Cast

Al Jolson, May McAvoy, Warner Oland, Eugenie Besserer, Otto Lederer, Robert Gordon, Richard Tucker, Joseff Rosenblatt

awards

1929 Academy Award – nagroda specjalna za stworzenie pierwszego filmu dźwiękowego / Honorary Award for Producing the Pioneer Outstanding Talking Picture

Film description

Alan Crosland’s epoch-making sound film tells the story of a young man from a respected Jewish family who chooses a career in vaudeville in spite of his father’s objections. The script is based on a musical starring George Jessel, but the film role went to Al Jolson – today sometimes called the "Elvis Presley of the jazz and blues era". Jolson performed many songs in The Jazz Singer wearing blackface make-up, conforming to the norms of a period when black performers were not allowed to play in front of white audiences. The closing number, My Mammy, also performed in blackface, was the first movie song to become a popular hit outside cinemas. Yet Jolson was known for his strong anti-discrimination stance and his efforts contributed to opening Broadway to such black artists as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway and Ethel Waters.

Prepared by: Rafał Pawłowski