As noted in the flyer below, the movie, "The Singing Fool," shown in Nov. 1928 at the Majestic Theatre, was described as being an absolute "masterpiece."

The first motion picture released to the public utilizing the Vitaphone sound-on-sound effects was a synchronized soundtrack titled, "Don Juan." Released in 1926, it was the first feature-length film to utilize the Vitaphone sound-on-sound system with a synchronized musical score and sound effects, but no spoken dialogue.

Although attendance was good, the movie was considered a flop due to the huge budget for the film. Theater owners and movie producers were not convinced that audiences wanted to see motion pictures using recorded sounds.

"The Jazz Singer" was Warner Brother's second movie created with the Vitaphone sound system, and it was a colossal success. When it premiered at the Warner Theater in New York City, it broke box-office records, established Warner Brothers as a major player in Hollywood and is traditionally credited with single-handedly launching the talkie revolution.

Flyer Advertising "The Singing Fool" at the Majestic Theatre in Johnson City

The Singing Fool, a 1928 musical drama "part talkie" motion picture, was next released by Warner Brothers. The film starred Al Jolson and was a follow-up to his previous film, "The Jazz Singer." It is credited with helping cement the popularity of both sight and sound.

The plot of "The Singing Fool" was a singing waiter, Al Stone (Al Jolson in real life) who gets a huge break on a magical night when his song impresses a big-time producer and a gold-digging showgirl he fancies. Broadway success and marriage follow. Al's fickled wife abandons him, taking the beloved son he calls Sonny Boy with her. After Al's son dies in a hospital, Stone goes on stage and sadly sings the boy's favorite song. 

This movie incorporated something new to the soundtrack, spoken dialogue. Although the film was a "partial talkie" in that it only contained about 281 spoken words, audiences loved it and the movie earned over $3M, a considerable sum of money at the time.

Initially, no review came out on "The Singing Fool" because the theatre believed that the first couple of days would see such a tremendous attendance that it would be better to say nothing about it, which proved to be accurate.

The Majestic Theater, which set a couple of new box office records that week, proved to be the greatest in the history of the show house, deservedly so because it was a wonderful production with a deluxe presentation.

The Majestic Theatre as It Once Operated on E. Main Street in Downtown Johnson City

It was interesting to note that initial attendance was heavy from Bristol, Greenville, Elizabethton, Erwin, and Jonesboro.

So much had been said by the critics in praises of "The "Singing Fool" that theatre owners added very little. They chose instead to reiterate the statements so often repeated in critiques: "It was superlatively fine, tremendously human, astonishingly dramatic and tragic to be the product of a comedian and filled with singing such as movie goers had never heard before. It was quit a production."

While the film was not totally talking, it approached 100%. The theatre urged potential movie goers to "by all means, see it and tell others about it."

Prices were advertised as being 50 cents at the matinee and 75 cents in the evening. When this same picture opened in New York, the prices were a whopping $25. However, later the cost of admission dropped to $3 per seat.

Potential customers were told that they could attend the picture at the Majestic Theatre in Johnson City with identical music, the same songs and a matching presentation for only $.75. All the extras New York got were a couple of orchestra numbers and a presentation lasting a few minutes. Johnson City offered its populist a bargain at $.75.

Sadly, the Majestic Theatre is no longer with us. The building stood empty for years, until one night when the roof collapsed causing the former entertainment venue to be demolished.