What happened in 1927
According to 1927 co-founder Paul Barritt, he and Suzanne Andrade named their company after a particularly momentous year, one “that saw the end of the silent film era, and the release of Metropolis.”
Although their influences stretch from the Victorian Music Hall tradition to the contemporary cabaret scene (they developed their first show in part as an opening act for The Dresden Dolls), the company continues to find inspiration from the artistic and social revolutions of the 1920s. Or in the words of Andrade, “Silent films are very inspiring to all of us in different ways: we love the acting; the style of storytelling; the aesthetic of costumes and set. Collectively, one of our favorite films is The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.”
Dr. Caligari was released in 1920, but here are landmark cultural events from the company’s eponymous year. In 1927:
• Fritz Lang made Metropolis, introducing Expressionism to a wider audience, and featuring the first robot on film.
• The Jazz Singer opened. It was the first “talkie” film.
• Magritte, Matisse, and Dali were all painting.
• Buster Keaton released The General, regarded as one of the greatest silent comedies, and certainly one of the best train films ever made.
• Mae West was jailed for 10 days for obscenity, after The Society for the Suppression of Vice complained about her adlibs during the play she wrote and starred in—Sex.
• Bob Fosse was born. So was Neil Simon.
• Isadora Duncan died.
• Charles Lindbergh completed the first non-stop transatlantic flight.
• The first transatlantic telephone call is made from New York to London.
• The Paradise Parakeet went extinct.
• Ford stops production of the Model T.
• Werner Heisenberg formulated his famous uncertainty principle.
• Alfred Hitchcock released his first film. So did Laurel and Hardy.