Sam Warner

Sam Warner is known as the father of the talking picture. There were four Warner brothers, and of the four, Sam was the one responsible for uniting the studio and Western Electric, creating Vitaphone. Originally, Warner only wanted to use Vitaphone's technology to add sound effects and music to movies, but soon he realized that people wanted to hear the actors on the screen talk. The first "talkie" released by Warner Bros. was 1927's "The Jazz Singer". Originally, its star, Al Jolson, was supposed to just sing, but Sam Warner asked his brothers to include the star's ad-libs in the film. Unfortunately, Sam Warner never saw the movie; he died before it premiered in New York City.

Warner's parents, Pearl and Benjamin, were born in Krasnashiltz, Poland in 1857. Back then, to profess one's Jewish faith meant government oppression and status as a second-class citizen. Warner's father wanted better for his family, but he had to leave them behind for a time when he moved to America in 1880. He worked hard to earn enough for his family to join him; another son, Albert, was born in 1884. Quickly following were Henry, Samuel, Rose and Fanny. Two of Sam Warner's siblings (Fanny and Henry) died when they were young. Sam was the most restless of all the Warner children, and he developed a reputation for showmanship due to his first job as a carnival barker. Sam soon found a device that would prove to be life changing for the family; an Edison Kinetoscope. He learned to operate it, and after a few weeks of demonstrations, he was sure that his fortune lay in movies. He went back to Youngstown, and his father helped him buy his first projector. The family rented out an empty storefront, and showed the movie "The Great Train Robbery". Sam's brother Jack sang during the film, and their mother played the piano.

Every showing sold out; and the theater made a then-astounding $300 the first week. Another Warner brother, Harry, convinced Sam to take the show on the road once their storefront's lease expired. They ran a circuit across Ohio and Pennsylvania, and resounding success in Newcastle convinced them to open a permanent theater in 1903. It was during 1907 that Warner got into the film distribution business, and by the next year he was serving theaters throughout western Pennsylvania. However, the inventor of that first film projector, Thomas Edison, did not like the idea of his invention being used without compensation, and he and his group fought the distribution business started by Warner. They were essentially run out of town, but they moved to California in 1912; Sam worked Los Angeles and his brother Jack worked in San Francisco.

They had mixed success as film producers, but the Warner brothers were patient. They finally had a commercial success in 1918, with "My Four Years in Germany". That film cost $50,000 to make, and grossed $1.5 million. Sam and his brother made $130,000, but their studio remained small throughout the 20s. It was then that Sam finally convinced his brothers of the advantages of adding sound and dialogue to their films, and their Vitaphone was both a success and a failure (being surpassed by Fox Movietone).