With the advent of "talkies", production at Astoria blossomed. Drawing on the wealth of writing and acting talent of Broadway, the Studio profited from its proximity to "the great white way". The Letter, the first all talking feature film shot at the Studio, earned an Oscar nomination for actress Jeanne Eagels. The talking film debuts of Claudette Colbert, Edward G. Robinson and Tallulah Bankhead were filmed here..

The Marx Brothers moved from Broadway to the silver screen in Astoria. In addition to the scores of feature films produced at Astoria, the Studio was home to the famed Paramount Newsreels ("the eyes and ears of the world"), and Paramount¹s prolific short film divisions. By the end of this period Adolf Zukor, the man who built the studio, had already moved out to California, as did much of the film industry.