Nomadi del canto

Just watched this on Warner Archive DVD. It also had the trailer for it in which star Al Jolson is "interviewed" by a reporter about his latest picture. I put "interviewed" in quotes because I'm sure that "reporter" was another actor helping plug the picture. Anyway, I enjoyed the story and performances though it's really Jolson's songs-mostly written by Irving Berlin-that help sell the movie on its merits. This version has the restored 2-strip Technicolor sequences that looked pretty good for its age. Some of those scenes had to be accompanied by sepia-toned black and white ones to show them complete which didn't distract me too much. In summary, Mammy-despite some now-politically incorrect stereotypes concerning the blackface sequences-was pretty entertaining.

Al Jolson occupies an unusual place in cinematic heritage. Dubbed the world's greatest entertainer, and certainly the most popular one in his day, Jolson will also forever remain famous for being the star of the world's first talking picture. And yet, due to much of his act and many of his screen appearances being in blackface, as well as the general quaintness of his style which owes far more to the musical hall than it does the screen, he is a figure whose work is today discussed far more than it is enjoyed.

Mammy was Jolson's fourth movie, and perhaps surprisingly is the first in which he had been paired with a major hit songwriter – in this case, Irving Berlin. The lesser-known Ray Henderson may have given Jolson his biggest hit with "Sonny Boy", but Irving's knack of mixing upbeat jollity with a bittersweet tug chimes in perfectly with Jolson's own style. The key song of Mammy is "Let Me Sing and I'm Happy" which is among Berlin's simplest both in melody and sentiment, and really suits Jolson's persona down to the ground.

Mammy also sees Jolson placed before a rather heavyweight director of dramas, namely Hungarian émigré Michael Curtiz, as opposed to comedy and musical specialist Lloyd Bacon who had helmed his previous two releases. Curtiz's tendency to fill up spaces with layers of extras and assorted business, tightly framing actors amid their settings isn't really what this picture needs, but nevertheless the director adds a few little touches to help ease out the story's emotions. Most notably we have several facial close-ups, a couple of Louise Dresser and one of Lois Moran. A pretty standard trick, but these are not just any close-ups. Take the one of Dresser after she has said goodbye to Jolson. Behind her we see some people walking to screen left, after which we cut to the train pulling away screen right, making it visually appear that the two shots are moving in opposite directions. Curtiz was also known to encourage restrained performances from his cast, and indeed we do get some beautifully understated turns from silent stars Louise Dresser and Hobart Bosworth. Even Al himself is a good deal more subtle under the influence of Curtiz.

However, the real key to Mammy's appeal – the reason why these pictures were more than just Jolson showcases – is the way that the songs are placed within the narrative. This is of course long before the days when the "integrated" musical was commonplace, and yet the emotional weight of each song has undergone consideration, probably by original "idea" writer Berlin, such story-based song deployment being another of his talents. Jolson's performance of "Looking at You" ironically comes just after his inadvertently putting himself in an embarrassing situation with Lois Moran, and the utter inappropriateness of the song at that moment increases that feeling of awkwardness. "Let Me Sing and I'm Happy" as well as being Jolson's introductory number, is reprised twice, firstly when he is about to be arrested, and again at the end of the picture – each time for completely different impact due to its placement. And this is something Jolson himself is clearly aware of, putting a veneer of professionalism over each rendition, but allowing his character's emotional state to show through according to the context in which the song is sung.

This may be one of the finest Jolson features, but ironically it was part of a downward turn in his career. His pictures were becoming repetitive, and now a few years into the talkie era he was less of a novelty. He would disappear from screens for a few years before reinventing himself as a more conventional musical star for the mid-30s, more or less divorced from his music-hall roots. Still, Mammy provides an opportunity to see him as he was to early audiences, before he even stepped in front of a camera, taking simple, hackneyed routines, pouring in his heart and soul and making them his own.

Funny story about Al's double.

Production mistook my grandfather as Al, they thought Al was joking around and said he was wanted on set. My grandfather Michael was actually a carpenter building the WB sets. Since he was such a good lookalike, they used him as a standin.

'Mammy' did have at least three things going for it.

There is the presence of Al Jolson, a great entertainer with a terrific voice. It has music penned by one of the greatest song-writers of all time Irving Berlin. And it was directed by Michael Curtiz, who directed favourites such as 'Casablanca', 'The Adventures of Robin Hood' and 'White Christmas'.

It is interesting to watch now, and is certainly not a bad film. However it is very easy to see why people will have, and have had, issues with it. Things work very well, but there are parts that have aged badly and make modern viewers cringe while still somewhat appreciating what the film tries to do.

Best things about it are Jolson and especially Berlin's music. Jolson is restrained but still electrifying, he also sounds great and puts his all into the songs. While not among his best ever song scores, the songs are still terrific, with a lot of energy and emotion, clever lyrics and they are gorgeously melodious too so Berlin's talent as a composer/song-writer is more than evident here. Most of the musical numbers are well staged, Jolson's musical scenes work very well and while the minstrel scenes don't work on the whole "Yes I Have No Bananas" is quite fun.

With that being said, the supporting cast are also competent, with an entertaining Lowell Sherman, Hobart Bosworth and a restrained, dignified and sympathetic Louise Dresser coming out on top. Lois Moran has a thankless and underwritten role but brings some charm to it. 'Mammy' still looks good, with lovely 2 strip Technicolor in two scenes and the black and white for the rest of the film looking remarkably crisp. Much of the film has a good deal of energy, and there are a few amusing parts.

Other things don't come off so well. Some of the story is silly and drags in spots, while the mother and son relationship sees Jolson and Dresser behave in a way that is much more suited to a pair of lovers than mother and son and it just doesn't feel right and most of the comedy falls flat because of being overly corny, very of the time and flat in timing.

As for the minstrel scenes, they were acceptable back in 1930 but while historically interesting somewhat they don't hold up very well now. They do go on too long, are not for the easily offended and how most of them are written and staged will make a lot of people cringe and reach for the fast forward button (personally was tempted). Curtiz's direction is not as inspired as in the best of his films and like his heart wasn't completely in it.

Concluding this review, an interesting film that is worth watching for Jolson's performance and Berlin's music but it's a wildly uneven film where some parts just don't hold up very well. 6/10 Bethany Cox

Mammy (1930)

** (out of 4)

Al Fuller (Al Jolson) is an entertainer in a minstrel show who just happens to be in love with a woman (Lois Moran) who can't have him because she's in love with another performer (Lowell Sherman). During the act there's a sequence where Fuller must shoot the "other man" but after doing so this night a real bullet comes out. Fuller runs off to his mother who tells him he should go back and face the music. Fans of Al Jolson swear up and down that the entertainer doesn't get the credit he deserves today because of the fact that he appeared in blackface. The actor will always be remembered by film buffs for THE JAZZ SINGER but I'm going to go against some of the fans and say that he's not better remembered today not due to the blackface but because of the fact that his movies simply aren't that good. MAMMY is the perfect example of this. The performances are bad. The story is downright silly. The talking sequences are all rather lame but this can be blamed on the technology of the time. Curtiz, one of the greatest directors from the Golden Age of Hollywood, is absent throughout much of the running time. We can start with the story as it's just downright silly and it's easy to say that not much time was spent on it as the studio was clearly more worried about the music. That's understandable so we can let the bad story slide. Curtiz' direction really doesn't bring any of the material to life and just check out how poorly shot the opening sequence is in the rain. The other minstrel show stuff will probably offend most people but I've seen enough movies and know enough about history to realize that this type of thing was accepted in 1930. Still, seeing a bunch of actors in blackface singing "Yes! We Have No Bananas" is probably going to be too much. The music numbers are the only thing that makes this worth viewing as there's no question that Jolson has a terrific voice and it can be heard in some great songs including "Yes, Sir, That's My Baby," "Mammy," "In the Morning," and several others. Jolson does his best to keep the energy going but he's given some pretty poor dialogue including some really lame jokes. The supporting players don't help too much either but then again the screenplay isn't doing them any favors. MAMMY is probably best known for the two sequences shot in 2-strip Technicolor. The picture quality today is quite rough but at the same time I was rather shocked at how incredibly bad the blackface looked in color. It looks like they would have done some more tests because just take a look at it during the first color number.