The Singing Fool (1928)

Director:

Lloyd Bacon

Writers:

C. Graham Baker (adaptation), C. Graham Baker (story),

Stars:

Al Jolson, Betty Bronson, Josephine Dunn

Cast

Cast overview:
Al Jolson	...	Al Stone
Betty Bronson	...	Grace
Josephine Dunn	...	Molly Winton
Arthur Housman	...	Blackie Joe
Reed Howes	...	John Perry
Davey Lee	...	Sonny Boy (as David Lee)
Edward Martindel	...	Louis Marcus
Robert Emmett O'Connor	...	Cafe Owner, Bill (as Robert O'Connor)
Helen Lynch	...	Maid
Agnes Franey	...	'Balloon' Girl
The Yacht Club Boys	...	Singing Quartette

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

dance number | down and out | california | dead child | early sound film | 

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Taglines:

"When there are gray skies, I don't mind the gray skies, you make them blue---Sonny Boy."

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Genres:

Musical | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 August 1929 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

Az éneklö bolond

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Vitaphone)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jolson's song "The Spaniard That Blighted My Life" is no longer in existing prints. The number was cut after its composer, Billy Merson, sued Warner Bros., charging that Jolson's version impinged on his own (Merson's) livelihood, as he was still performing it in the U.K. Only the Vitaphone disc of the song is known to survive.

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Connections

Referenced in The Singing Sap (1930)

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Soundtracks

"Sonny Boy"
(uncredited)
Music by Ray Henderson
Lyrics by Buddy G. DeSylva, Lew Brown and Al Jolson
Played during the opening credits and often in the score
Sung by Al Jolson

User Reviews

Classic Jolson at his best

The movie is obviously designed as a Jolson vehicle. It is pretty obvious that the star came first, and everything else followed.

Despite being made in 1928, the film holds up remarkably well today, the humour being one aspect that hasn't dated. Jolson sings Sonny Boy to great effect three times, although he puts so much emotion into it that I was left wanting him to sing is straight just once. The film may seem oversentimental but if you engage with this and look at it from the point of view of a contemporary audience you will enjoy it more, and the film's shock ending is, in my opinion one of the bravest I have seen Hollywood do. In fact the only shock endings which I think compare with this are Terry Gilliam's Brazil or Doctor Who: Earthshock.

The supporting performances are sterling, but there's no other actor who has the Charisma of Jolson. It's apparent to me that nowadays, the film's leading lady, Josephine Dunn, playing a singer, would have been given one or two songs to sing, but the producers rightly realised that the audience was there to see Jolson and Jolson alone.

The film is also of historical interest, being one of the first talkies. It's apparent that synchronised sound is used sparingly, and, like its near-contemporary The Jazz Singer, the opening parts use caption slides in place of speech.

Enjoy it for its Jazz age settings, the grand costumes (Miss Dunn's gowns are particularly exquisite) and of course for Jolson's singing.