“The Jazz Singer” was the first Hollywood film to feature sound recording, effectively ending the silent picture era. Director Alan Crosland and screenwriter Alfred A. Cohn tell the story of a young Jewish man who defies his religious traditions and family wishes by taking singing and performance gigs in secular venues.
This first sound picture in reality only contained six sound segments, all with musical numbers and some sound dialogue, and the rest of the show silent with the old-fashioned title cards. The music was performed by Al Jolson in “black face,” now considered racist. Ironically, it was because of this film that Jolson introduced African-American musical innovations, like jazz, ragtime, and the blues, to white audiences. (Jolson himself was a Jewish immigrant from Russia.)
Co-stars include Mary McAvoy, Warner Oland, Eugenie Besserer, Otto Lederer, Richard Tucker, and Josef “Yossele” Rosenblatt, a very popular cantor in the Jewish community at the time.
Darryl Zanuck won an Honorary Academy Award for producing the film, with a nomination for Cohn for Best Writing (Adaptation), as the film was based on the 1925 play of the same name by Samson Raphaelson. “The Jazz Singer” was very popular at the box office for producer Darryl F. Zanuck, The Vitaphone Corporation, and Warner Bros. Pictures. Three remakes have been released over the years: 1952 (Danny Thomas and Peggy Lee), 1959 (Jerry Lewis), and 1980 (Neil Diamond, Lucie Arnaz, Laurence Olivier).
The Jazz Singer (1927)
cinema
My Review
“The Jazz Singer” was the first Hollywood film to feature sound recording, effectively ending the silent picture era. Director Alan Crosland and screenwriter Alfred A. Cohn tell the story of a young Jewish man who defies his religious traditions and family wishes by taking singing and performance gigs in secular venues.
This first sound picture in reality only contained six sound segments, all with musical numbers and some sound dialogue, and the rest of the show silent with the old-fashioned title cards. The music was performed by Al Jolson in “black face,” now considered racist. Ironically, it was because of this film that Jolson introduced African-American musical innovations, like jazz, ragtime, and the blues, to white audiences. (Jolson himself was a Jewish immigrant from Russia.)
Co-stars include Mary McAvoy, Warner Oland, Eugenie Besserer, Otto Lederer, Richard Tucker, and Josef “Yossele” Rosenblatt, a very popular cantor in the Jewish community at the time.
Darryl Zanuck won an Honorary Academy Award for producing the film, with a nomination for Cohn for Best Writing (Adaptation), as the film was based on the 1925 play of the same name by Samson Raphaelson. “The Jazz Singer” was very popular at the box office for producer Darryl F. Zanuck, The Vitaphone Corporation, and Warner Bros. Pictures. Three remakes have been released over the years: 1952 (Danny Thomas and Peggy Lee), 1959 (Jerry Lewis), and 1980 (Neil Diamond, Lucie Arnaz, Laurence Olivier).