Directed by:
Alan CroslandCinematography:
Hal MohrComposer:
Louis SilversCast:
Al Jolson, May McAvoy, Warner Oland, Eugenie Besserer, Otto Lederer, Robert Gordon, Richard Tucker, Myrna Loy, William Demarest, Roscoe Karns, Fred Warren (more)Plots(1)
Al Jolson stars in this film of a play purportedly based on his own life. He plays Jakie Rabinowitz, a singer trying to make a career on Broadway instead of following the wishes of his Rabbi father to replace him as the Synagogue Cantor. Jakie breaks with his father, becomes Jack Robin and gets on Broadway, only to be called to his father's death-bed on opening night. The film co-stars Warner Oland, May McAvoy, and Eugenie Besserer. Among the hit songs featured are Jolson's trademarks, 'Toot-Toot-Tootsie', 'Goodbye', 'Dirty Hands', 'Dirty Face', 'My Mammy', and a then-new song composed by Irving Berlin, 'Blue Skies'. (Warner Home Video)
(more)Reviews (1)
This is a film that simply must be evaluated in the sense that it was a milestone as the first sound film. Still, it's essentially a silent film where only the singing passages truly feature sound. The film forever changed cinema history, but it remains just an average work that doesn't stand out in acting, story, and ultimately even musically.
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