vitaphone films a catalogue of the features and shorts
the headline of the variety extra on october 27 1926 proclaimed vitaphone1 thrills l.a. vitaphone a subsidiary of warner bros. formed in association with western electric was one of the major producers of talkies even though its sound on disc technology barely lasted four years . the vitaphone features and shorts that have survived intact or that have been so carefully restored preserve much of the show business history that might otherwise have been lost with the industrys fast paced advances in movie making . p this book is a catalogue of vitaphone features and shorts . the first section lists the features and shorts by release number . the new york productions 1926 1940 are listed first followed by the west coast productions 1927 1970 . for shorts the following particulars if known and if applicable are given title alternate title s instrumental and vocal selections performed on screen composer s and performers of instrumental and vocal selections release date and synopsis of the film names of major cast members and directors set information if two or fewer sets were used and the amount paid to early performers . for features entries list release dates genre and major cast members . the section on performers includes only those who appeared in shorts listing dates and places of birth when known .