The first feature length "talkie" reached the big screen in the
1927 hit The Jazz Singer. Alan Crosland directed Al Jolson and Mary Dale
in this film that combines title cards (for most of the story and
dialogue) with full sound (for all of the songs and a couple of short,
spoken passages). The musical score is a potpourri of melodies including
Tchaikowsky, traditional Hebrew music, and popular ballads. Even with
the limited "real-time" sound, the characterization of the individual
actors and actresses is prominent. Each character has a recurring
musical theme and additional musical sound effects are synchronized with
the action.
The plot of The Jazz Singer is fairly straightforward. The young Jakie Rabinowitz (Al Jolson) is the son of the Jewish Cantor Rabinowitz (Warner Oland). Jakie's father wants him to become the fifth generation of religious cantors in the Rabinowitz family. Jakie, however, loves the new jazz and wants to pursue a career on the stage. Jakie's mother (Eugenie Besserer) understands, but Jackie's father emphatically does not.
Jackie runs away from home at the age of thirteen after a final whipping from his father for singing in a local bar. He becomes "Jack Robin"-the jazz singer.
Jack gets his big break when he sings for an audience including the star dancer Mary Dale (May McAvoy). When Jack finishes his rendition of "Dirty Hands, Dirty Face" (a song celebrating the joy of a father greeting his young son) and his listeners applaud enthusiastically, he interrupts them with the film's first spoken lines: "Wait a minute! Wait a minute! You ain't heard nothin' yet!" Prior to this, the viewer had only heard "live" sound for songs. Now eager anticipation of the next spoken lines adds to the excitement of the remainder of the film.
The only two additional uses of spoken dialogue are masterful. The first occurs when Jack goes home to New York and sees his mother for the first time in many, many years. She is alone at their apartment and Jack plays the piano and sings "Blue Skies" just for her. This is followed by a fast, emotional, possibly improvised stream of conversation in which Jack describes the things he will do for his mother (buy her a house, new dresses, take her on a vacation) when he is a successful star. Jack's gushing love for his mother and his boyish enthusiasm at his plans for her could not have been conveyed effectively with title cards.
The advent of sound has created the opportunity for the heartfelt expression of intimate feelings between characters.
Jack's mother protests laughingly, but she is clearly touched by Jack's adoration. Their joyous exchange is suddenly halted when Jack's father enters. At this point the viewer probably does not expect to hear live sound from anyone but Jack. The cantor's booming "STOP!" is a surprise and adds to the shock of his uncompromising and immediate rejection of his son.
Most of the images in The Jazz Singer are unremarkable. Almost all of the shots are unembellished medium and long shots. The only notable image is a final scene in which Jack sings in the synagogue as a substitute for his ill and dying father. A superimposed image of Cantor Rabinowitz places him at Jack's side. The father and son have been reunited in spirit. Jack is now free to pursue his calling as a jazz singer.
The plot of The Jazz Singer is fairly straightforward. The young Jakie Rabinowitz (Al Jolson) is the son of the Jewish Cantor Rabinowitz (Warner Oland). Jakie's father wants him to become the fifth generation of religious cantors in the Rabinowitz family. Jakie, however, loves the new jazz and wants to pursue a career on the stage. Jakie's mother (Eugenie Besserer) understands, but Jackie's father emphatically does not.
Jackie runs away from home at the age of thirteen after a final whipping from his father for singing in a local bar. He becomes "Jack Robin"-the jazz singer.
Jack gets his big break when he sings for an audience including the star dancer Mary Dale (May McAvoy). When Jack finishes his rendition of "Dirty Hands, Dirty Face" (a song celebrating the joy of a father greeting his young son) and his listeners applaud enthusiastically, he interrupts them with the film's first spoken lines: "Wait a minute! Wait a minute! You ain't heard nothin' yet!" Prior to this, the viewer had only heard "live" sound for songs. Now eager anticipation of the next spoken lines adds to the excitement of the remainder of the film.
The only two additional uses of spoken dialogue are masterful. The first occurs when Jack goes home to New York and sees his mother for the first time in many, many years. She is alone at their apartment and Jack plays the piano and sings "Blue Skies" just for her. This is followed by a fast, emotional, possibly improvised stream of conversation in which Jack describes the things he will do for his mother (buy her a house, new dresses, take her on a vacation) when he is a successful star. Jack's gushing love for his mother and his boyish enthusiasm at his plans for her could not have been conveyed effectively with title cards.
The advent of sound has created the opportunity for the heartfelt expression of intimate feelings between characters.
Jack's mother protests laughingly, but she is clearly touched by Jack's adoration. Their joyous exchange is suddenly halted when Jack's father enters. At this point the viewer probably does not expect to hear live sound from anyone but Jack. The cantor's booming "STOP!" is a surprise and adds to the shock of his uncompromising and immediate rejection of his son.
Most of the images in The Jazz Singer are unremarkable. Almost all of the shots are unembellished medium and long shots. The only notable image is a final scene in which Jack sings in the synagogue as a substitute for his ill and dying father. A superimposed image of Cantor Rabinowitz places him at Jack's side. The father and son have been reunited in spirit. Jack is now free to pursue his calling as a jazz singer.
Kathleen Karlsen is a mother of five children with a passionate
interest in creating a world where children and youth are free to grow
in imagination and joy. She has a lifelong interest in metaphysics,
psychology, healing and the arts. She manages a multimedia business with
her husband Andrew in Bozeman, Montana.
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