Dorathen Better Late Then Never

SteinMo What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.

Brennan Camacho Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Beulah Bram A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Mikel3 The Jolson Story does for Al Jolson's life what 'Night and Day' did for Cole Porter's; it's a heavily romanticized fictional story with occasional bits of truth thrown in. Larry Parks does a fine job channeling the charisma that made Al Jolson one of the greatest entertainers of all time. Mr. Parks sang along to Jolson's records so it would look more realistic, like he was actually singing. The real Jolson sang the songs and it's a treat to hear, if not see him. Evelyn Keyes plays a character called Julie Benson as his wife. They had to do this because Jolson's real ex-wife Ruby Keeler would not give them permission to use her name. William Demarest is along for the ride as a man who supposedly gave Jolson his start in show business and later became like a second father too him...also fiction. Still the movie is very entertaining, the acting is good and it's well written. Especially enjoyable are the musical numbers. One scene that was factual is the real Jolson was known to stop a show and just sing for the audience's pleasure. It must have been something to see him live. I've read that his appearances on film pale in comparison to him singing in person. It's said he could electrify an audience so that each member felt he was singing just for them. Like so many other biographical movies...'The Jolson Story' is a very fictional story, still it is well worth seeing. Mr. Parks did deserve the Oscar nomination he received. The movie was a huge success at the box office and I can see why. It received Academy Awards for Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture and Best Sound, Recording. The nominations it received: Best Actor in a Leading Role (Larry Parks), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (William Demarest), Best Cinematography, Color and Best Film Editing. A sequel with Mr. Parks came out three years later and is also a good film. I recommend this movie for a good time and don't be surprised if you start singing along with the sound track.

PWNYCNY This movie is a great biopic of one of the most popular and beloved entertainment figures in history. Tow things make this movie work: the music, which is sung by Al Jolson, and Larry Park's depiction of Jolson which captures the persona of Al Jolson. For this movie to succeed, it was critical that Parks convince the audience that he is Al Jolson, and he does just that. Although the music is an essential element of the story, this movie would have succeeded without the music, so effective was Park's performance. Al Jolson was more than just an entertainer. He was a symbol for an era exemplified by rapid social change as exemplified by Jolson's style. Jolson was the people's entertainer, he represented everyone and lifted everyone's spirits. To the movie's credit, it does not downplay the role of black face in Jolson's act. It is an integral part of the story and is shown without fanfare or political implications. The audience can react whichever way they want to it. But one thing is certain: Jolson does not use black face to denigrate; instead it becomes part of his persona, at least on the stage. Jolson makes black face a symbol for respect.

blanche-2 You can't keep a good man down, and Al Jolson certainly proves that in "The Jolson Story," a somewhat fictionalized account of the great entertainer's life. The film stars Larry Parks as Jolson and Evelyn Keyes as Julie Benson, since Ruby Keeler would not allow her name to be used in the film. Happy marriage, that. Jolson does his own singing, but I'll get to that later.Larry Parks, who was later blacklisted, is excellent as Jolson, if better looking, and Evelyn Keyes is delightful as Julie. Parks worked tirelessly at getting the lipsynching and Jolson's mannerisms perfect. Other excellent performances include Ludwig Donath as Jolson's father and William Demarest as his partner and later agent. In real life, Jolson started out singing with his brother and was never a child singer as shown in the film. Also, in the movie, he has a mother -- in real life, his mother died when he was young. It's one of the reasons why his rendition of "Mammy" is so poignant. When Jolson spoke the words, "Look at me mammy, don't you know me? I'm your baby" - it came from the heart because when his mother lay dying, she didn't know who he was.The star of this film is the singing. If there was ever a question as to why Jolson was such a great star - a man who commanded standing ovations in the middle of a show, and someone whom the audience begged not to leave the stage - you know why after listening to that voice and feeling that dynamism and energy. He really was a tremendous singer and performer. He was an inspiration to such talents as Judy Garland, Sammy Davis Jr., Elvis Presley, Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Jackie Wilson and Jerry Lee Lewis."The Jolson Story" revived Jolson's career, and as a result, he made public appearances to promote the film, was received by Harry and Mrs. Truman, got a radio show, and entertained troops in Korea (as he had the troops in WWII), flying there at his own expense. A new film for him, Stars & Stripes Forever, about the USO, was in preproduction when he died suddenly of a heart attack.In recent years, his reputation has suffered because he wore blackface, but this convention was not considered to be maligning blacks. In fact, stars such as Eddie Cantor, Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby, Judy Garland, Doris Day, Betty Grable and many black stars Jolson's used blackface. There was no bigotry meant.Al Jolson used to say "You ain't heard nothing' yet." Yes, we have - we've heard one of the greatest singers and entertainers who ever lived. The sad thing is, now that we've heard it, we probably won't hear the likes of it again.

bkoganbing Harry Cohn of Columbia Pictures may have been the most ruthless of the famed movie moguls of the studio system era, but he did have a streak of sentimentality. When Al Jolson was pretty much a forgotten man and a washed up entertainer, Cohn took a lot upon himself and shelled out very heavily to bring the story of an entertainer that he personally idolized.In real life Al Jolson could be one egotistical and mean man, so I think Cohn recognized a lot of himself there. But it wouldn't do to tell the real story and besides the movie going public if they were going to buy tickets would be buying tickets to hear him sing.So from the various sources Cohn would have had to shell out quite a bit of cash to get the rights to all the songs Jolson was identified with from the various sources. One of those sources was a rival studio, Warner Brothers where Jolson spent the bulk of his film career. What Jack Warner must have gotten from Cohn for all those songs.In telling the story Jolie's first two wives were left out of the film, his first wife was movie queen Julie Benson. That was because Ruby Keeler would not give the use of her name for the film. So Evelyn Keyes played Julie Benson, fictional wife of Al Jolson.William Demarest's character for which he received a Best Supporting Actor nomination of Steve Martin was an amalgamation of about three or four people who were to use a contemporary phrase, part of the Jolson posse. One of those people was Jolson's older brother Harry who tried a career as an entertainer, but couldn't compete and gave up trying. His actually is an interesting story of someone who could never get out from under the shadow of a legend.Larry Parks who had done a few B films for Columbia got his big break playing Al Jolson and an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. If people know Parks today it's because of his playing Al Jolson as he was a prominent blacklist casualty. Of course Parks was helped immeasurably by the voice of Jolson singing all his songs.Counting Scotty Beckett who played Jolson as a kid and was also dubbed and Jolson/Parks singing their number, there was an incredible amount of music here. The basic parts of The Jolson Story that were true were about his childhood as the son of a cantor, Ludwig Donath, in Washington, DC and running away from home to go into show business.His background in minstrel shows is depicted here quite accurately and for whatever reason he never could shake it. I think he thought this was what his public wanted even when public tastes changed.Musically the film is deficient in the comedy numbers which haven't survived like the other songs Jolson did, but were an integral part of his act. One here was done with a full production number, The Spaniard That Blighted My Life. Here it's done solo, but Jolson recorded it as a duet with Bing Crosby in the flipside of another duet Alexander's Ragtime Band. Both are absolute classics.Still the songs are the key and it's certainly quite a whitewashing of The Jolson Story. But the film certainly is something that Jolson would have liked to have been remembered for and by.