THE JOLSON STORY

The Jolson Story
Columbia, 1946, Color, 128 minutes, ***½
Released October, 1946

Larry Parks plays Al Jolson in this biopic of one of the greatest entertainers of all time. Parks spent long hours studying Jolson in person and on screen to be able to impersonate him flawlessly. Jolson recorded the soundtrack, and Parks lip-synced, but he does it so well that by the time the show is over, you think Larry Parks is Jolson! Outstanding portrayal, great film. Wonderful music by Al Jolson!

When you first listen to Jolie today, it takes a bit of getting used to -- his style is so different than anything we've ever heard in the second half of the 20th century. But once you get used to his style and listen to his work for a time, you begin to realize why he was considered the greatest entertainer of the 20th century by many people. He can put an incredible amount of emotion into his voice, and he has a nice, smooth sound. Al Jolson was the first popular music superstar, and he is still quite an amazing artist!

Produced by: Sidney Skolsky
Associate Producer: Gordon S. Griffith
Directed by: Alfred E. Green
Assistant Director: Wilbur McGaugh
Screen Play by: Stephen Longstreet
Adaptation by: Harry Chandlee, Andrew Solt
Musical Director: M. W. Stoloff
Song Score: various
Vocal Arrangements by: Saul Chaplin
Orchestral Arrangements by: Martin Freed
Dances Staged by: Jack Cole
Production Number Directed by: Joseph H. Lewis
Art Direction: Stephen Goosson, Walter Holscher
Set Decorations: William Kiernan, Louis Diage
Gowns by: Jean Louis
Makeup by: Clay Campbell
Hair Styles by: Helen Hunt
Sound Recording by: Hugh McDowell
Music Recording by: Edwin Wetzel
Re-recording by: Richard Olson
Director of Photography: Joseph Walker
Montage Director: Lawrence W. Butler
Filmed in Technicolor
Technicolor Color Director: Natalie Kalmus
Associate: Morgan Padelford
Film Editor: William Lyon

Awards: Academy Awards for Best Score - Musical (Morris Stoloff) and Best Sound Recording (John Livadary); Academy Award nominations for Best Actor (Larry Parks), Best Supporting Actor (William Demarest), Best Color Cinematography (Joseph Walker) and Best Film Editing (William Lyon)

Cast: Larry Parks [Al Jolson], Evelyn Keyes [Julie Benson], William Demarest [Steve Martin], Bill Goodwin [Tom Baron], Ludwig Donath [Cantor Yoelson], Tamara Shayne [Mrs. Yoelson], John Alexander [Lew Dockstader], Jo-Carroll Dennison [Ann Murray], Ernest Cossart [Father McGee], Scotty Beckett [Jolson as a Boy], William Forrest [Dick Glenn], Ann Todd [Ann as a Girl], Edwin Maxwell [Oscar Hammerstein], Emmett Vogan [Jonsey], Eddie Kane [Ziegfeld], Jimmy Lloyd [Roy Anderson], Coulter Irwin [Young Priest], Adelle Roberts [Ingenue], Bob Stevens [Henry], Harry Shannon [Riley, Policeman], Buddy Gorman [Call Boy], Charles Jordan [Assitant Stage Manager], Pierre Watkin [Architect], Lilian Bond [Woman], Eugene Borden [Headwaiter], Eddie Rio [MC], Will Wright [Sourpuss Movie Patron], Arthur Loft [Stage Manager], Edward Keane [Director], Eddie Fetherston [Assistant Stage Manager], Bill Brandt [Orchestra Leader], Pat Lane [Cameraman], Mike Lally [Lab Manager], George Magrill [Gaffer], Helen O'Hara [Dancer-Actress], Jessie Arnold [Wardrobe Woman], Donna Dax [Girl Publicist], Fred Sears [Cutter], Eric Wilton [Harry, Butler], Franklyn Farnum [Man in Audience], Major Sam Harris [Nightclubber], Al Jolson [singing voice of Al Jolson], Rudy Wissler [singing voice of young Al Jolson], Virginia Rees [singing voice of Evelyn Keyes], Saul Silverman [singing voice of Ludwig Donath]

Musical Program: [0:00] Let Me Sing and I'm Happy (sung by Al Jolson behind titles); [0:03] On the Banks of the Wabash (sung by Rudy Wissler dubbing for Scotty Beckett); [0:05] Sabbath Prayer (sung by Temple Choir and Rudy Wissler dubbing for Scotty Beckett); [0:11] Ave Maria (sung by Boys Choir and Rudy Wissler dubbing for Scotty Beckett at St. Mary's Home for Boys in Baltimore); [0:15] When You Were Sweet Sixteen (sung by Rudy Wissler dubbing for Scotty Beckett); [0:16] After the Ball (sung by Rudy Wissler dubbing for Scotty Beckett behind montage); [0:17] By the Light of the Sivery Moon (sung by Rudy Wissler dubbing for Scotty Beckett); [0:20] Blue Bell (sung and whistled by Rudy Wissler dubbing for Scotty Beckett); [0:23] When You Were Sweet Sixteen (sung by Al Jolson dubbing for Larry Parks); [0:27] Ev'ry Little Movement (Has a Meaning of Its Own) (instrumental arrangement danced by two unidentified girls); [0:29] Ma Blushin' Rosie (Ma Rosie Sweet) (sung by Al Jolson dubbing for Larry Parks); [0:36] I Want a Girl (Just Like the Girl That Married Dear Old Dad) (sung by Al Jolson dubbing for Larry Parks with Minstrels); [0:39] unidentified Dixieland number (played by Dixieland band in New Orleans); [0:49] My Mammy (sung by Al Jolson dubbing for Larry Parks); [0:54] I'm Sitting on Top of the World (sung by Al Jolson dubbing for Larry Parks); [0:57] You Made Me Love You (sung by Al Jolson dubbing for Larry Parks); [0:59] Swanee (sung by Al Jolson dubbing for Larry Parks with dancing Chorus); [1:00] Toot, Toot, Tootsie, Goodbye (sung by Al Jolson dubbing for Larry Parks behind traveling montage); [1:02] The Spaniard That Blighted My Life (production number sung by Al Jolson dubbing for Larry Parks with Ensemble); [1:09] April Showers (sung by Al Jolson dubbing for Larry Parks); [1:12] California Here I Come (sung by Al Jolson dubbing for Larry Parks); [1:14] California Here I Come (sung by Virginia Rees dubbing for Evelyn Keyes imitating Al Jolson); [1:21] Liza (All the Clouds'll Roll Away) (danced by Evelyn Keyes and Mens Chorus, sung by Al Jolson dubbing for Larry Parks); [1:25] There's a Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder (sung by Al Jolson, excerpt from The Jazz Singer); [1:32] She's a Latin From Manhattan (sung and danced by Evelyn Keyes and Mens Chorus, Virginia Rees dubbing for Evelyn Keyes); [1:33] Avalon (excerpt sung by Al Jolson in backround); [1:35] About a Quarter to Nine (danced by Larry Parks and Evelyn Keyes, sung by Al Jolson dubbing for Larry Parks); [1:56] Anniversary Song (sung by Al Jolson dubbing for Larry Parks, danced by Ludwig Donath and Tamara Shayne); [1:59] unidentified instrumental (danced by Chorus Girls and single male dancer at night club); [2:02] Waiting for the Robert E. Lee (sung by Al Jolson dubbing for Larry Parks); [2:03] Rock-A-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody (sung by Al Jolson dubbing for Larry Parks); [2:07] April Showers (sung by Al Jolson dubbing for Larry Parks)