instance_of the fire brigade
William Nigh ( ___MASK31___ 12 , 1881  ___MASK37___ 27 , 1955 ) was an American ___MASK76___ , writer , and actor . His film work sometimes lists him as either " ___MASK69___ Nigh " or " William Nye ". Sir Charles Spencer " Charlie " Chaplin , ( 16 ___MASK78___ 1889  ___MASK39___ ___MASK88___ 1977 ) was an English comic actor , filmmaker , and composer who rose to fame during the era of ___MASK55___ . Chaplin became a worldwide icon through his screen persona " the Tramp " and is considered one of the most important figures in the history of the film industry . His career spanned more than 75 years , from childhood in the Victorian era until a year before his death in 1977 , and encompassed both adulation and controversy . A ___MASK27___ , also called a movie , ___MASK41___ picture , theatrical ___MASK27___ or photoplay , is a series of still images which , when shown on a screen , creates the illusion of moving images due to the phi phenomenon . This optical illusion causes the audience to perceive continuous ___MASK41___ between separate objects viewed rapidly in succession . The process of filmmaking is both an art and an industry . A ___MASK27___ is created by photographing actual scenes with a ___MASK41___ picture camera ; by photographing drawings or miniature models using traditional animation techniques ; by means of CGI and computer animation ; or by a combination of some or all of these techniques and other visual effects . The Jazz Singer is a 1927 American ___MASK18___ film . The first feature - length ___MASK41___ picture with synchronized sound , its release heralded the commercial ascendance of sound films and the decline of the ___MASK55___ era . Directed by Alan Crosland and produced by Warner Bros . with its Vitaphone sound - on - disc system , the film , featuring six songs performed by Al Jolson , is based on a play of the same name by Samson Raphaelson , adapted from one of his short stories " The Day of Atonement ". Gladys Louise Smith ( ___MASK78___ 8 , 1892  ___MASK2___ 29 , 1979 ), known professionally as Mary Pickford , was a Canadian - American film actress , writer , director , and producer . She was a co - founder of the ___MASK75___ United Artists and one of the original 36 founders of the Academy of ___MASK41___ Picture Arts and Sciences . ___MASK2___ McAvoy ( ___MASK59___ 8 , 1899  April 26 , 1984 ) was an American actress who worked mainly during the silent - film era . Some of her major roles include Laura Pennington in " The Enchanted Cottage ", Esther in "", and Mary Dale in " The Jazz Singer ". The Fire Brigade ( also known as Fire ! ) is 1926 American silent drama ___MASK27___ directed by William Nigh . The ___MASK27___ stars ___MASK2___ McAvoy and Charles Ray . The Fire Brigade originally contained sequences shot in two - color Technicolor . A print of the ___MASK27___ is preserved in the Metro - Goldwyn - Mayer / United Artists archives . The producers of the ___MASK27___ contributed ___MASK39___ per cent of the ___MASK27___ ' s receipts toward a college for the instruction of fire - fighting officers . An actor ( or actress for females ; see ___MASK42___ ) is a ___MASK9___ who portrays a ___MASK89___ in a performance . The actor performs " in the flesh " in the traditional medium of the theatre , or in modern mediums such as ___MASK27___ , ___MASK79___ , and television . The analogous Greek term is , literally " one who answers ". The actor ' s interpretation of their role pertains to the role played , whether based on a real ___MASK9___ or fictional ___MASK89___ . Interpretation occurs even when the actor is " playing themselves ", as in some forms of experimental performance art , or , more commonly ; to act , is to create , a ___MASK89___ in performance . United Artists ( UA ) is an American ___MASK27___ and ___MASK74___ entertainment studio . The studio was founded in 1919 by D . W . Griffith , Charlie Chaplin , Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks with the intention of controlling their own interests rather than depending upon commercial studios . The studio was repeatedly bought , sold and restructured over the ensuing century . Metro - Goldwyn - Mayer Studios Inc . ( abbreviated as MGM or M - G - M , also known as Metro - Goldwyn - Mayer Pictures , Metro - Goldwyn - Mayer or Metro , and for a former ___MASK56___ known as Metro - Goldwyn - Mayer / United Artists , or MGM / UA ) is an American media company , involved primarily in the production and distribution of feature films and television programs .