HALLELUJAH,I'M A BUM

Hallelujah, I'm a Bum
United Artists, 1933, B/W, 82 minutes, ***
Released February, 1933

Classic early musical boasting tunes by Rodgers and Hart, rhyming dialogue and Al Jolson as a New York tramp who falls in love with the mayor's amnesiac girlfriend after rescuing her from a suicide attempt. With Madge Evans, Frank Morgan, Harry Langdon; songs include "I'd Do It Again," "You Are Too Beautiful."

At the time of this writing (summer 2007) there are very few Jolie films that have made the transition from VHS to DVD. That's a shame, especially since nearly all of the VHS tapes are out of print, as are the laser disks.

Jolie was from a different era . He was one of the first musical superstars. Though his singing style may sound strange at first, as it's so different than anything we've heard in the past half-century, he has grown on us. He was a true showman.

Produced and Directed By: Lewis Milestone
Screenplay: S.N. Behrman (based on a story by Ben Hecht)
Music Director: Alfred Newman
Song Score: Lorenz Hart and Richard Rodgers
Art Direction: Richard Day
Costume Design: Milo Anderson
Cinematography: Lucien Andriot
Film Editing: W. Duncan Mansfield

Cast: Al Jolson [Bumper], Madge Evans [June Marcher], Frank Morgan [Mayor Hastings], Harry Langdon [Egghead], Chester Conklin [Sunday], Tyler Brooke [Mayor's Secretary], Tammany Young [Orlando], Bert Roach [John], Edgar Connor [Acorn], Dorothea Wolbert [Apple Mary], Louise Carver [Ma Sunday], Harold Goodwin [Burr McIntosh], Richard Rodgers [Bank Teller], Lorenz Hart [Bank Teller]

Musical Program: Hallelujah, I'm a Bum (Al Jolson); I Gotta Get Back to New York (Al Jolson); My Pal Bumper (Edgar Connor, Al Jolson, Harry Langdon and Chorus); Laying the Corner Stone (Frank Morgan and Chorus); Dear June (Al Jolson); Bumper Found a Grand (Edgar Connor, Al Jolson, Harry Langdon and Chorus); What Do You Want with Money (Al Jolson); Kangaroo Court (Edgar Connor, Al Jolson, Harry Langdon and Chorus); I'd Do It Again (Al Jolson); You Are Too Beautiful (Al Jolson)