The Jazz Singer (1927)

Director:

Alan Crosland

Writers:

Samson Raphaelson (play)
Alfred A. Cohn (adaptation)

Release Date:

1929 (Austria)

Genre:

Drama | Music | Romance

Tagline:

WARNER BROS. Supreme Triumph ! ! !

Plot:

The son of a Jewish Cantor must defy his father in order to pursue his dream of becoming a jazz singer.

Plot Keywords:

White Male Pretending To Be Black | Famous Line | Jazz Singer | Part Talkie | Ambition

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins

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)

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Vitaphone

Certification:

USA:Unrated | UK:U | Australia:G | Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

According to the dates of the letter/telegram shown and the title card preceding Jolson's return to New York, and allowing one day for travel, the Cantor's date of birth would have been August 9 or 10, 1867.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: When Jolson is writing the aforementioned August 7 letter to Mary following the Cantor Rosenblatt recital, immediately after he writes the words "nearly stopped," there is a splice in the film (but not the soundtrack) and the insert of the writing is repeated at an earlier point so that Jolson writes the same sentence again. This may have been to allow for a reel/disc change, since there is a conspicuous pause of silence in the middle of the shot where the music cue ends and another begins.

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]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Simpsons: Virtual Springfield (1997) (VG)

Soundtrack:

Waiting for the Robert E. Lee

More Than Just A 'Curiosity Piece'

An historic film, billed as "the first talkie," this was a surprise because many of the lines are not verbalized, only when Al Jolson sings or just before or just after his songs. Otherwise, most of it is still a silent film with the words shown on the screen as in the other silent films.

This is a powerful story with interesting characters and good songs, to boot. It was different to see Warner Oland as somebody else besides Charlie Chan. He played Jolson's father and I never would have recognized him had I not read the credits. Nor would I have recognized William Demarest.

Jolson, however, is the man who dominates the film. Some of this songs wound up being classics, ones played for years and years, such as "Toot, Toot Toosie" and "Mammy."

Faced with a very tough decision on what to do with his life, Jolson's character does the right thing in the end, which was nice to see. Overall, it's entertaining.