El hombre inolvidable

This movie started the wave of biopics that began after WWII. Larry Parks doesn't look the least bit like Al Jolson. For that matter, the script doesn't look much like Jolson's life either. However, the film is very entertaining with a few ironies for the classic film buff. When Parks is on stage, you really get a taste of Jolson in his prime. Al Jolson actually tutored Parks in how to move and interact with the audience using his own style, and it comes across well, even if it is obvious that you are hearing Jolson's voice during the performances and that this voice does not match Larry Parks' speaking voice at all.

Jolson's life story has been sanitized here to keep in line with the values of the post-war motion picture production code, right down to extending the life of Jolson's mother an extra forty years - she died when Al was ten. Also, the movie has Jolson playing the career-absorbed bachelor until he meets his wife Julie Benson (code for Ruby Keeler) when he is in his forties. Yes, Al was career-absorbed, but he still went through two marriages and two divorces before he ever got to Ruby Keeler.

Two very interesting points of the film involve the insertion of the fictional character Steve Martin that allegedly got Al into show business and also the choice of director. The first interesting point is that fictional character Steve Martin is played by William Demarest, who actually had a bit part in 1927's "The Jazz Singer". You'll see him sharing a plate of eggs with Al at Coffee Dan's just minutes before Al bursts into song in "Toot Toot Tootsie". Demarest was a bit player over at Warner's during the beginning of his career. He had no real association with Al Jolson that I know of. The second interesting point is the choice of director - Alfred E. Green. Mr. Green was among that group of directors that ground out the early talkies for Warner Bros during the time that Jolson was a star at that studio. However, he never directed any of the eight motion pictures that Al Jolson starred in for Warners. There were four directors that Jolson worked with over at Warner Brothers that were still alive when this film was made, but for some reason none of them got the job.

At any rate, the movie is very entertaining and well-paced with great renditions of Jolson's acts and songs. For the unvarnished truth about Jolson's life, try to find a copy of the documentary "The Real Al Jolson Story" made in 1986 and originally telecast by Bravo, back when they really were dedicated to the performing arts and before they became so concerned with Top Chefs and Flipping Out - you know, the same kind of stuff you can find on 50 other channels.

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.

"The Jolson Story" must be one of the most outstanding musical biographies to ever come out of Hollywood with a multitude of unforgettable popular songs, luxuriant colour photography, and a noteworthy performance by Larry Parks in his most accomplished role as Al Jolson. The stunning Evelyn Keyes sparkled as Julie Benson and the eminent William Demarest was entertainer Steve Martin (later Jolson's manager). "Give that boy a spotlight!!". Ludwig Donath and Tamara Shayne were an inspired choice as Jolson's parents: "Papa, Asa isn't Asa any more!". Bill Goodwin was Jolson's close friend and singer Tom Baron (later theatrical impresario) and talented Scotty Beckett gave an appealing performance playing Jolson as a boy. William Demarest had also appeared with Al Jolson years earlier in "The Jazz Singer" (1927) so it is intriguing to speculate whether they reminisced about that during the production of "The Jolson Story". William Demarest received an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his part in "The Jolson Story" but was beaten by Harold Russell for "The Best Years of Our Lives". Larry Parks was also nominated (as Best Actor) but lost to Fredric March (again for "The Best Years of Our Lives"). As some small consolation the film did win Oscars for the Best Musical Score and the Best Sound Recording. (For some obscure reason it wasn't even nominated for the best picture award much to my surprise).

The film has an absorbing storyline even though it is not entirely accurate and it does take some liberties with the facts. Jolson's mother died when he was eight years old yet in the film she lives on to see him become a big success on Broadway. Many people who played active parts in Jolson's real life story did not even get a mention in the film version. His long time manager Louis Epstein, his dresser/valet Frank Holmes and his brother Harry were all eliminated from the plot! The character Steve Martin played by William Demarest did not actually exist and it has been suggested that this role was probably a composite of the three men referred to above plus several other people. Jolson's first two wives were not even mentioned and Ruby Keeler (Jolson's third wife) would not allow her name to be used in the picture so ravishing Evelyn Keyes had to play the fictitious Julie Benson instead. Ziegfeld: "This is Julie Benson - the star of my next production "Show Girl"." Jolson: "Mr Ziegfeld you will please not advertise on my time!".

Harry Cohn (the notorious head of Columbia Pictures) is to be congratulated for going ahead with this film when all the other major studios had turned it down. Even Warner Bros. (for whom Jolson had starred in several films) were not interested. Filming was started on a small budget and in black and white. However, when Harry Cohn saw the early rushes he decided to film in colour and make "The Jolson Story" a major prestigious production. This certainly paid off for him in a big way as the film became one of Columbia Pictures top money earners. Jolson desperately wanted to play the leading role himself and was opposed to another actor portraying his life. Unfortunately at that stage in his career he was obviously too old (he was 60) but the studio could not have found anyone better than the young Larry Parks (31) who perfectly captured the Jolson style and threw himself into the part with relish. However, Jolson did manage to play himself in one scene singing "Swanee" on the Winter Garden runway (all filmed in longshot with no close-ups). When I saw "The Jolson Story" for the first time it had a major impact on my life and for weeks afterwards I was quoting lines from the film that had stuck in my mind such as these from Jolson to Julie Benson: "Broadway, ha, what a street, you know something baby - it belongs to me. You know something else, if you want it, I'll give it to you!"

The musical numbers were absolutely magnificent and with popular songs like "California Here I Come", "You Made Me Love You", "Toot Toot Tootsie", "April Showers", "Robert E. Lee", "Liza", "Mammy", "Liza", "About a Quarter to Nine", "I'm Sitting on Top of the World" and "Rockabye Your Baby" how could it miss! If there is one film I could take to a desert island it would have to be "The Jolson Story" as I never tire of seeing repeated showings of this timeless classic. As Jolson himself would have said: "Settle back folks, you ain't heard nothin' yet!" (and he would be right about that). 10/10. Clive Roberts.

"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.