Scottish film could steal The Jazz Singer’s crown as ‘world’s first talkie’
Scots-written Till the Bells Ring premiered a year before the Hollywood film, which featured spoken words by Al Jolson
TL;DR
- Till the Bells Ring, a 46-minute Scottish film with synchronized dialogue, premiered in Edinburgh in October 1926.
- This predates The Jazz Singer, historically recognized as the first feature-length film with synchronized dialogue, by one year.
- The film was written by Scottish playwright Graham Moffat and performed in "lowland braid Scots."
- Despite being hailed as a cinematic milestone at its premiere, the film was largely forgotten.
- Two reels of the film survive in the BFI National Archives, but it has not been publicly screened in decades.
- Marc David Jacobs discovered the film and hopes its centenary will lead to its rediscovery and a re-evaluation of British cinema history.