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The Donovan Affair was a 1929 American mystery film starring Jack Holt as Inspector Killian, a detective who is called in to solve a murder committed during a dinner party. The film is categorized as belonging to the "Pre Code" era of cinema, released in the brief period of time between the development of sound in film and the introduction of the Hays Codes, a strict list of censorship guidelines that continued until 1968. The Donovan Affair was the first talkie released by Colombia Pictures, and it was before 'sound-on-film' became common practice, meaning the film and the audio were recorded separately. Today, a silent print of the film exists in the Library of Congress, but the original sound has been lost. Unfortunately, it is now no longer possible to "see and hear" The Donovan Affair as audiences would have experienced it in 1929.