What were the first words ever said in a movie?

wroot

"Wait a minute, wait a minute. You ain't heard nothin' yet!" Dec 06 04, 12:33 PM

Arpeggionist

If you are including the spoken lines interpreted in silent films, I can't venture a guess. If you're referring to the first words heard in the film "the Jazz Singer" then I could probably take a stab at it. Wroot, tell me when you find out. Could the first spoken line in a film possibly be the Jewish liturgical service known as "Kol Nidre"? (If so, then the first spoken or sung words on film are in Aramaic.) [Dec 06 04 2:25 PM] Arpeggionist writes: According to the script, which I have in another window here, I was wrong. The first spoken line, spoken by Jackie in "The Jazz singer" is: "I couldn't help it -- I didn't mean to hit it so hard -- honest I didn't." The words are spoken to the charachter's father, the Rabbi, who is angered. A little earlier in the film, the sound is heard from the synagogue, where Cantor Rabinowitz teaches several children "the songs and chants of the orthodox -- the prayers set to music that has been handed down for generations." I'll leave it up to you to decide which exactly counts as the first spoken or sung word heard in a movie. (As one entry - McG) Dec 06 04, 2:14 PM

peasypod

Um Arppy, our little berk friend told us in the beginning what the first words were.... http://wywy.essortment.com/firsttalkies_refn.htm Dec 06 04, 4:52 PM

Arpeggionist

Those were Al Jolson's first words on film. And they occur later. The first spoken line, if you read the script, was right in the first scene, by whatever child played the young Jack. Dec 07 04, 3:27 AM

Yoshimitzu

Actually, "Wait a minute, wait a minute. You ain't heard nothin' yet!" was the first ever spoken line. All previous dialogue in the film was on caption cards, not recorded. He does sing a song before, called "Dirty Hands, Dirty Face", so maybe the first line ever heard in cinema is "Wonderful pals are always hard to find", which is the opening line of the song. Oct 11 12, 3:46 PM