Austrian Music Films of the Silent and Early Sound Era 1912-1933

At the center of this project lies the Austrian music film of the silent and early sound era. Starting point for this research are the music numbers that are prevalent in myriad films not only in the sound era but also in silent cinema. Our recently completed research on the sound and music in Viennese cinemas has yielded ample evidence that portrays Viennas cinemas as venues of music performance.1 These results shall now be complemented by an approach that focuses on music numbers in Austrian silent and early sound films (19121933). The analysis of the films will be informed by the knowledge about their performative exhibition context. In this way, Austrian music films of the silent period will be rendered audible again, and some of the music numbers contained in such films only become identifiable through such an approach. The examination of these music numbers entails a number of questions that span the complex process of integrating music into film narratives, notions of stardom in film and musical theatre, and the visual staging of mute performances to the ideological subtexts of such numbers. In the process, issues such as the musical performance in the film and their accompaniment will be explored as well as the reciprocal influences of film and the coexisting art forms operetta, Volkstheater and the Wienerlied. Although most Austrian music films of that period are forgotten to date, their international influence can be detected in European and American cinema alike, most notably in the early Hollywood musical. By focusing on music numbers in silent films, this project will join in revising the notion that the film musical emerged first with the recorded sound film. Thus, the aim of this project is to develop a new form of analysis of these films, based on extensive archival research and including the context of the musical live accompaniment of the film exhibition in the analysis. 1 Sound and Music in Viennese Cinemas 1896 1930" (FWF Project P 22359), (see attached final report of the project)

The project examined musical numbers in Austrian films of the silent and early sound film era. Musical numbers in silent films are not an obvious occurrence; the popularity of song and dance scenes during the first 30 years of the medium film is not immediately apparent given the fact that silent films were accompanied by live musicians. Nevertheless, there are a surprising number of Austrian silent films (as well as numerous German films with Austrian participation), in which music plays a crucial role: operetta and opera adaptations, biographical films of composers, films based on well-known folk songs and much more. Musical numbers in silent cinema are not easily comparable to those in sound films. They are usually shorter and often difficult to identify for todays viewing habits. However, with the knowledge of the historical performance practice of silent films, by examining the contemporary reception, as well as through the exact analysis of the films themselves, quite a few such scenes could be detected. In addition, recent theoretical approaches helped us to discover not only musical numbers but also musical moments in films; short moments in which the narrative no longer dominates, but the image is subordinated to the music (which is not known in the case of silent films). Changes in the rhythm of the movements, the camera work, or the editing can be markers of such shifts. The close analysis of these music numbers paints a picture of the early music film, which in many respects anticipates the essential characteristics of the sound film musical. These include elements such as self-reflexivity; the perpetuation or undermining of traditional gender and class representations; formal changes and sliding into abstract, ornamental forms; sublimated portrayals of sexuality, as well as the carnivalesque reversal of a films established narrative and structural order - to name only the most important ones. As a result, we suggest to consider the Austrian music film as a kind of precursor to the American film musical on the one hand, and on the other, as a genre able to challenge traditional views on the transition from silent to sound film, in which significantly more continuities rather than a clear break can be identified. Ultimately, this approach allows for a closer look at neglected films. In the light of current theoretical research, these overlooked films proved to be much more enlightening and multi-layered than generally expected.