The Jolson Story

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.

Al Jolson, along with Frank Sinatra, were perhaps the two greatest singer/entertainers of the 20th Century. This film, made in 1946, was both the launching pad and "ball and chain" for Larry Parks. His performance was so good it earned him an Academy Award nomination. He spent countless hours perfecting the Jolson mannerisms and lip-syncing the songs that the great Jolson recorded for the movie. Unfortunately he became so typecast in the role that his reprise of the role in the sequel in 1949 was his only other claim to fame. That, and his admission and subsequent subliminal blacklist from Hollywood for being a member of the Communist Party between 1941-1951, stopped his career before it ever really had a chance to bloom.

My father had me watch this movie as a kid on Million Dollar Movie and I was taken by the personality, drive, energy, and talent of this great entertainer. Hearing about, and seeing, silent movies made me all the more in awe of the talent Jolson must have been since Hollywood banked it's future on talkies with "The Jazz Singer".

Besides Parks excellent performances are also put in by William Demerest, who many of us remember as Uncle Charlie in My Three Sons, Evelyn Keyes as Julie Benson (Jolson's first wife) and the rest of the cast. The 1949 making of Jolson Sings Again is also worthwhile, if for no other reason than watching Parks do the masterful lip-sync and the incredible vocals of Jolson.

After all these years, and all my countless viewings, "The Jolson Story" remains the most magical and thrilling of all Hollywood musical biographies. It also stands as testament to "The World's Greatest Entertainer," Al Jolson, and his tremendous impact on show business for all time. Jolie's fantastic voice, filled with warmth, power and soul, will always be heard as long as this wonderful movie is viewed. Larry Parks and his supporting cast are superb, but it is that Jolson voice, electricity-personified, that elevates the film to immortal status.

I have just watched the Jolson story on dvd and it is great, the music is fresh and the technicolor is fantastic.The story is loosely based on Jolsons life, though I think if your after a serious study of his career you should visit your libary and read up on his life.The acting is top notch, William Demarest is excellent as the Steve Martin a mentor to Jolson as he grows up then a manager of his career.I also like the performances of mama and the kantor.The Julie Benson charactor is supposed to be Ruby Keeler, they are the perfect couple but show business is the drug that Al Jolson is addicted to, and that eats into their relationship.The energy of this movie is tremendous it stays with you for hours the melodys linger in your head, its life affirming.The beauty of this dvd is that the sequel is also on the dvd so I will be watching that soon.Marks out of ten /9.5

"Let me sing a funny song, with crazy words that roll along, and if my song can make you happy, I'm happy.....I'm happy....." Al Jolson sang those words of the song, ' Let me sing and I'm happy,' in the opening of The Jolson Story, words that epitomized the passion and energy in his music. The Jolson Story does a magnificent job in giving us a taste of Jolson's magic that spellbound America in the twenties and early thirties, most of his songs are in the show, April Showers, Swanee, Mammy, California Here I Come and , the incomparable, The Anniversary Song, sang as only Jolson can. And, due to some enterprising technology at the time we also hear more of his voice in the Movie that perhaps his fans did in those days with Film Studio microphones capturing and accentuating a deep resonance that is solely Jolson's. The Film doesn't attempt to factually explore his life, although we do get a chance to see some truths of the relationship with his real life wife, Ruby Keeler, who in the Movie was known as Julie Benson, played by Evelyn Keys. Interesting to note was the fact that Columbia Pictures, who released the Movie failed to give Warner Bros.the Film company responsible for giving Jolson the role in The Jazz Singer, any recognition whatsoever, presenting further evidence of the Producer's and Jolson's desire to give us some entertainment, as opposed to a lesson in history. And, entertained we are, as Larry Parks, with his unbelievable miming to Jolson's songs......apart from a cameo from Jolson singing Swanee....takes us from Vaudeville days in the twenties with all Jolson's great songs and routines, to his semi retirement in the thirties. The Jolson Story is a wonderful experience, full of songs we still sing today more than fifty years after they were released, and sung by the man most of us remember as the greatest entertainer of them all......Al Jolson.