The Jolson Story (1946)

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

The Worst Film Ever

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

The Jolson Story does for Al Jolson's life what 'Night and Day' did for Cole Porter's; it's a heavily romanticized fictional story with occasional bits of truth thrown in. Larry Parks does a fine job channeling the charisma that made Al Jolson one of the greatest entertainers of all time. Mr. Parks sang along to Jolson's records so it would look more realistic, like he was actually singing. The real Jolson sang the songs and it's a treat to hear, if not see him. Evelyn Keyes plays a character called Julie Benson as his wife. They had to do this because Jolson's real ex-wife Ruby Keeler would not give them permission to use her name. William Demarest is along for the ride as a man who supposedly gave Jolson his start in show business and later became like a second father too him...also fiction. Still the movie is very entertaining, the acting is good and it's well written. Especially enjoyable are the musical numbers. One scene that was factual is the real Jolson was known to stop a show and just sing for the audience's pleasure. It must have been something to see him live. I've read that his appearances on film pale in comparison to him singing in person. It's said he could electrify an audience so that each member felt he was singing just for them. Like so many other biographical movies...'The Jolson Story' is a very fictional story, still it is well worth seeing. Mr. Parks did deserve the Oscar nomination he received. The movie was a huge success at the box office and I can see why. It received Academy Awards for Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture and Best Sound, Recording. The nominations it received: Best Actor in a Leading Role (Larry Parks), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (William Demarest), Best Cinematography, Color and Best Film Editing. A sequel with Mr. Parks came out three years later and is also a good film. I recommend this movie for a good time and don't be surprised if you start singing along with the sound track.

Harry Cohn of Columbia Pictures may have been the most ruthless of the famed movie moguls of the studio system era, but he did have a streak of sentimentality. When Al Jolson was pretty much a forgotten man and a washed up entertainer, Cohn took a lot upon himself and shelled out very heavily to bring the story of an entertainer that he personally idolized.In real life Al Jolson could be one egotistical and mean man, so I think Cohn recognized a lot of himself there. But it wouldn't do to tell the real story and besides the movie going public if they were going to buy tickets would be buying tickets to hear him sing.So from the various sources Cohn would have had to shell out quite a bit of cash to get the rights to all the songs Jolson was identified with from the various sources. One of those sources was a rival studio, Warner Brothers where Jolson spent the bulk of his film career. What Jack Warner must have gotten from Cohn for all those songs.In telling the story Jolie's first two wives were left out of the film, his first wife was movie queen Julie Benson. That was because Ruby Keeler would not give the use of her name for the film. So Evelyn Keyes played Julie Benson, fictional wife of Al Jolson.William Demarest's character for which he received a Best Supporting Actor nomination of Steve Martin was an amalgamation of about three or four people who were to use a contemporary phrase, part of the Jolson posse. One of those people was Jolson's older brother Harry who tried a career as an entertainer, but couldn't compete and gave up trying. His actually is an interesting story of someone who could never get out from under the shadow of a legend.Larry Parks who had done a few B films for Columbia got his big break playing Al Jolson and an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. If people know Parks today it's because of his playing Al Jolson as he was a prominent blacklist casualty. Of course Parks was helped immeasurably by the voice of Jolson singing all his songs.Counting Scotty Beckett who played Jolson as a kid and was also dubbed and Jolson/Parks singing their number, there was an incredible amount of music here. The basic parts of The Jolson Story that were true were about his childhood as the son of a cantor, Ludwig Donath, in Washington, DC and running away from home to go into show business.His background in minstrel shows is depicted here quite accurately and for whatever reason he never could shake it. I think he thought this was what his public wanted even when public tastes changed.Musically the film is deficient in the comedy numbers which haven't survived like the other songs Jolson did, but were an integral part of his act. One here was done with a full production number, The Spaniard That Blighted My Life. Here it's done solo, but Jolson recorded it as a duet with Bing Crosby in the flipside of another duet Alexander's Ragtime Band. Both are absolute classics.Still the songs are the key and it's certainly quite a whitewashing of The Jolson Story. But the film certainly is something that Jolson would have liked to have been remembered for and by.

I bought the DVD and listened with a pair of high-quality headphones. What I thought was going to be average monaural sound turned out to be fantastic stereo surround sound, with the original singing voice of Al Jolson coming across magnificently ..... and all long before Dolby this and Dolby that. I later read somewhere that the stereo treatment may have resulted from a re-release of the film in the 1950's. All I can say is it sounded great and deserved its Oscar win for Best Sound. The color cinematography also deserved its nomination from the Academy. All in all, great acting and story development, even if not completely accurate as a biography. I had only seen Al Jolson in "The Jazz Singer," but Larry Parks seems to have pulled off the mannerisms quite well and exuberantly, too. Watching this interesting film makes it very clear why Al Jolson was so well loved and admired as an entertainer throughout the world. Every young person should see this film in order to appreciate what came before in the world of musical entertainment -- from minstrel shows to vaudeville and the advent of the "talkies."The superb musical numbers "A Quarter To Nine" and "She's A Latin From Manhattan" were actually in the 1935 film "Go Into Your Dance," in which Al Jolson and Ruby Keeler starred together. To my astonishment that film is not available on DVD yet, but apparently can be seen on cable TV via Turner Classic Movies. It would be really interesting to see how close the musical numbers in "The Jolson Story" copied the original treatments in "Go Into Your Dance.""The Jolson Story" seems to end suddenly and rather unexpectedly, and I felt the director and screenwriter should have added a bit more emotion and drama to the climax of having Julie Benson (as Ruby Keeler) walking out on Al Jolson. You have the feeling that you want the film to continue at that point, rather than end. This was perhaps planned that way. The sequel, "Jolson Sings Again," is also an excellent film.

I could sit and listen to Jolson music endlessly. First of all,he had to be the originator of soul music, sung right from the heart. We heard what he felt and then felt what he felt. Secondly,he was the only singer I ever heard whose voice sounded like a trumpet. Perfect pitch, clear,crisp and resounding. Hence, we put together those two attributes, add his showmanship, charm and charisma and we end up with the greatest single entertainer in the history of American show business. Larry Parks is truly astounding and gives a performance, including perfect lip synching, that should have earned him the Oscar. Politics came first, apparently. The film, even with its occasional flaws, was amazingly entertaining. From the first scene to when his Julie Benson walks out by realizing that she could have never taken the music out of Jolson and vice versa,the entire production was pure hypnotic joy. Unbeatable music, warmth, tenderness and humility run wild. A superb feast for the ears and eyes. A never-to-be-forgotten film.