The Jazz Singer (1927)

Director:

Alan Crosland

Writers:

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

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:

Cantor | Jazz | Jazz Singer | Singer | Broadway

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)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jane Arden	...	Bit part (uncredited)
Ernest Belcher	...	Choreographer - 'April Follies' (uncredited)
Violet Bird	...	Bit part (uncredited)
Nat Carr	...	Levi (uncredited)
Claire Delmar	...	Bit part (uncredited)
William Demarest	...	Steve Martin (uncredited)
Neely Edwards	...	Dance director (uncredited)
Audrey Ferris	...	Chorus girl (uncredited)
Joseph Green	...	Walk-on (uncredited)
Ena Gregory	...	Bit part (uncredited)
Roscoe Karns	...	Agent (uncredited)
Myrna Loy	...	Chorus girl (uncredited)
Margaret Oliver	...	Bit part (uncredited)
Anders Randolf	...	Dillings (uncredited)
Carolynne Snowden	...	Backstage Maid (uncredited)
Marie Stapleton	...	Bit 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

Cinematography by
Hal Mohr		(photography)

Film Editing by
Harold McCord

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

Sound Department
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
Louis Silvers	....	musical director: Vitaphone Orchestra
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 The Vitaphone Corporation)

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1927) (USA) (theatrical) (as The Vitaphone Corporation)
• Dominant Pictures Corporation (1958) (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

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Vitaphone

Certification:

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

Filming Locations:

Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

George Jessel, star of the stage version, was asked to play the role in the film, but refused over a pay dispute. Eddie Cantor was also asked, and also refused.

Goofs:

Continuity: Before the dress rehearsal "Jakie" applies black face and he misses a portion on the upper right forehead. He dons the wig which covers the white spot. After he returns from the dress rehearsal and removes the wig, there is no white spot. It is covered with black face.

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 Funhouse (1981)

Soundtrack:

In the Good Old Summertime

"Wait a minute, you ain't heard nothin' yet!"

George Jessel passed up a chance to star in this movie. he thought sound in film was too risky a venture to try and took a pass. Al Jolson went on to stardom and George became known as a toastmaster at Hollywood roasts. This is an excellent movie that certainly belongs on anyone's list of 100 best movies. The story has been ably told here, I won't repeat it. I do want to add a few observations, however. The movie is very sentimental, especially in it's portrayal of "Mama" and Jolson's devotion to her. Even when it first came out, writers were critical of this, which harked back to the days of broad stage melodramas. The use of the song Kol Nidre and the Jewish day of Atonement at the ending is significant in that forgiveness and reconciliation is what this movie's theme is all about. Recommended highly, many of the scenes are etched in the consciousness of movie-goers whether you have seen this movie or not. Jolson in blackface doing "Mammy" and "Mother Of Mine", singing "Toot, Toot, Toosie Goodbye". Seeing this film will bring back all these images and place them in their proper contexts. The minstrel type show or even blackface solos were still going strong in the 1920s. In the 1930s and even into the 1940s famous Hollywood actors such as Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney among many others would still be doing songs in blackface. This was no isolated case by a long shot. See it and see history. Also see it for what it is, a classic Hollywood story.