Lucky Boy

George Jessel made a huge mistake in turning down Warners' THE JAZZ SINGER in 1927. In 1928 he tried to right things and get his film career on track with LUCKY BOY. The story is very similar even down to the mother, but Jessel just didn't have the dynamic personality or singing talent of Jolson (or Eddie Cantor for that matter). The film (about 70 minutes) is likable enough but is an obvious copy of the Jolson smash. Jessel sings "My Mother's Eyes" about a dozen times!

Gwen Lee is interesting here as the girl friend's mean sister. Also notable is Glenda Farrell in her film debut as the secretary. She wouldn't make another film until 1931's LITTLE CAESAR. Rosa Rosanova is the mother, William Strauss is the jeweler father. Margaret Quimby plays Eleanor (very pretty) but she has an awful talking voice. This film also claims Sig Rumann and William Gargan in bit parts but I never spotted them.

Jessel himself in his talkie debut is OK. He's likable enough but his singing talent just isn't big enough. He had done a handful of ethnic silent films and Vitaphone shorts, but he's just not film star material. He alternates between looking like Kevin Kline and Tobey Maguire.

This early part-talkie is often listed as being a "lost film," but it is available.