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The Jazz Singer
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The Jazz Singer (1927) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
6.8/10   2,676 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 5% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Alan Crosland
Writers:
Samson Raphaelson (play)
Alfred A. Cohn (adaptation)
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Contact:
View company contact information for The Jazz Singer on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
1929 (Austria) more
Genre:
Drama | Music | Romance more
Tagline:
WARNER BROS. Supreme Triumph ! ! ! more
Plot:
The son of a Jewish Cantor must defy his father in order to pursue his dream of becoming a jazz singer. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
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Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins more
User Comments:
Four Angels, Poised more

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Al Jolson ... Jakie Rabinowitz (Jack Robin)
May McAvoy ... Mary Dale
Warner Oland ... Cantor Rabinowitz
Eugenie Besserer ... Sara Rabinowitz
Otto Lederer ... Moisha Yudelson
Robert Gordon ... Jakie Rabinowitz (age 13) (as Bobby Gordon)
Richard Tucker ... Harry Lee
Cantor Joseff Rosenblatt ... Himself (concert recital)
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Additional Details

Runtime:
88 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Aspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Vitaphone

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Al Jolson's famous line "you ain't heard nothin' yet" was an ad-lib. The intention was that the film should only have synchronized music, not speech, but Jolson dropped in the line (which he used in his stage act) after the song "Dirty Hands, Dirty Face". The director wisely left it in. more
Goofs:
Continuity: Mary recieves a telegram dated August 8, 1927. Later in the film, Jack is seen writing a letter to Mary, dating it August 7, 1927. more
Quotes:
[first lines]
[first words in the first widely-seen talking picture]
Jack Robin: Wait a minute, wait a minute, you ain't heard nothin' yet! Wait a minute, I tell ya! You ain't heard nothin'! You wanna hear "Toot, Toot, Tootsie"? All right, hold on, hold on...
[walks back to one of the band members]
Jack Robin: Lou, listen. Play "Toot, Toot, Tootsie", three chorus, you understand. In the third chorus, I whistle. Now give it to 'em hard and heavy, go right ahead.
[band starts playing]
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Movie Connections:
Referenced in The 76th Annual Academy Awards (2004) (TV) more
Soundtrack:
Give My Regards to Broadway more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
27 out of 29 people found the following comment useful:-
Four Angels, Poised, 10 February 2007
8/10
Author: tedg (tedg@FilmsFolded.com) from Virginia Beach

There's not much to say about this other than even today, for this viewer, it is emotionally effective. Yes you know you are being manipulated. Yes, the acting conventions of the silent screen are comically exaggerated. Yes, it is shameless in setting up the ultimate choice. But this is so well structured that even today it escapes cliché. That's so remarkable, because big movies are almost always turned into clichés as bits of them are digested and continuously re-served to us as our visual grammar.

The love interest here is so unusual. He does fall in love with a pretty dancer, but tells her plainly that his career is more important than she is. She later doesn't become part of the choice — as would be the case in nearly every other script — instead she becomes part of the audience, presenting the dramatic quandary: the stage or God.

The presentation of religion is unique in my experience. Everyone here is a Jew, except the performers. They are the "real" and everyone else is "pretend," performing. Though there are many opportunities to fall into obnoxious stereotypes, its avoided over and over. That's despite the dozens of examples they had before.

In fact, there's an amazing engineering of story here. As any viewer will know, this was the first talkie. It was new, and to emphasize its newness a story was created to emphasize the contrast between old and new.

This film is part silent, part "talkie." It shows a struggle between the old (obviously obsolete) and the vital young. It also depicts in a rather subtle but effective way the "old" god, and the new: there's plenty of talk about the performance hall being a modern church. The music as well: we have the implication that it is not only the setting, the performer and the calling, but the music itself that is something new.

Along the way we get street scenes of the Jewish area of New York. These are genuine street scenes and are absolutely phenomenal: there isn't anything I know that compares. There was an attempt of sorts in "The Pawnbroker," which by itself was strong. But nothing compared to this.

Ted's Evaluation -- 4 of 3: Every cineliterate person should experience this.

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