Street Girl

I watched this on TCM and found it interesting, though in many ways just a showcase for the music. Very '20s, very period-piece stuff, with the usual strange choreography. I thought the title Street Girl was a bit of a tease however, as the "girl" turned out to be a homeless violinist who gets involved with a down-at-heels dance band. What stood out for me however was the noisiness of the sound track, the worst I have ever heard. I realize this is an early talkie and they were probably still struggling with ways to muffle the sound of the camera. But every shot seemed to have its own peculiar frequency, from whirring to humming to grinding to something like a garburator. I wonder now if early-talkie audiences noticed or cared about this, but it seems to me that many must have longed for the sophisticated accompaniment that had evolved by late in the silent era. What also amazes me is the leap in sophistication that took place in only a couple of years: by 1931, people had forgotten all about silent movies and screenwriters/actors had hit their stride. This is great to watch if you're a sound technician/film historian or both.