Say It with Songs

SAY IT WITH SONGS (Warner Brothers, 1929), directed by Lloyd Bacon, reunites the legendary Al Jolson with little boy wonder, Davey Lee, of 'SINGING FOOL' (1928) fame, in yet another sentimental musical drama that failed to live up to the success of its predecessor. This, Jolson's third feature film, contains several firsts in his movie career: His first full length talkie (with no silent passages); no black-face song numbers; and the first Jolson movie to flop at the box office. It was also one of the few films in his career in which his on-screen character isn't named AL, and the second and last casting him as a married man.

The story involves Joe Lane (Al Jolson), a radio singer with a loving wife, Katherine (Marion Nixon) and five-year-old son he calls Little Pal (Davey Lee), sent to prison for accidentally murdering Arthur Phillips (Kenneth Thompson) his friend and manager for making advances on his wife. Upon his release, Joe meets with his son at a private school ground during recess. When son is struck by a passing truck, Joe takes him to Doctor Arthur Phillips (Holmes Herbert), a specialist and Katherine's former beau now working for him as his private nurse. Phillips agrees to perform the delicate operation on the condition that Joe goes away, grants Katherine a divorce so he can marry her, or else pay the high fee of $5,000.

As syrupy as the plot sounds, it's even thicker on screen. Relying heavily on the success of THE SINGING FOOL, lightning didn't strike twice for Jolson, Lee and director Bacon. Jolson and Lee even repeated some of the same sentimental gimmicks, including Davey Lee's raising his arms for Daddy to pick him up and give him a kiss. Some heavy melodramatics might have worked somehow had it not been for Jolson's bad acting, hearing scratchiness in his voice, looking back and forth leaving his mouth open as if he were waiting for further instructions from his director. Overacting is evident as Jolson cries in his jail cell after telling his wife he never wants to see her again. Even worse, after he finds that it's his own son who's been struck by a passing truck, he unconvincingly shouts out, "Oh my God, it's MY baby"; or when Jolson sings "One Sweet Kiss" on a coast to coast radio hookup on Christmas day, he does this in such dramatic manner it almost leaves an impression that he was hoping for an Academy Award nomination. Regardless of the results, the finished product is often embarrassing to watch, especially for a story that's supposed to take place in a considerable time frame of several years, only to have its major characters, especially little Davey, not aging a day. As Robert Osborne mentioned in his 1994 commentary on Turner Classic Movies, audiences flocked to theaters to see the film (hoping to get more of that Jolson magic, as he did with THE SINGING FOOL), but business dropped off in a hurry, and movie quickly disappeared. At least it didn't become one of many lost films from the "dawn of sound" era.

SAY IT WITH SONGS, such as it is, does have scenes of some potential, first where Joe sings "Why Can't You" to his fellow prisoners, followed by a montage and split screen of fellow convicts, concluding with Jolson's singing showing his face behind the prison bars; second where little Davey falling asleep, dreaming of his Dad appearing to him while singing "Little Pal"; and another borrowing from the climactic scene of the silent version of STELLA DALLAS (1925) which has Joe looking in on his son from the outside window.

Marion Nixon, in her Janet Gaynor manner, wasn't much help in her partake as Joe's wife through some bad acting, but it's Jolson's performance that bogs down the plot considerably. Aside from the lead actors, Davey Lee has his tender moments on screen, but at times (as his eyes look towards the camera), it's hard to understand what he's saying. One scene where he follows his father down the street comes off funny considering how he's wobbling about either like a puppet or silent film comic Charlie Chaplin.

SAY IT WITH SONGS does have its considerable number of songs, none listed on the hit parade. The songs include: "Used to You," "Little Pal," "I'm in Seventh Heaven," "Why Can't You?" "One Sweet Kiss," "Little Pal," "Little Pal" (reprises) and "I'm in Seventh Heaven." Supposedly distributed in theaters at 95 minutes, TV print that airs on TCM, is 85 minutes, ten minutes shorter. One noticeable cut occurs in the early portion of the story in the radio station where Joe Lane asks one of the visiting sponsors if he wants to hear his new song, "I'm Crazy for You." After Joe goes over to the piano to plug it, the scene that follows is dialog between Katherine and Arthur Phillips in his office. Another reported song, "Back in Your Own Back Yard," supposedly written for the film, is also absent. While both these songs do not exist in the existing print, they are, however, included in a 1980s soundtrack recording titled "Legends of the Musical Stage (Rare Soundtrack Recordings 1928-1930), compliments from Sandy Hook Records. SAY IT WITH SONGS never made it to video cassette but did become part of the Al Jolson film collection when distributed on laser disc in the early 1990s, and a TCM archive collection onto DVD in 2010.

SAY IT WITH SONGS is not the kind of movie one would see for entertainment, but solely as a curiosity to find out how it failed and why it doesn't hold up today. One can be thankful, however, for TCM airing SAY IT WITH SONGS, for that it has satisfied my curiosity. (**)

There was no bigger star in cinema during the transition from silents to sound than singer Al Jolson. He was the actor who introduced the first lengthy talking sequence in a major feature film in October 1927's "The Jazz Singer." His follow-up a year later, 1928's "The Singing Fool," solidified his popularity on the screen. That movie collected $6 million in its coffer, a figure Warner Brothers didn't even come close until its 1941 "Sergeant York." So appreciative the studio was with Jolson's success Warners signed him to one of the highest Hollywood salaries at the time.

His next movie, August 1929 "Say It With Songs," was the first all-talking feature for Jolson. The previous two were part-talkies with selected songs and accompanying musical soundtracks. The buzz before its premier was since it was a Jolson film, it must be really, really good.

The adage of a movie is only as good as its script holds true with "Say It With Songs." In the screenplay written by future studio executive Darryl F. Zanuck along with two others, Jolson plays a radio entertainer who accidentally kills the station's owner for making advances on his wife. He's sent to jail, where he looks to divorce his wife. Once out of prison, he witnesses his young four-year-old son (David Lee) hit by a car, paralyzing him. A pretty bleak melodrama whose chirpy Jolson personality was at odds.

The release of the movie in major cities turned out to be a complete bomb after critics mercilessly skewered it. A reviewer from The New Yorker pegged it as "Even the fantastically happy ending, when the sound of his voice cures the child of aphasia, does not eradicate the general impression of dreary and specious tragedy." Los Angeles theater goers got the word fast that this was a chore to sit through, and immediately stayed away. The Warners Theater in L. A. shut it down after only two days on the screen. Many smaller towns were unaware of the scathing reviews. Because of Jolson's marquee value, "Say It With Songs" still made over $2 million in the nation's theaters, sitting as the sixth best box office returns in 1929. But it proved to be the first flop in Jolson's career.

Warner Brothers learned its lesson. The next Jolson film would be more lighthearted with showbiz as its central focus in 1930's 'Mammy,' in line with the former minstrel singer's personality.

A very simplistic story, carried by the raw emotions of Al Jolson. The movie is pretty much an easy-read, as most early talking films were. Jolson would go on to make several other films, and be remembered as a talented singer and actor.

Say It with Songs (1929)

** (out of 4)

Radio personality Joe Lane (Al Jolson) is about to get a major break in his career but his wife (Davey Lee) tells him that his best friend hit up on her. Joe ends up punching the man and this punch actually kills him so he is sent to prison where he dreams of returning to his wife and child.

Jolson made Warner a fortune with THE JAZZ SINGER, which was the first blockbuster that used some songs in what was basically a silent movie. From there Jolson scored another hit and the studio rewarded him with a $500,000 contract for this picture. This here would turn out to be Jolson's first full blown talkie and it also turned into his first box office bomb and in all honesty the film is incredibly awful but thankfully it's so bad that you have to watch it.

I guess I should say that Jolson is so awful that it's easy to recommend this movie. Now, to be fair, Jolson was a singer so perhaps his acting shouldn't be judge too harshly but at the same time he was able to make a career in front of the camera. The most shocking thing is just how truly awful his performance is here. There are some really embarrassing moments scattered throughout the film including one scene where Jolson breaks down crying in his jail cell and is consoled by his cell mate. This is certainly one of the worst and most hilarious things I've seen from a movie during this era.

Even without the awful performance you've got a lot of other campy moments as well. The screenplay is about as generic as you can get and this includes some really bad melodrama throughout. This is especially true towards the end of the picture. I won't spoil what happens but you can't help but sit there and laugh at all of the "drama" that is taking place in front of your eyes. The film's direction from Lloyd Bacon isn't much better but at the same time I'm going to guess that he just didn't have too much to work with.

Jolson does sing a few numbers throughout, which range from good to fair but at the same time these certainly weren't enough to save the picture. SAY IT WITH SONGS is a really poor movie but at the same time it's very much entertaining in a bad way.

New York radio singer Al Jolson (as Joe Lane) is appalled when his wife Marian Nixon (as Katherine) reveals a shocking incident. She has been invited to be "nice" sexually with the station manager in order to advance Mr. Jolson's career. Jolson takes matters into his own hands, resulting in an unexpected tragedy. Consequently, Jolson is arrested and separated from his beloved son Davey Lee (as "Little Pal"). Even greater tragedies follow. This was made to look like a sequel to Jolson's "The Singing Fool" (1928) but falls significantly short. Probably, Jolson's already tremendous ego was too much for director Lloyd Bacon and the studio to bear...

"Say It with Songs" could have been a successful melodrama, but the players look helpless and uneasy. Performances, set direction, camera-work and editing are not entirely competent. The artful sequences highlighting Jolson's previous films are mostly absent. The soundtrack and music are good, though. "Little Pal" b/w "I'm in Seventh Heaven" and "Why Can't You" all made the national top ten. While not as strong as "Sonny Boy", "Little Pal" provided and interesting interlude near the end; it was another #1 hit record. The #2 flip side, "I'm in Seventh Heaven" was the superior tune; it's the closing song and ends the film on a good note.

*** Say It with Songs (8/6/29) Lloyd Bacon ~ Al Jolson, Marian Nixon, Davey Lee, Holmes Herbert