The Singing Kid

The man who gave movies its voice, not only speaking but singing voice wound up his career at Warner Brothers with The Singing Kid. Although he did not intend to be so, this was Al Jolson's last film with Warner Brothers and also his last starring film as well.

In The Singing Kid, Al Jolson plays Al Jackson an entertainer who was not unlike the real Al Jolson in some respects. He's rather free with his money, Jolson was legendary for that, especially since he trusts his lawyer and business manager Lyle Talbot who is stealing from him and two timing him with Claire Dodd who usually played bad girls over at Warner Brothers in the Thirties.

When things go bad for Jolson and he loses his money, his girl, and his voice, he takes a long vacation at a cabin in Maine with two of his retainers Edward Everett Horton and Allen Jenkins. In real life Jolson had many of those, not unlike Frank Sinatra. He meets and falls for Beverly Roberts who has a real cute niece she has custody of, Sybil Jason. Jolson together with Jason have some Sonny girl moments on the screen hearkening back to The Singing Fool with Davey Lee.

Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg wrote the score which also interpolated some Jolson standards. Nothing memorable from the official composers and they must have felt like the songwriters from many of Jolson's Broadway shows who always had Al interpolate his own material in the show.

Cab Calloway and his orchestra appeared and Calloway did a typical Cab Calloway number in the film. It must have been really strange on that set with the entertainer who made his mark first in minstrel shows in blackface and who wouldn't leave it and one of the best entertainers who happened to be black around. Jolson does about half of his songs in blackface and half au natural.

As a grown woman Sybil Jason said she had fond memories of Jolson who threw her a birthday party on the set and gave her a bicycle.

The Singing Kid is a must for Jolson fans, but I doubt that too many other people would really be interested in it.

Busby Berkeley actually directed at least one section of this film even though he wasn't credited. I have seen a photograph of Berkeley directing Al Jolson and Sybil Jason as they sing "You're the Cure for What Ails Me" on a lakeside dock, as well as home movies shot by composer Harold Arlen showing Berkeley clowning around at that location with Jolson, lyricist EY Harburg and others. According to Harold Arlen biographer Ed Jablonski, Berkeley choreographed the "I Love to Sing-a" reprise in which Jolson and ensemble begin in a radio station, continue through the outer offices, down an elevator, through a lobby and out into a busy street conversing in rhyme all the way. This number seems to me a foreshadowing of the "Munchkinland" sequence in THE WIZARD OF OZ three years later, wherein Judy Garland strolls through the village to the music and lyrics of the same songwriting team (Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg) with choreography by SINGING KID's credited choreographer, Bobby Connolly; maybe Connolly was inspired by Berkeley's work here. It is to Jolson's credit that he even agreed to perform in the "I Love to Sing-a" reprise because it's all about how dated and irrelevant his "Mammy" singing was. So at least he had a sense of humor.

I was surprised to discovered that I had not seen this movie before. After all, it was was an Al Jolson starring vehicle in which he is supported by an immense number of supporting comedians and singers -- Edward Everett Horton, Alan Jenkins, Cab Calloway, the Yacht Club Boys acting like the Ritz Brothers -- and an Arlen-Harburg score. Clearly this was a bet-the-house movie. It was Jolson's last under his contract with Warner Brothers.

Al Jolson plays himself, an immensely popular performer who is beloved by all who know him... well, I suppose he had script control. When his fiancee and his financial advisor run off with all the unpaid taxes for the last five years, Al has to break the kitty to pay off the IRS, his voice fails and he has to take a vacation in Maine, where he meets charming would-be playwright Beverly Roberts, and her niece, Sybil Jason. Everyone falls in love with Al and Al phonies up an acceptance of her play with a $500 check. When she finds out he did it, she's mad.

The songwriters were clearly tasked with coming up with "Al Jolson numbers" and they had a limited success. The only one familiar to me was "I Love to Sing-a," which is repeated several times with added verses. I don't think anyone covered this one except Looney Tunes, which is where I know it from.

If this movie were all we knew of Jolson, it would be a bloated and egotistical project. What we know of Jolson justifies the egotism, but not the bloat.

THE SINGING KID(1936) was a flop on initial release and Warner Brotehrs let their former No.1 moneymaker out of his contract. Maybe the problem was Jolson was 50 years old and still making movies with the word "Kid" in them.

So what if "I Love To Sing-a" is pretty much the same thing as his previous Irving Berlin hit "Let Me Sing And I'm Happy"? The opening number with Cab Calloway is electric to the 200th degree,and thank Heaven it was done without the blackface.

And there is the promo cartoon with "Owl Jolson"---the passage of time made that little guy a legend in his own right,even though it was his sole cartoon.

After his business manager walks off with his fortune,singing star Jolson has a nervous breakdown and his doctors tell him to go out in t he country and forget all about show business. This is an impossible feat for both the fictional AND the real-life Jolson. He finds romance and SOME peace and quiet,although with his knockabout entourage along complete quiet is a dream.

JOLSON--"Has there ever been a death in your family?"

MITCHELL&DURANT--"No"

JOLSON:"Well,why don't you go home and break the monotony?" But it's impossible to top that opening number---and I don't blame them for not trying.

Even though I admit to being an Al Jolson fan, I never expected to see an Al Jolson film that's not rubbish. This however wasn't - what a revelation! It's actually good! It's not too dissimilar in feel to those old Busby Berkeley movies.

Honestly, as hard as it is to believe, it's an Al Jolson movie that's actually good - well quite good. Some people are offended by the old 'blacking up' practice and there is some of that in this so some of you might not feel comfortable watching this. Apart from that, if you enjoy 1930s movies, particularly from the pre-code era, this is almost as much fun as a lot of those pre 1934 pictures were.

I'd also say that it's much better than a lot of the bland, cloned musicals the studios were churning out in the mid thirties. Being directed by the same guy who did FOOTLIGHT PARADE, you can feel that same sense of fun here. It's not brilliant - the first part, set in New York is a lot livelier than the second half which really slows down as it evolves into a rather mushy (but still amusing) sentimental drama set in the countryside with a 'cute' child and annoying mother.

The 'cute' child, Sybil Jason is surprisingly tolerable but that annoying mother is not. She is Beverly Roberts, not a name you'll be familiar with and that's because she's awful. She's got a terribly affected accent and zero stage presence - utterly lacking in any believability. Al Jolson however along with his two mates: Allen Jenkins and E E Horton have more than enough personality to keep you engaged.

The songs are ok but a bit forgettable however Al Jolson gave his friend, the immensely popular black jazz performer, Cab Calloway quite a lot of exposure in this which adds something different. I don't know whether it was just because I didn't expect it not to be terrible but I really enjoyed non pre-code, pre-code cheerful chunk of happiness.