The Singing Kid (1936)

Singing star loses his voice, recuperates in the country, meets aspiring playwright and her daughter.

Directors:

William Keighley, Busby Berkeley (uncredited)

Writers:

Robert Lord (story), Warren Duff

Stars:

Al Jolson, Sybil Jason, Beverly Roberts

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Al Jolson	...	Al Jackson
Sybil Jason	...	Sybil Haines
Beverly Roberts	...	Ruth Haines
Edward Everett Horton	...	Davenport Rogers
Lyle Talbot	...	Robert 'Bob' Carey
Allen Jenkins	...	Joe Eddy
Claire Dodd	...	Dana Lawrence
Jack Durant	...	Babe
Frank Mitchell	...	Dope
Wini Shaw	...	Blackface Singer (as Winifred Shaw)
Joe King	...	Dr. May (as Joseph King)
William B. Davidson	...	Barney Hammond (as Wm. Davidson)
Cab Calloway	...	Cotton Club Band Leader
Cab Calloway and His Cotton Club Orchestra	...	Cotton Club Orchestra
The Yacht Club Boys	...	Singing Quartette

Storyline

Singing star loses his voice, recuperates in the country, meets aspiring playwright and her daughter.

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Plot Keywords:

jacks game | manhattan new york city | chauffeur | gold digger | landlady | 

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Taglines:

HIS BEST !

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Genres:

Drama | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 April 1936 (USA)

Also Known As:

Canta e Serás Feliz

Filming Locations:

Franklin Canyon, Beverly Hills, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in I Love to Singa (1936)

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Soundtracks

Here's Looking at You
Music by Harold Arlen
Lyrics by E.Y. Harburg
Performed by Al Jolson

User Reviews

Some Sonny Girl Moments

The man who gave movies its voice, not only speaking but singing voice wound up his career at Warner Brothers with The Singing Kid. Although he did not intend to be so, this was Al Jolson's last film with Warner Brothers and also his last starring film as well.

In The Singing Kid, Al Jolson plays Al Jackson an entertainer who was not unlike the real Al Jolson in some respects. He's rather free with his money, Jolson was legendary for that, especially since he trusts his lawyer and business manager Lyle Talbot who is stealing from him and two timing him with Claire Dodd who usually played bad girls over at Warner Brothers in the Thirties.

When things go bad for Jolson and he loses his money, his girl, and his voice, he takes a long vacation at a cabin in Maine with two of his retainers Edward Everett Horton and Allen Jenkins. In real life Jolson had many of those, not unlike Frank Sinatra. He meets and falls for Beverly Roberts who has a real cute niece she has custody of, Sybil Jason. Jolson together with Jason have some Sonny girl moments on the screen hearkening back to The Singing Fool with Davey Lee.

Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg wrote the score which also interpolated some Jolson standards. Nothing memorable from the official composers and they must have felt like the songwriters from many of Jolson's Broadway shows who always had Al interpolate his own material in the show.

Cab Calloway and his orchestra appeared and Calloway did a typical Cab Calloway number in the film. It must have been really strange on that set with the entertainer who made his mark first in minstrel shows in blackface and who wouldn't leave it and one of the best entertainers who happened to be black around. Jolson does about half of his songs in blackface and half au natural.

As a grown woman Sybil Jason said she had fond memories of Jolson who threw her a birthday party on the set and gave her a bicycle.

The Singing Kid is a must for Jolson fans, but I doubt that too many other people would really be interested in it.