go alone, she gets in the boat with him.
Richard Todd as The Reverend Peter Marshall Jean Peters as Catherine Wood Marshall Marjorie Rambeau as Miss Laura Fowler Jill Esmond as Mrs. Findlay Les Tremayne as Senator Willis K. Harvey Gladys Hurlbut as Mrs. Peyton Richard Garrick as Colonel Evanston Whiting Gloria Gordon as Barbara Billy Chapin as Peter John Marshall Ricky Kelman Richard Burton was meant to play the lead; the film premiered in Glasgow, Scotland. A parade to the theater featured members of the Scottish War Veterans, members of the Royal Canadian Legion, nurses from the Caledonian Hospital, a seventy-man color guard. Author Catherine Marshall attended the premiere, as did several prominent religious leaders of New York City, including the Reverend Phillips P. Elliott, president of the Protestant Council of New York City. List of American films of 1955 Solomon, Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History, Scarecrow Press. Brode, Lost Films of the Fifties, Citadel Press. A Man Called Peter on IMDb A Man Called Peter at the TCM Movie Database
Primrose Path (film)
Primrose Path is a 1940 film about a young woman determined not to follow the profession of her mother and grandmother, prostitution. It stars Joel McCrea; the film was based on the play of the same name by Robert L. Buckner and Walter Hart and the novel February Hill by Victoria Lincoln. Marjorie Rambeau was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Tomboy Ellie May Adams keeps her virtue despite her difficult circumstances, her alcoholic, Greek scholar father Homer is unemployable, leaving her loving mother Mamie to support the family by going out with men. Her ex-prostitute grandmother sees nothing wrong with their shared profession. One day, Ellie May warily accepts a ride to the beach from Gramp. Gramp runs a beachside gas station along with wisecracking Ed Wallace. Ellie May falls in love with Ed and after lying to him about being thrown out by her family over him, gets him to marry her, she becomes an well-liked waitress in the restaurant. However, she makes a grave mistake when she agrees to take Ed to meet the rest of her family.
When her lies about her relations are revealed, Ed leaves her. To add to her woes, her father accidentally shoots her mother during one of his drunken, half-hearted attempts at suicide. Before she dies, Mamie gets Ellie May to promise to take care of the family; when Ellie May cannot find work, in desperation, she takes up the family profession. Thelma, Mamie's friend and co-worker, arranges for Ellie May to accompany her, her current boyfriend, "Mr. Smith" on a car trip to San Francisco. On the way, Ellie May gets them to stop at Ed's favorite nightclub, where she bitterly pretends to be what her husband thinks she is. However, after a private talk with a sympathetic Mr. Smith, Ed figures out the truth and takes Ellie May back, he accepts the burden of her family. The film made a profit of $110,000. Primrose Path at the TCM Movie Database Primrose Path on IMDb Primrose Path at AllMovie Primrose Path at the American Film Institute Catalog
Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs is a desert resort city in Riverside County, United States, within the Coachella Valley. It is located 55 mi east of San Bernardino, 107 mi east of Los Angeles, 123 mi northeast of San Diego, 268 mi west of Phoenix, Arizona; the population was 44,552 as of the 2010 census. Palm Springs covers 94 square miles, making it the largest city in the county by land area. Golf, tennis, biking and horseback riding in the nearby desert and mountain areas are major forms of recreation in Palm Springs; the city is known for its mid-century modern architecture, design elements, arts and cultural scene. Palm Springs is a popular retirement destination, as well as a winter snowbird destination; the first humans to settle in the area were the Cahuilla people, 2,000 years ago. Cahuilla Indians lived here in isolation from other cultures for hundreds of years prior to European contact, they spoke Ivilyuat, a dialect of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Numerous prominent and powerful Cahuilla leaders were including Cahuilla Lion.
While Palm Canyon was occupied during winter months, they moved to cooler Chino Canyon during the summer months. The Cahuilla Indians had several permanent settlements in the canyons of Palm Springs, due to the abundance of water and shade. Various hot springs were used during wintertime; the Cahuilla hunted rabbit, mountain goat and quail, while trapping fish in nearby lakes and rivers. While men were responsible for hunting, women were responsible for collecting berries and seeds, they made tortillas from mesquite beans. While the Cahuillas spent the summers in Indian Canyons, the current site of Spa Resort Casino in downtown was used during winter due to its natural hot springs. Native-American petroglyphs can be seen in Tahquitz and Indian canyons; the Cahuilla’s irrigation ditches and house pits can be seen here. Ancient petroglyphs and mortar holes can be seen in Andreas Canyon; the mortar holes were used to grind acorns into meals. The Agua Caliente Reservation consists of 31,128 acres. Six thousand seven hundred acres are located by Downtown Palm Springs.
The Native American land is on long lease land and next to one of California’s high-end communities, making the tribe one of the wealthiest in California. The first name for Palm Springs was given by the native Cahuilla: "Se-Khi"; when the Agua Caliente Reservation was established by the United States government in 1876, the reservation land was composed of alternating sections of land laid out across the desert in a checkerboard pattern. The alternating non-reservation sections were granted to the Southern Pacific Railroad as an incentive to bring rail lines through the Sonoran desert. A number of streets and areas in Palm Springs are named for Native-American notables, including Andreas, Amado, Lugu, Patencio and Chino. All of these are common Cahuilla surnames. Presently the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians are composed of several smaller bands who live in the modern day Coachella Valley and San Gorgonio Pass; the Agua Caliente Reservation occupies 32,000 acres, of which 6,700 acres lie within the city limits, making the Agua Caliente natives the city's largest landowners.
As of 1821 Mexico was independent of Spain and in March 1823 the Mexican Monarchy ended. That same year Mexican diarist José María Estudillo and Brevet Captain José Romero were sent to find a route from Sonora to Alta California. With the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo after the Mexican-American war, the region became part of the United States in 1848. One possible origin of palm in the place name comes from early Spanish explorers who referred to the area as La Palma de la Mano de Dios or "The Palm of God's hand"; the earliest use of the name "Palm Springs" is from United States Topographical Engineers who used the term in 1853 maps. According to William Bright, when the word "palm" appears in Californian place names, it refers to the native California fan palm, Washingtonia filifera, abundant in the Palm Springs area. Other early names were "Palmetto Spring" and "Big Palm Springs"; the first European resident in Palm Springs itself was Jack Summers, who ran the stagecoach station on the Bradshaw Trail in 1862.
Fourteen years the Southern Pacific railroad was laid 6 miles to the north, isolating the station. In 1880, local Indian Pedro Chino was selling parcels near the springs to William Van Slyke and Mathew Bryne in a series of questionable transactions. By 1885, when San Francisco attorney John Guthrie McCallum began buying property in Palm Springs, the name was in wide acceptance; the area was named "Palm Valley" when McCallum incorporated the "Palm Valley Land and Water Company" with partners O. C. Miller, H. C. Campbell, James Adams, M. D. McCallum, who had brought his ill son to the dry climate for health, brought in irrigation advocate Dr. Oliver Wozencroft and engineer J. P. Lippincott to help construct a canal from the Whitewater River to fruit orchards on his property, he asked Dr. Welwood Murray to establish a hotel across the street from his residence. Murray did so in 1886; the crops and irrigation syst
Torch Song (1953 film)
Torch Song is a 1953 American Technicolor musical romantic drama film distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and starring Joan Crawford and Michael Wilding in a story about a Broadway star and her rehearsal pianist. The screenplay by John Michael Hayes and Jan Lustig was based upon the story "Why Should I Cry?" by I. A. R. Wylie in a 1949 issue of The Saturday Evening Post; the film was directed by Charles Walters and produced by Sidney Franklin, Henry Berman and Charles Schnee. Crawford's singing voice was dubbed by India Adams. Torch Song has gained note for the musical number "Two-Faced Woman" from The Band Wagon in which Crawford, in blackface, lip-syncs to Adams' voice while writhing with male dancers; the film marked Crawford's return to MGM after a ten-year absence. Her original recordings for the soundtrack, which were not used in the film, have survived and been included in home video releases. Jenny Stewart is a tough Broadway musical star, alienating her colleagues with her neurotic demands for absolute perfection.
Jenny takes offense when her new rehearsal pianist Tye Graham criticizes her song stylings and ruthless ways. Graham fell in love with Jenny when he was a young reporter. Deep down, Jenny yearns for a real and lasting love but is disenchanted with the men around her such as Broadway parasite Cliff Willard. At the home of her mother, Jenny discovers an old newspaper clipping in which Tye reviewed one of her first shows and made it evident he loved her. Jenny realizes she is loved, goes to Tye, they embrace. Joan Crawford as Jenny Stewart India Adams as Jenny's dubbed singing voice Michael Wilding as Tye Graham Gig Young as Cliff Willard Marjorie Rambeau as Mrs. Stewart Harry Morgan as Joe Denner Dorothy Patrick as Martha James Todd as Philip Norton Eugene Loring as Gene, the Dance Director Paul Guilfoyle as Monty Rolfe Benny Rubin as Charles Maylor Peter Chong as Peter Maidie Norman as Anne Nancy Gates as Celia Stewart Chris Warfield as Chuck Peters Rudy Render as Singer at Party Bill Lee as Singer's dubbed singing voice "You're All the World to Me" - Danced by Crawford and Walters "Follow Me" - Sung by Crawford "Two-Faced Woman" - Sung by Crawford "You Won't Forget Me" - Sung by Crawford "Follow Me" - Sung by Render "Two-Faced Woman" - Sung and danced by Crawford and chorus "Tenderly" - Sung by Crawford along to a recording by Adams Otis Guernsey, Jr. in the New York Herald Tribune wrote, "Joan Crawford has another of her star-sized roles...she is vivid and irritable and feminine...
Here is Joan Crawford all over the screen, in command, in love and in color, a real movie star in what amounts to a produced one-woman show."Torch Song was regarded as a return for Joan Crawford, when the picture was released, was fresh off an Academy Award nod for her performance in Sudden Fear, the previous year. According to MGM records, the film made $1,135,000 in the US and Canada and $533,000 elsewhere, resulting in a loss of $260,000; the film is now regarded as a camp classic, a possible influence on Faye Dunaway's portrayal of Crawford in Mommie Dearest. Rambeau was nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role at the 26th Academy Awards. Torch Song on IMDb Torch Song at the TCM Movie Database Torch Song at AllMovie Torch Song at the American Film Institute Catalog Torch Song at Rotten Tomatoes
Sebring, Florida
Sebring is a city in Highlands County, United States, nicknamed "The City on the Circle", in reference to Circle Drive, the center of the Sebring Downtown Historic District. As of the 2010 census the population was 10,491, it is the county seat of Highlands County, is the principal city of the Sebring Metropolitan Statistical Area. Sebring is the home of the Sebring International Raceway, created on a former airbase, first used in 1950, it hosted the 1959 Formula One United States Grand Prix, but is best known as the host of the 12 Hours of Sebring, an annual WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race. Nearby Highlands Hammock State Park is a popular attraction. Additionally, the house where novelist Rex Beach committed suicide is located on one of Sebring's main lakes, Lake Jackson. Sebring was founded in 1912, it was named after a pottery manufacturer from Ohio who developed the city. He had a unique circular plan as the focal point for the city, it was chartered by the state of Florida in 1913, was selected as the county seat of Highlands County when the county was created in 1921.
The village of Sebring, Ohio, is named for George E. Sebring and his family. On January 23, 2019, a SunTrust Bank branch in Sebring was the site of a mass shooting perpetrated by Zephen Xaver, a 21-year-old Sebring resident and former correctional officer trainee. Five people were killed by Xaver. Sebring is located in northwestern Highlands County at 27°29′44″N 81°26′40″W. According to the Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 16.0 square miles, 10.0 square miles of which are land and 6.1 square miles of which are water. Water comprises 37.8% of the city's total area. The city's geography is dominated by 9,212-acre Lake Jackson, but 420-acre Dinner Lake and 137-acre Little Lake Jackson are within the city limits. Highlands County has more than 84 lakes, most of which are located in unincorporated areas of the county. Sebring lies on the southern end of the Lake Wales Ridge, a chain of ancient islands, the native habitat for many rare plants and animals. Most of the area is rural and part of the Florida scrub ecosystem, with smaller areas of hammocks and cypress swamps, similar to those found at Highlands Hammock State Park, 4 miles west of Sebring.
Sebring's climate is a humid subtropical climate, with mild, dry winters. Unlike most places with a similar climate classification, Sebring's rainfall is seasonal, with 57 percent of the total rainfall occurring in the June–September summer period. However, the variation between the wettest and driest months does not reach the threshold required for climate classification Cwa, which requires the wettest month to have ten times the precipitation of the driest month; as of the census of 2000, there were 9,667 people, 3,969 households, 2,305 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,883.7 per square mile. There were 5,024 housing units at an average density of 979.0 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 75.81% White, 15.69% African American, 0.57% Native American, 0.74% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 5.06% from other races, 2.02% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11.00% of the population. There were 3,969 households out of which 23.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.0% were married couples living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 41.9% were non-families.
36.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 21.0% had someone living alone, 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.91. In the city, the population was spread out with 22.1% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 22.8% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, 27.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.6 males. The median income for a household in the city was $23,555, the median income for a family was $29,915. Males had a median income of $21,799 versus $19,167 for females; the per capita income for the city was $15,125. About 17.4% of families and 23.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 36.0% of those under age 18 and 12.0% of those age 65 or over. As of 2000, speakers of English as a first language accounted for 89.39% of residents. Other languages in the city included Spanish, spoken by 10.18% of the city's residents, French, spoken by 0.42%.
According to the 2000 American Community Survey, 13.8% of all adults over the age of 25 in Sebring have obtained a bachelor's degree, as compared to a national average of 24.4% of adults over 25, 64.0% of Sebring residents over the age of 25 have earned a high school diploma, as compared to the national average of 80.4%. This is the lowest rate of any metro area in the United States; the School Board of Highlands County operates eight public schools drawing from the city of Sebring with a combined enrollment of 6200 students. One of the elementary schools received an "A" grade under Florida's A+ school grading plan.
Sound film
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before sound motion pictures were made commercially practical. Reliable synchronization was difficult to achieve with the early sound-on-disc systems, amplification and recording quality were inadequate. Innovations in sound-on-film led to the first commercial screening of short motion pictures using the technology, which took place in 1923; the primary steps in the commercialization of sound cinema were taken in the mid- to late 1920s. At first, the sound films which included synchronized dialogue, known as "talking pictures", or "talkies", were shorts; the earliest feature-length movies with recorded sound included effects. The first feature film presented as a talkie was The Jazz Singer, released in October 1927. A major hit, it was made with Vitaphone, at the time the leading brand of sound-on-disc technology.
Sound-on-film, would soon become the standard for talking pictures. By the early 1930s, the talkies were a global phenomenon. In the United States, they helped secure Hollywood's position as one of the world's most powerful cultural/commercial centers of influence. In Europe, the new development was treated with suspicion by many filmmakers and critics, who worried that a focus on dialogue would subvert the unique aesthetic virtues of soundless cinema. In Japan, where the popular film tradition integrated silent movie and live vocal performance, talking pictures were slow to take root. Conversely, in India, sound was the transformative element that led to the rapid expansion of the nation's film industry; the idea of combining motion pictures with recorded sound is nearly as old as the concept of cinema itself. On February 27, 1888, a couple of days after photographic pioneer Eadweard Muybridge gave a lecture not far from the laboratory of Thomas Edison, the two inventors met. Muybridge claimed that on this occasion, six years before the first commercial motion picture exhibition, he proposed a scheme for sound cinema that would combine his image-casting zoopraxiscope with Edison's recorded-sound technology.
No agreement was reached, but within a year Edison commissioned the development of the Kinetoscope a "peep-show" system, as a visual complement to his cylinder phonograph. The two devices were brought together as the Kinetophone in 1895, but individual, cabinet viewing of motion pictures was soon to be outmoded by successes in film projection. In 1899, a projected sound-film system known as Cinemacrophonograph or Phonorama, based on the work of Swiss-born inventor François Dussaud, was exhibited in Paris. An improved cylinder-based system, Phono-Cinéma-Théâtre, was developed by Clément-Maurice Gratioulet and Henri Lioret of France, allowing short films of theater and ballet excerpts to be presented at the Paris Exposition in 1900; these appear to be the first publicly exhibited films with projection of both image and recorded sound. Phonorama and yet another sound-film system—Théâtroscope—were presented at the Exposition. Three major problems persisted, leading to motion pictures and sound recording taking separate paths for a generation.
The primary issue was synchronization: pictures and sound were recorded and played back by separate devices, which were difficult to start and maintain in tandem. Sufficient playback volume was hard to achieve. While motion picture projectors soon allowed film to be shown to large theater audiences, audio technology before the development of electric amplification could not project satisfactorily to fill large spaces. There was the challenge of recording fidelity; the primitive systems of the era produced sound of low quality unless the performers were stationed directly in front of the cumbersome recording devices, imposing severe limits on the sort of films that could be created with live-recorded sound. Cinematic innovators attempted to cope with the fundamental synchronization problem in a variety of ways. An increasing number of motion picture systems relied on gramophone records—known as sound-on-disc technology. In 1902, Léon Gaumont demonstrated his sound-on-disc Chronophone, involving an electrical connection he had patented, to the French Photographic Society.
Four years Gaumont introduced the Elgéphone, a compressed-air amplification system based on the Auxetophone, developed by British inventors Horace Short and Charles Parsons. Despite high expectations, Gaumont's sound innovations had only limited commercial success—though improvements, they still did not satisfactorily address the three basic issues with sound film and were expensive as well. For some years, American inventor E. E. Norton's Cameraphone was the primary competitor to the Gaumont system. In 1913, Edison introduced a new cylinder-based synch-sound apparatus known, just like his 1895 system, as the Kinetophone; the phonograph was connected by an intricate arrangement of pulleys to the film projector, allowing—under ideal conditions—for synchronization. However, conditions were ra
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