The Jolson Story (1946)

This movie shows the idealized career of the singer Al Jolson, a little Jewish boy who goes against the will of his father in order to be in showbiz. He becomes a star, falls in love with a... See full summary »

Director:

Alfred E. Green

Writers:

Harry Chandlee (adaptation), Stephen Longstreet (screenplay)

Stars:

Larry Parks, Evelyn Keyes, William Demarest

Won 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Larry Parks	...	Al Jolson
Evelyn Keyes	...	Julie Benson
William Demarest	...	Steve Martin
Bill Goodwin	...	Tom Baron
Ludwig Donath	...	Cantor Yoelson
Scotty Beckett	...	Asa Yoelson / Al Jolson, as a boy
Tamara Shayne	...	Mrs. Yoelson
Jo-Carroll Dennison	...	Ann Murray
John Alexander	...	Lew Dockstader
Ernest Cossart	...	Father McGee
The Robert Mitchell Boy Choir	...	Church Choir (as Mitchell 'Boychoir')
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Robert Kellard	...	Henry, Orchestra Leader (as Bob Stevens)

Storyline

This movie shows the idealized career of the singer Al Jolson, a little Jewish boy who goes against the will of his father in order to be in showbiz. He becomes a star, falls in love with a non-Jewish dancer, and marries her. In the end he chooses success on the stage.

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Plot Keywords:

florenz ziegfeld character | al jolson character | three word title | surname in title | character name as title | 

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Taglines:

The Music...The Magic...The Times...of America's Greatest Entertainer

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Music

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 October 1946 (USA)

Also Known As:

Al Jolson

Box Office

Budget:

$2,800,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min 124 min (re-release)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Features the only Oscar nominated performances of William Demarest and Larry Parks.

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Goofs

Jolson flies back to New York for "Julie Benson's" (Ruby Keller) Broadway opening in "Show Girl." "Show Girl" opened July 02, 1929, three years after filming of "The Jazz Singer."

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Quotes

Al Jolson: Broadway? What a street! You know something, baby? It belongs to me. You know something else? If you want, I'll give it to you.

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Connections

Followed by Jolson Sings Again (1949)

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Soundtracks

Every Little Movement
(uncredited)
Music by Karl Hoschna
Lyrics by Otto A. Harbach

User Reviews

A wonderful biopic about a great entertainer.

Al Jolson, along with Frank Sinatra, were perhaps the two greatest singer/entertainers of the 20th Century. This film, made in 1946, was both the launching pad and "ball and chain" for Larry Parks. His performance was so good it earned him an Academy Award nomination. He spent countless hours perfecting the Jolson mannerisms and lip-syncing the songs that the great Jolson recorded for the movie. Unfortunately he became so typecast in the role that his reprise of the role in the sequel in 1949 was his only other claim to fame. That, and his admission and subsequent subliminal blacklist from Hollywood for being a member of the Communist Party between 1941-1951, stopped his career before it ever really had a chance to bloom.

My father had me watch this movie as a kid on Million Dollar Movie and I was taken by the personality, drive, energy, and talent of this great entertainer. Hearing about, and seeing, silent movies made me all the more in awe of the talent Jolson must have been since Hollywood banked it's future on talkies with "The Jazz Singer".

Besides Parks excellent performances are also put in by William Demerest, who many of us remember as Uncle Charlie in My Three Sons, Evelyn Keyes as Julie Benson (Jolson's first wife) and the rest of the cast. The 1949 making of Jolson Sings Again is also worthwhile, if for no other reason than watching Parks do the masterful lip-sync and the incredible vocals of Jolson.