We could no longer ignore the handwriting that was gradually appearing
on the wall with a plainly audible screech of the slate pencil.
JESSE LASKY, WITH DON WELDON, I Blow My Own Horn, 1957

The Creation of ERPI

It is unlikely that cinema sound would have become established as an international norm without some dominant organization taking charge and setting an agenda. That company would need manufacturing capability, deep financial reserves, and a large workforce for sales, installation, and service. Warner Bros., Inc., was not that kind of organization. Prior to its Vitaphone experiments, the company was a supplier of lowbudget "programmer" pictures, many featuring Rin Tin Tin. Its only human star was John Barrymore, and its one prestige director was Lubitsch. Yet Warners' powerful contract enabled it to control the dissemination of...