C.O.M

Kevin Guerra

Mr. Skipper

Encounters 7

March 4, 2022

The Brothers that introduced sound

Introduction

The movie business has changed a lot in the past years with many movie companies upping their game with the equipment that is used and the quality of the movies, but it wasn't always like that in movies and the quality of the movies was not very good. When movies were first being made they did not have color or sound but that was changed by an up upcoming movie company that needed to make its push in the business and they finally did that when they made the first movie that had a working sound which was game-breaking and really set the tone to what movies could become in the future. What the Warner Brothers did in the movie industry was so impactful for movies and if it wasn't for the Warner Brothers there probably would never be sound in movies, but that was just the start of a great journey for the Warner Brothers company.

Early life

The Warner family consisted of nine children while only four were active in the Warner Bros business. Harry, the oldest one of the four brothers, was born in Poland 1881; Albert was born in Baltimore 1883; Sam born in 1884; and Jack the youngest of the group was born in London, Ontario in 1892. The father of the brothers, Benjamin Warner, was a shoemaker that barely made enough money to support his family when they then immigrated to the United States in 1883. Later the family had to move once again but this time it was to Canada where the brothers tried their luck in doing other things like selling tin, repairing shoes, and operating a meat shop (Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack Warner, Russian). At first, Sam and Albert were the ones who started the company when they invested 150 dollars to be able to present two movie ideas that they had, which later helped with opening their first theater (Warner Bros. History). Having the two brothers Sam and Albert try and get into the movie industry helped the brothers significantly to get where they later accomplished and what they did in the movie industry.

Beginning of Career

The Warner brothers first entered the movie business in 1905 and were influenced to start and enter the movie business with their family not being in the best financial position and the brothers trying their best to support their ever-growing family. When their company first started the brothers sold all their assets to invest in buying an old building in Pennsylvania and eventually turned the old building into their first theater. They first showed The Great Train Robbery and this idea was so successful that they could extend their movie theaters across the state. Even though the brothers became extremely successful they still had many different challenges along the way. The first problem that the brothers had was the business being threatened by Edison Trust, also known as a¨Patent troll¨. The trust charges movie companies fees and that forced the brothers to sell the business and create the Independent Warner features company. The Warner brothers also faced a challenge from the three big movie companies, Paramount, Universal, and First National, which were the biggest movie companies in the 1920s. At this time the Warner Brothers company was in big competition with these big movie companies, so they made many advertising campaigns that helped them finally have their own place in the spotlight (Harry, Albert, Sam and Jack Warner, Jewish).

Significant Accomplishments

The Warner Brothers were starting to get their company known across more people, but it finally took a turn for the best, when The brothers finally agreed upon the idea of having sound in their films, but there was still a company, Western Electric Company that had access to more advanced technology that they had. The problem was soon taken care of when the Warner brothers worked a deal with them and now had access to their advanced technology (Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack Warner, Russian).In the 1930s the Warner brothers got access to 250 cinema buildings with the purchase of the Stanley Company of America and with it came an outlet to showcase all their films (Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack Warner, Jewish).In the late 1930s, The Warner brothers were beginning to be a main supporter of the anti-nazi movement when they made films like The Life of Emily Zola and Casablanca. The effort they contributed was appreciated by the state so much that they named a battleship after the father of the brothers (Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack Warner, Russian). Arguably the biggest accomplishment for the Warner Brothers was having the first film to have sound, The Jazz Singer, which broke box office records and set the road for future films, and in 1929 the Warner brothers were awarded a special award for ``Revolutionizing the industry with sound¨. (Warner. Bros). It wasn't always good for the Warner brothers when they hit a big pitfall in their career with the sudden death of Sam when he died the night before the opening premier for The Jazz Singer. Sam's death had the biggest effect on Jack because Sam was his favorite brother and biggest inspiration (Warner Bros.History). The Warner brothers would have to face yet another setback, which was the feud between Harry and Jack, with Jack not caring about his responsibilities and about the company. After all the bad things that happened, the brothers announced that they were going to sell the company and move on (Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack Warner, Russian).

Impact on the world

The Warner brothers have impacted the world and the movie business in two big ways that were very significant. In the 1930s the Warner brothers were recognized around the world when they joined in and became a big part of the anti-nazi movement with the making of films like The Life of Emily Zola, Casablanca, and Confessions of a nazi spy. The making of these movies spread a good to know message about the nazis to many different people around the world that watched the movies. Eventually, the US showed their appreciation for the help of the brothers and named one of their planes after their father. (Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack Warner, Russian). The brothers did not only impact the world but they also impacted the movie industry and set the pace for what movies would be able to become today when they introduced a new feature to movies that were never used before at the time, sound. The use of sound allowed a new variety of movies to be made and made the experience of watching movies better than ever. Using sound in movies all started because of the Warner Brothers and The Jazz Singer, and at the time was the best thing to have happened to movies and won many awards because of it. The Warner brothers tested the limits with gambling sound in movies, but it was all worth it at the end of the day when it all worked out and their big movie turned out to be a hit (Warner Bros.).The Warner brothers did a lot for the movie business and changed television entertainment forever.

Conclusion

Many people can admit that the Warner brothers did incredible things and shaped the movie business into what it is today. The Warner brothers were very successful but behind the scenes, they were the main supporters of helpful groups and movements. Although many people don't know what the Warner brothers were like and what personality traits they possessed, they were very helpful to the world and people around them. People everywhere around the world can apply these traits and good deeds of the brothers to their life by helping the community and doing things that help the world even if it isn't as impactful and big as what the Warner brothers did because every little thing counts. What the Warner brothers accomplished in their career like creating one of the biggest entertainment companies and supporting the world in times when it was needed is what makes them people to look up to.

Works Cited

¨Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack Warner.¨ Jewish Virtual Library, American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise, www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/harry-Albert-sam-and-jack-warner-warner-brothers. Accessed 17 Nov. 2021.

¨Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack Warner.¨ Russian American Heritage, russianheritagemuseum.com/en/RHM_Warner_Brothers/. Accessed 5 Nov 2021.

¨Warner Bros.History.¨ Zippia The Career Expert,  www.zippia.com/warner-bros-careers-44024/history. Accessed 17 Nov. 2021.

¨Warner Bros.¨I Am California, California Museum, www.californiamuseum.org/inductee/warner-bros. Accessed 18 Nov. 2021.

The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of

Some were from Canada and the others were from Poland

They are Harry, Albert Sam, and Jack Warner

They Founded a movie empire

Where they will soon aspire

Warner Bros, Warner Bros

They Start off slowly selling tin and repairing shoes

They then invest 150 dollars in two movies

That will soon earn them enough money to buy their first theater

Where they will continue to make more movies

In their company, each person had their own responsibilities

Sam, technical producer

Albert controlled distribution

Harry was head of the business

Jack was the producer

Warner Bros, Warner Bros

They continued to make movies but ran into a million problems

There were many other competing companies

That wanted to be the main big thing

But the brothers did what they could and finally went back into the spotlight

The Warner brothers later went on to purchase a company

That gave them access to sound that would later make them money

They took risks but released the¨Jazz Singer¨ 

That would quickly become a winner

Sam soon showed signs of death before the premiere of the ¨Jazz Singer¨

Jack, suffered Sam's loss like a momma bears losing her child.

The brothers changed the entertainment industry

And their life was a roller coaster of emotions

¨The stuff dreams are made of¨