Wednesday, July 4, 2012

The Jazz Singer (1927)

Warner Bros.
Directed by Alan Crosland
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Warner Bros.)

Legendary first "talkie" ironically has very little talking, it's a mostly silent film with a synched musical soundtrack. Briefly, for maybe a minute or so, Jolson talks to his mother after singing a song for her. The story is overly familiar: Jewish boy from the New York ghetto leaves home to find fame and fortune, returning home years later to attempt to reconcile with his parents, now old and infirm. Jolson's jazz antics can be a bit over the top, and his "crying voice" is definitely an acquired taste, but his personality is the film, for better or worse.

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