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bc1968
Reviews
Mammy (1930)
Let me sing and I'm Happy - and we all are after seeing this film
Al Jolson appeared in his fourth film as Al Fuller an end man of a minstrel troupe, he is the main singer and comedian of the troupe and is in love with Nora the daughter of the troupe owner, unfortunately Al's co star Westy (Lowell Sherman) is also in love with Nora
The film opens up with the minstels trooping through a town in the pouring rain and Al singing 'Let Me Sing & I'm Happy' to tempt the locals to come and see the show at the local theatre.
The show is struggling for funds and Al persuades a local sheriff to invest in the show, this investment changes the fortunes of the owner and troupe, it also gives Al the chance to go and see his mother (Louise Dresser) and declare his love for his Mammy
On Al's return to the show, he declares his love for Nora, but this causes friction between Al and Westy.
As a side plot a character known as Hank /Tambo is a bit of a gambler and is found out to be a cheat, he decides to put live bullets in a stage gun, which would normally be used by Al in a slapstick part of the minstrel show where he ends up shooting Westy (the gun would normally have blanks) however with the real bullets he is badly hurt and Al is arrested, Al manages to escape and goes on the run in a freight train, eventually Hank confesses to the crime and Al is exonerated allowing Al to return to the show and be the star again.
All of the music in the film was written by Irving Berlin and has some of his early standards performed as only Jolson could sing them - with gusto and enthusiasm.
The main song of the film is Let me sing & I'm happy - which opens and closes the film - there is only one verse of Mammy sung as the train is leaving the station after Al has visited his mother.
The film has a scene where a minstrel show is performed in the traditional way and gives a great insight into why they were so popular in their day, it had songs, comedy, drama - all in one, with every member of the troupe being a valuable part of the ensemble.
Songs in the film are
Here We Are
Let Me Sing And I'm Happy
Who paid the rent for Mrs Rip Van Winkle (full of inuendo's),
Yes We Have No Bananas,
Night Boat to Albany,
Pretty Baby,
When You And I Were Young Maggie
Across The Breakfast Table Looking At You
Miserere
In The Morning
My Mammy
All in all Mammy is a marvellous film, with great songs that showboat Al Jolson
To scholars, Historians and film buffs it is an insight into early 20th Century entertainment aswell as the way early talking pictures evolved over a few years, from being 80% silent black and white films to be full sound and colour films.
The film has the first Technicolour sequences, which are obviously an experiment, these scenes work fairly well and the use of Technicolour was optimised (by United Artists) in an Eddie Cantor Film released 6 months later in September 1930 'Whoopee'