The Jazz Singer (1927)

Director:

Alan Crosland

Writers:

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

Release Date:

6 October 1927 (USA)

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:

Cantor | Jazz | Jazz Singer | Singer | Jewish

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins

Cast

Al Jolson	...	Jakie Rabinowitz
May McAvoy	...	Mary Dale
Warner Oland	...	The Cantor
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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jane Arden	...	Small Part (uncredited)
Ernest Belcher	...	Choreographer - 'April Follies' (uncredited)
Violet Bird	...	Small Part (uncredited)
Nat Carr	...	Levi (uncredited)
Claire Delmar	...	Small Part (uncredited)
William Demarest	...	Buster Billings (uncredited)
Neely Edwards	...	Dance Director (uncredited)
Audrey Ferris	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Joseph Green	...	Walk-on (uncredited)
Ena Gregory	...	Small Part (uncredited)
Roscoe Karns	...	Agent (uncredited)
Mary Grace Larsen	...	Small part (uncredited)
Myrna Loy	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
John Miljan	...	On-screen trailer annoucer / Host (uncredited)
Margaret Oliver	...	Small Part (uncredited)
Anders Randolf	...	Dillings (uncredited)
Josele Rosenblatt	...	Cantor (uncredited)
Carolynne Snowden	...	Backstage Maid (uncredited)
Marie Stapleton	...	Small Part (uncredited)
Will Walling	...	Doctor (uncredited)

Directed by
Alan Crosland

Writing credits
Samson Raphaelson		(short story "The Day of Atonement") uncredited
Samson Raphaelson		(play)
Alfred A. Cohn		(adaptation)
Jack Jarmuth		(titles)

Original Music by
Louis Silvers		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Hal Mohr		(photography)

Film Editing by
Harold McCord		(edited by)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Gordon Hollingshead	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Gerald W. Alexander	....	sound (uncredited)
Harvey Cunningham	....	sound engineer (uncredited)
George Groves	....	sound recordist (uncredited)
Nathan Levinson	....	sound supervisor (uncredited)
William A. Mueller	....	sound technician (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Nugent Slaughter	....	special effects (uncredited)

Music Department
Rosa Rio	....	orchestrator
Louis Silvers	....	musical director: Vitaphone Orchestra
Louis Silvers	....	musical score directed by
Edmund Ross	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Alpharetta	....	technician
Lewis Geib	....	technician
Esdras Hartley	....	technician
Fred Jackman	....	technician
F.N. Murphy	....	technician
Victor Vance	....	technician
Ernest Belcher	....	choreographer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures (as A Warner Brothers Production)

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1927) (USA) (theatrical) (as The Vitaphone Corporation) (presents)
• Dominant Pictures Corporation (1956) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1991) (USA) (VHS)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• La Sept-Arte  sound restoration (1998 version)
• Lobster Films  sound restoration (1998 version)
• Vitaphone Orchestra  orchestra

Also Known As:

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Vitaphone)

Certification:

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

Filming Locations:

Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Warner Brothers quietly threw in the towel on the Vitaphone disk process in 1932. Not wanting to risk losing the disks, Warner Bros. had all of the Vitaphone sound for the film transferred to optical tracks on the side of the film itself in the 1930s.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene where the Cantor prepares to whip the 13-year old Jakie, the boy has three buttons conspicuously pinned to his shirt for most of the take. However in the shot where the cantor shoves him towards the bedroom, there are only two buttons.

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 "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: The Wrap Party (#1.6)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Kol nidrei opus 47

First "Talkie" in General Circulation

I rate the movie a "10" for its historical significance. "The Jazz Singer" is the answer to the perennial trivia question, "What was the first sound motion picture?" Certainly there were other talkies before this, but this one, the first feature-length talkie in the world -- is the one that turned Hollywood and the movie-going public on its ear.

It's fascinating. We think of "The Jazz Singer" as a talkie, but most of the picture is in typical "silent pictures" style -- with intertitles (title cards) to convey character dialog. Only with Jolson's vocal numbers and two other scenes is the new sound technology is used, and we hear the voice of the man many have called the world's greatest entertainer.