The movies broke their silence in 1927, as Warner Bros. introduced the first major synchronized sound film, The Jazz Singer. Stage-trained actors were suddenly in demand, and among those to break though in the early sound era were James Cagney, Bette Davis, Clark Gable, Katharine Hepburn and Edward G. Robinson. For the most part, the movies were able to ride the storm of the Great Depression, as crowds flocked to escapist Astaire/Ginger Rogers musicals. Most of the moguls toughed out the hard times, though some tumbled.

• Jon Wilkman

• Christopher Plummer
• Leonard Maltin
• Peter Bogdanovich