The Jazz Singer

"Hear him sing Mammy, Toot Toot Tootsie, My Gal Sal, Mother I Still Have You."

1927 1h 36m EN

😐

6.1

MID

🍅

77%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

6.4

IMDB

★6.1TMDB · 260🍅77%Rotten Tomatoes●66Metacritic★6.4IMDB · 11,586

DramaMusic

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A young Jewish man is torn between tradition and individuality when his old-fashioned family objects to his career as a jazz singer. This is the first full length feature film to use synchronized sound, and is the original film musical.

“Hear him sing Mammy, Toot Toot Tootsie, My Gal Sal, Mother I Still Have You.”

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Cast

Al Jolson
Jakie Rabinowitz
May McAvoy
Mary Dale
Warner Oland
Cantor Rabinowitz
Eugenie Besserer
Sara Rabinowitz
Otto Lederer
Moisha Yudelson
Robert Gordon
Young Jakie Rabinowitz
Richard Tucker
Harry Lee
Yossele Rosenblatt
Cantor Rosenblatt

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Alan Crosland
Writers: Alfred A. Cohn
Languages: English, Yiddish, Spanish
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.4M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 6.2× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

99 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, Yiddish, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Alan Crosland, shot by Hal Mohr. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Louis Silvers. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Editor Harold McCord shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Al Jolson and May McAvoy and Warner Oland carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Alan Crosland directs. Hal Mohr behind the camera. Louis Silvers scores. Harold McCord cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Yiddish, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.4M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Made its money back 6.2× over at the box office.
399 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, Yiddish, Spanish.
5Directed by Alan Crosland, shot by Hal Mohr. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Louis Silvers. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Harold McCord shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Al Jolson and May McAvoy and Warner Oland carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Hear him sing Mammy, Toot Toot Tootsie, My Gal Sal, Mother I Still Have You.".
10IMDB entry: tt0018037 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 9 themes, including "new york city", "dancer", "parent child relationship", "san francisco, california".

The technical file

Cinematography: Hal Mohr
Original score: Louis Silvers
Editing: Harold McCord
Runtime: 96 min · 1h 36m
Status: Released
Budget: $422,000
Box office: $2,600,000
Return: 616% of budget
Original language: EN
IMDB: The Jazz Singer (1927)
Rotten Tomatoes: 77% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 66/100
IMDB rating: 6.4/10 · 11,586 votes
MPAA: Passed

Awards

Nominated for 1 Oscar. 3 wins & 1 nomination total

Also by

Alan Crosland

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-03-27
★ 6/10
Al Jolson's "Jakie" is to be the sixth in a line of cantors from the Rabinowitz family. He has a fine voice and some musical talent - he just wants to take them to Broadway instead of to the synagogue. His father (Warner Oland) is horrified, his mother (Eugenie Besserer) disappointed but he still decides to follow his star! He loves the music of the 1920s - jazz, ragtime, swing - and changing his name to "Jack Robin" and after a decade of slogging, and travelling the world, manages to enlist the help of established star "Mary Dale" (May McAvoy) and look set to get his very own "Follies" show on stage. With less than 24 hours to go, his father's rather malevolent friend "Moisha" (Otto Lederer) shows up to tell him that his dad is poorly and that there is nothing the old man would like better than for his son to sing at the Day of Atonement - the same day as the show! Now we know that the last encounter between the father and son had led to the latter banishing the former from their home, so what might the younger man do now? Much is made of the last few scenes from this film, but I think this story is more interesting when we consider that the real thrust of it has nothing at all to do with colour, but with a sort of cultural evolution. Of a rebellion against a religiosity that older, often themselves from persecuted generations, people are desperate to see continue despite it being something that their offspring cared far less about preserving. "Jakie" has been brought up by two loving and caring people, yet he has chosen a path that creates an insurmountable barrier - but need it be. Is it just belligerence? Intolerance? Ignorance? The acting, writing and the singing, unfortunately, don't really do it any favours - the sound quality and the production limitations render the numbers a bit wooden and sterile, but as a technical example of where films are heading - and of the freedoms of expression that they were soon to provide - it's worth a watch.

Production companies