Mammy

Mammy
Warner Bros. / Vitaphone, 1930, B/W & Color, 83 minutes, ***
Released March, 1930

Jolson is a Minstrel Man with Meadows' Merry Minstrels. He is framed for attempted murder when one of the company players secretly loads a prop gun with real bullets. But who is the real bad guy? An interesting glimpse into the world of the Minstrel shows of yesteryear.

This film presents a minstrel show, along with backstage drama, just as it was in the early part of the 20th century. This is as close as we can ever come to seeing the real thing!

Apparently, this film originally had a color sequence. But there is no color sequence in the laserdisk print I have -- either it was trimmed from the print, or perhaps it was converted to black-and-white. The finale scene does have some faded color to it, so perhaps the color just faded over the years. At any rate, the print released to home video is all black-and-white.

Producer: Walter Morosco
Directed by: Michael Curtiz
Screen Play and Dialogue by: Gordon Rigby & Joseph Jackson
Based on the Play and Music "Mr. Bones" by Irving Berlin
Vitaphone Orchestra Conducted by: Louis Silvers
Song Score: Irving Berlin
Sound: George Groves
Photography by: Barney McGill
Color Scenes by Technicolor
Edited by: Owen Marks

Cast: Al Jolson [Al Fuller], Lois Moran [Nora], Lowell Sherman [Westy], Louise Dresser [Mother], Hobart Bosworth [Meadows], Tully Marshall [Slats], Mitchell Lewis [Tambo], Jack Curtis [Sheriff], Additional Cast: Stanley Fields [Pig Eyes], Ray Cooke [Props]

Musical Program: [0:00] Overture: "Let Me Sing and I'm Happy" (instrumental arrangement played by Orchestra behind titles); [0:00] Here We Are (instrumental arrangement played and marched by Meadows' Merry Minstrels); [0:03] Let Me Sing and I'm Happy (sung by Al Jolson); [0:05] (There'll Be A) Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight (excerpt played by Meadows' Merry Minstrels, fades to background); [0:07] Here We Are (sung by Al Jolson and Meadows' Merry Minstrels); [0:08] Who Paid the Rent for Mrs. Rip Van Winkle? (sung by Al Jolson); [0:12] When You and I Were Young Maggie (sung by the Big City Quartet); [0:14] Yes, We Have No Bananas (comic rendition sung to the tune of Miserere from the opera IL TROVATORE, sung by Al Jolson with Meadows' Merry Minstrels); [0:23] Here We Are (instrumental arrangement played by Meadows' Merry Minstrels); [0:25] My Mammy (instrumental arrangement played by Meadows' Merry Minstrels, partly sung by Al Jolson); [0:26] Here We Are (instrumental arrangement played and marched by Meadows' Merry Minstrels); [0:33] (Across the Breakfast Table) Looking at You (sung by Al Jolson); [0:37] (Across the Breakfast Table) Looking at You (reprised by Al Jolson); [0:39] Pretty Baby (excerpt sung and danced by Al Jolson); [0:49] Medley of old Minstrel numbers: Here We Are / Oh Dem Golden Slippers / In the Morning (sung by Meadows' Merry Minstrels); [0:52] Why Do They All Take the Night Boat to Albany (sung by Al Jolson); [0:58] Old Folks at Home (sung by Meadows' Merry Minstrels); [0:59] Let Me Sing and I'm Happy (sung by Al Jolson); [1:11] To My Mammy (sung by Al Jolson); [1:19] Here We Are (instrumental arrangement played and marched by Meadows' Merry Minstrels); [1:21] Let Me Sing and I'm Happy (sung by Al Jolson)