THE JAZZ SINGER 1927

The Jazz Singer
Warner Bros. / Vitaphone, 1927, B/W, 88 minutes, ***½
Released October, 1927

This is the film that is generally credited as being the first full-length feature "talkie," though that's not entirely true (it wasn't the first "talkie," and it certainly wasn't "all talking" as is often stated). But it is a landmark film in the evolution of sound in pictures. It jolted all the Hollywood studios into scrambling to install sound in their theaters and basically sounded the death knell for silent films.

The story is about a cantor's son breaking away from tradition and becoming a stage star. Jolson's singing carries the show. Remade in 1953 by Danny Thomas and in 1980 by Neil Diamond .

Producer: none credited
Directed by: Alan Crosland
Assistant Director: Gordon Hollingshead
A Photo-Dramatic Production of Samson Raphaelson's Play
Adaptation: Alfred A. Cohn
Musical Score and Vitaphone Orchestra Directed by: Louis Silvers
Choreography: Ernest Belcher
Special Effects: Nugent Slaughter
Sound: Harvey Cunningham, George Groves
Photography: Hal Mohr
Edited by: Harold McCord
Technicians: Fred Jackman, Lewis Geib, Esdras Hartley, F. N. Murphy, "Alpharetta," Victor Vance

Awards: Academy Award nominations for Best Writing and Best Engineering Effects

Cast: Al Jolson [Jakie Rabinowitz], May McAvoy [Mary Dale], Warner Oland [The Cantor], Eugenie Besserer [Sara Rabinowitz], Otto Lederer [Moisha Yudelson], Bobby Gordon [Jakie Rabinowitz at age 13], Richard Tucker [Harry Lee], Cantor Joseff Rosenblatt [Concert Recital], Additional Cast: William Demarest [Steve Martin], Joseph Discay [The Cantor's singing voice], Myrna Loy [Chorus Girl], Nat Carr [Levi], Carolynne Snowden [Backstage Maid], Roscoe Karns [Agent]

Musical Program: [0:00] Overture (played by Orchestra behind titles); [0:03] My Gal Sal (sung by Bobby Gordon); [0:05] Waiting for the Robert E. Lee (sung by Bobby Gordon); [0:10] Kol Nidre (sung by Joseph Diskay dubbing for Warner Oland); [0:14] Dirty Hands, Dirty Face (sung by Al Jolson); [0:17] Toot, Toot, Tootsie, Goodbye (sung and whistled by Al Jolson); [0:27] Kaddish (sung by Cantor Joseff Rosenblatt); [0:39] Blue Skies (sung by Al Jolson); [0:41] Blue Skies (rag arrangement sung by Al Jolson); [1:10] Mother of Mine I Still Have You (sung by Al Jolson); [1:23] Kol Nidre (sung by Al Jolson); [1:26] My Mammy (sung by Al Jolson); There are a number of dance scenes featuring May McAvoy and Chorus, but there is no accompanying music other than the background score.