Assistant director: Gordon Hollingshead. Sound recording: George R. Groves. Vitaphone Sound System. Sound technician: William A. Mueller. Sound supervisor: Nathan Levinson.
Copyright 6 October 1927 by Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc. New York opening at the Warners' Theatre, 6 October 1927. U.S. release: 4 February 1928. 9 reels. 8,117 feet. 90 minutes.
SYNOPSIS: Young man wants to be a jazz singer, but dad wants him to follow in his footsteps as cantor in the local synagogue.
NOTES: Special Academy Award, Warner Bros.: "for producing The Jazz Singer, the pioneer outstanding talking picture, which has revolutionized the industry." Also nominated for Writing Adaptation (Seventh Heaven) and Special Engineering Effects (Wings).
Domestic rental gross: $3½ million. Re-made as The Jolson Story (1946), The Jazz Singer (1953), The Jazz Singer (1980).
Although this was the first feature film in which spoken dialogue was heard from the screen, that dialogue was limited. The Jazz Singer is primarily a silent movie with a synchronized music score, plus songs.
The original Broadway play opened at the Fulton on 14 September 1925 and ran a highly successful 315 performances. Albert Lewis directed Howard Lane, Sam Jaffe and star, George Jessel, who was contracted to do the movie but balked when the studio decided to add sound to four songs. He demanded more money. The studio refused and Jolson was engaged instead.
COMMENT: The story set the pattern for talkies — sentimental, synthetic, a bit of manufactured drama carelessly tossed away to cater for box office demand — and nowhere is this more evident than at the conclusion where a title card glibly explains that time heals all wounds and allows Jolson to go into his concluding number Mammy.
Jolson's last two numbers in blackface are infinitely more acceptable than his others owing to his exaggerated mannerisms which even by silent standards (and in contrast to most of the other players — Besserer and Lederer even are not this bad) are exceedingly hammy.
Jolson and Besserer are the only players that have any dialogue and then only in one stretch. Jolson has a few other lines between numbers and Oland has one word, "Stop!" The other players are completely speechless, though Cantor Josef Rosenblatt has a song and young Bobbie Gordon has a couple of numbers (though we suspect his are dubbed). There is very little use of sound effects — applause only — even obvious effects like knocking on doors being underscored only by music — and that too is kitsch.
Still, May McAvoy makes a charming heroine, Myrna Loy is effective in a bit as a sneaky-eyed gossiping chorus girl. And even without his voice Roscoe Karns' personality comes across in his single scene at the railroad station. Demarest has a tiny part as a ravenous diner.
The film is rather slow and the direction (aside from a rapid tracking shot through the street on Jolson's return home) is undistinguished — although I like the way he solves the problem of keeping the story going at the climax during the songs, by intercutting them with sub-titles!
Copyright 6 October 1927 by Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc. New York opening at the Warners' Theatre, 6 October 1927. U.S. release: 4 February 1928. 9 reels. 8,117 feet. 90 minutes.
SYNOPSIS: Young man wants to be a jazz singer, but dad wants him to follow in his footsteps as cantor in the local synagogue.
NOTES: Special Academy Award, Warner Bros.: "for producing The Jazz Singer, the pioneer outstanding talking picture, which has revolutionized the industry." Also nominated for Writing Adaptation (Seventh Heaven) and Special Engineering Effects (Wings).
Domestic rental gross: $3½ million. Re-made as The Jolson Story (1946), The Jazz Singer (1953), The Jazz Singer (1980).
Although this was the first feature film in which spoken dialogue was heard from the screen, that dialogue was limited. The Jazz Singer is primarily a silent movie with a synchronized music score, plus songs.
The original Broadway play opened at the Fulton on 14 September 1925 and ran a highly successful 315 performances. Albert Lewis directed Howard Lane, Sam Jaffe and star, George Jessel, who was contracted to do the movie but balked when the studio decided to add sound to four songs. He demanded more money. The studio refused and Jolson was engaged instead.
COMMENT: The story set the pattern for talkies — sentimental, synthetic, a bit of manufactured drama carelessly tossed away to cater for box office demand — and nowhere is this more evident than at the conclusion where a title card glibly explains that time heals all wounds and allows Jolson to go into his concluding number Mammy.
Jolson's last two numbers in blackface are infinitely more acceptable than his others owing to his exaggerated mannerisms which even by silent standards (and in contrast to most of the other players — Besserer and Lederer even are not this bad) are exceedingly hammy.
Jolson and Besserer are the only players that have any dialogue and then only in one stretch. Jolson has a few other lines between numbers and Oland has one word, "Stop!" The other players are completely speechless, though Cantor Josef Rosenblatt has a song and young Bobbie Gordon has a couple of numbers (though we suspect his are dubbed). There is very little use of sound effects — applause only — even obvious effects like knocking on doors being underscored only by music — and that too is kitsch.
Still, May McAvoy makes a charming heroine, Myrna Loy is effective in a bit as a sneaky-eyed gossiping chorus girl. And even without his voice Roscoe Karns' personality comes across in his single scene at the railroad station. Demarest has a tiny part as a ravenous diner.
The film is rather slow and the direction (aside from a rapid tracking shot through the street on Jolson's return home) is undistinguished — although I like the way he solves the problem of keeping the story going at the climax during the songs, by intercutting them with sub-titles!