Oklahoma Journeys
Week of September 20, 2008
Will Rogers First Talkie, 1929
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This week on Oklahoma Journeys, the movies are talking and so is Will Rogers. The famed satirist and rope twirler from Oklahoma was a popular person throughout his life, but he wasn't always the global celebrity that we know today. The fame and popularity of Rogers increased dramatically with the release of his first talkie and that's the topic of this week's Oklahoma Journeys from the Oklahoma Historical Society
From the Oklahoma Historical Society, this is Oklahoma Journeys. I'm Michael Dean.
You really can't live in Oklahoma and not know about Will Rogers. As a comedian, accomplished cowboy, trick roper, political commentator, and advisor to presidents, Rogers made headlines and fans throughout the world. The unique ability of Rogers to make his point in an amusing yet straightforward manner endeared him to the hearts of many people, including those who didn't necessarily agree with his outlook on various topics. Of his Native American ancestry Rogers once told audiences, "My family didn't come over on the Mayflower, but we were here to greet the boat."
Beginning his show business career in a wild west show in 1902, then onstage with the Ziegfeld Follies, Rogers was a well known performer and entertainer long before he stepped in front of the movie camera. Roger's first film, Ropin' Fool, was basically a vehicle to showcase his roping ability. In the film he goes through his catalogue of rope tricks, some of which have not been replicated since. The film is one of the earliest to use slow motion to better allow the audiences to view Roger's mastery of the lariat. From that film Rogers went on to make a dozen or so more.
Oddly enough Roger's style of humor didn't translate to the silent films, and most of his movies lost money. Two films in particular lost close to $20,000.00 each. Yet two short years later Rogers was one of the country's best paid actors and twice signed the largest contract up to that time in the history of the movie business. Unlike many actors whose voices didn't translate well to the new format of talkies, it was only then that movies begin to use sound that Rogers found success. It was in this week of 1929 that Will Rogers' first talkie debuted.
As an indication of Rogers' star status and global popularity, the film They Had to See Paris opened simultaneously in the United States and in Paris, France, to packed houses on both continents. The story features a common working-man from Claremore, Oklahoma, played by Rogers, whose wife convinces him that they just have to make a trip to Europe whereupon hilarity ensues. By using the new sound technology Roger's soft spoken, subtle sense of humor that was for the most part lost in the silent era, burst out in theaters with great success. The film's success, both with critics and audiences, ensured Rogers' status as a Hollywood star and began a string of cinematic successes that ended only with his death in 1935.
Oklahoma Journeys is a production of the Oklahoma Historical Society dedicated to the collection, preservation, and sharing of our state's past. I'm Michael Dean.