The Jolson Story

Rating:
Summary: "Hard To Repeat On This One"
Review: Growing up in Canada this DVD, The Jolson Story and Jolson Sings Again were always a favorite of mine. When I was young both these films played every New Year's Eve on television, but this stopped about 30 years ago. Film classics even in their own time, these DVD's do justice to the way they used to make them.

Even if you are not entertained by all the Hollywood make believe in these films, you will be introduced to one of the greatest voices of the last century. "Boy" could Al Jolson ever belt them out, considering he performed live most of the time without the support of a microphone. In our times the only other entertainer to reach such vocal highs would have been Roy Orbison.

So if you want an eveing of pure entertainment with out sex or violence, I recommend you purchase both The Jolson Story and Jolson Sings Again and brace yourself for a splendid time.

Rating:
Summary: We All Have Flaws - Embrace the Flaws
Review: As a music historian in general, and as a performer of many of the pieces that Jolson made famous (piano for my part), and also as the son of an actor from radio and film that worked in Hollywood during Jolson's reign there, and as a collector of ancient recordings from the pre-vinyl era plus sheet music, I have had a lot of exposure to Jolson and his personna outside of these films. The view from inside is a bit sanitized, but not horrid.

Larry Parks is more than adequate for the role. Unfortunately, due to the limitations of the film media from 1946 (lack of widescreen and loss of ambience without surround sound and fx), the true essence of how BIG Jolson was on stage is lost to a degree. Jolson was not the best singer. He was not the best of lyricists. He was not the most humble of people. He had flaws that were both visible and invisible. But... HE WAS A GREAT ENTERTAINER. My Sheet Music Collection, which currently numbers over 7000 pieces, will validate that. Jolson saw his face on more sheet music covers than the bulk of many smaller publishers total output. You don't get there through simple coercion - it was his magnitude as a STAGE (not film) entertainer that got him there and kept him on top for two decades.

To some degree, while there is whitewashing and Hollywood sanitizing (such as the odd omission of Ruby Keeler's name in conjunction with her character), some of the personal flaws of Jolson are most certainly presented on screen. A more personal look from this decade would show a very troubled man with blatant insecurities, yet still quite likable. At the very least, this biopic was certainly better than some of that time, including the nearly totally fictitious Cole Porter mishap (discussed in D'Lovely). Note also that only Jolson and Fanny Brice have had no less than two consecutive biopics made about them. The incidents are otherwise not totally contrived, but some are a bit out of sequence, as is the music. I would guess the use of Rainbow On My Shoulder as a piece from the Jazz Singer (it was actually in The Singing Fool) was to get around Warner copyright issues.

Going back to the Ruby Keeler thing, the character in this movie is called Julie Benson. This is not only historically inaccurate but downright confusing, since there is no Benson in 42nd Street or Dames, which are among her movies prominently mentioned in The Jolson Story. What is more confusing is that Keeler often referred to herself as Mrs. Jolson long after their marriage was over. Maybe it was another copyright issue with Warner, possibly since they may have owned her name at the time. If she objected, in spite of how obvious it was to the public that it was her character on screen, I don't know why.

Other omissions among this and the accompany film (Jolson Sings Again) include two missing wives, the mention that Jazz Singer was originally a vehicle for Georgie Jessel, then later stolen from Eddie Cantor, the making of the Vitaphone - A Plantation Act - a year before The Jazz Singer, the lawsuit over the plagiarism of Avalon, etc. I prefer to think of these as omissions more so than inaccuracies, but they do add a certain bias to the story when these things are known.

For all the good, there are a few flaws. Parks is NOT Jolson, but he manages to overcome that so much that he becomes Jolson part way into the film. They could have minimized his hair a bit more than was done to give a closer appearance, but his synchronization with Jolson's recorded tracks is exemplary. But... the switch between Parks' speaking voice and Jolson's singing voice is jarring at times. Further, the arrangements being played during the "ragtime era" are really the swing era arrangements used for his Decca recordings. Anybody who has heard Jolson's work on Columbia or Victor knows that he was in much better voice with a timbre closer to Parks back in the 1910s and 1920s. I suppose now that his voice could be extracted from those recordings and laid over new recorded orchestrations. Stylistically the newer arrangements for older songs don't work, but appealed to the audience of the time (my mother saw the thing four times when it came out!).

The DVD box is misleading. The film is in limited scope 2.0 stereo, not mono (is this an original or redone - knowing Sony it was contrived). There is good separation between the underscore and the center channel voices through most of it, except when Jolson's recorded tracks are used, and those are mostly mono. The color is quite beautiful and not oversaturated. Chroma correction for this restoration is fairly accurate.

Even though the film can't fully capture Jolson (you need some CDs of his early work to even approach that), it helps to explain why the "mammy factor" worked so well for him and why he is still discussed a full century after he got his start on the stage. Since the second film, Jolson Sings Again, literally starts within an hour of when the first film ends, you really need the set. It also displays Parks as a talent of his own, albeit one that was sadly taken down during the McCarthy hearings, and whose career never recovered from the association.

In any case, walk a million miles and get some smiles. Buy the films!

Rating:
Summary: Great Music from The World's Greatest Entertainer
Review: Here he is, the original Elvis. Larry Parks gives a first rate performance and mimics the Jolson classics that will always be with us. Whether you're familiar with Al Jolson or not, give yourself a treat an buy the movie.

Rating:
Summary: One of the Greatest Entertainers & Movies
Review: I first saw "The Jolson Story" in 1946 when I was a child. I developed a crush on Larry Parks, and a love of the music of Al Jolson. Periodically, I watch the video, as I did today. Ludwig Donath, who starred as Al Jolson's father in the film was a friend of my family. I have two personally autographed pictures of him. He was an accomplished actor from Austria, and a fine person. There is little comparable to the "Anniversary Song" as performed later in the film. My mother saw Al Jolson and Ruby Keeler three times in person in the San Diego area and in Los Angeles. "The Jolson Story" is one of my all time favorites. I wish that we had more contemporary entertainers like Al Jolson.

Rating:
Summary: One of the Greatest Entertainers & Movies
Review: I first saw "The Jolson Story" in 1946 when I was a child. I developed a crush on Larry Parks, and a love of the music of Al Jolson. Periodically, I watch the video, as I did today. Ludwig Donath, who starred as Al Jolson's father in the film was a friend of my family. I have two personally autographed pictures of him. He was an accomplished actor from Austria, and a fine person. There is little comparable to the "Anniversary Song" as performed later in the film. My mother saw Al Jolson and Ruby Keeler three times in person in the San Diego area and in Los Angeles. "The Jolson Story" is one of my all time favorites. I wish that we had more contemporary entertainers like Al Jolson.

Rating:
Summary: One of the Greatest Entertainers & Movies
Review: I first saw "The Jolson Story" in 1946 when I was a child. I developed a crush on Larry Parks, and a love of the music of Al Jolson. Periodically, I watch the video, as I did today. Ludwig Donath, who starred as Al Jolson's father in the film was a friend of my family. I have two personally autographed pictures of him. He was an accomplished actor from Austria, and a fine person. There is little comparable to the "Anniversary Song" as performed later in the film. My mother saw Al Jolson and Ruby Keeler three times in person in the San Diego area and in Los Angeles. "The Jolson Story" is one of my all time favorites. I wish that we had more contemporary entertainers like Al Jolson.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best
Review: I have watched this movie literally hundreds of times, and it gets better all the time. Larry Parks is phenomenal as the incomparable Al Jolson, flawless in lip synching the great songs. The entire cast is terrific, as are the story and music. Not so patiently waiting for it to come out on DVD!

Rating:
Summary: One of the best
Review: I have watched this movie literally hundreds of times, and it gets better all the time. Larry Parks is phenomenal as the incomparable Al Jolson, flawless in lip synching the great songs. The entire cast is terrific, as are the story and music. Not so patiently waiting for it to come out on DVD!

Rating:
Summary: Wow! the music is wonderful!
Review: I love this show. I'm a granny, and the old songs and the old way of making shows. There are no bad words. I would watch this movie twice every day if I could!!!!

Rating:
Summary: This movie can be seen many times over.It will never tire yo
Review: I was 15 years old when I saw this movie. Since then I have seen it many times over. Al Jolson was a singer's singer. His voice commands such respect that you become a fan for life.