36: The Jazz Singer

USA  96m  Dir: Alan Crosland  Key Cast: Al Jolson

Based on: The Jazz Singer by Samson Raphaelson (Play)

Finally my odyssey through cinema history arrives at the first talkie. Although as a modern viewer I wouldn't call it a talkie as really there is only sound for a few songs and two bits of dialogue linking songs- the rest is like any other silent film, complete with intertitles for dialogue. Still, I can certainly appreciate how revolutionary it must have felt sitting in a cinema in 1927 and hearing an actor speak.

The film itself is about Jewish man Jakie Rabinowitz (Al Jolson) whose father wants he to continue the family tradition of becoming a cantor (singer) at their synagogue. Jakie has other ideas and starts learning jazz songs and his father berates and punishes him for this, causing Jakie to run away and become a jazz singer. He finally gets a big break to star on Broadway and returns to see his family but is left conflicted when he must choose between his dying father and his career.

I thought that the story works really well and that Jakie was a sympathetic character whose struggle made a lot of sense. On the one hand, why should he put his dreams in jeopardy for the father that tried to bully him into following tradition. On the other, he remains close to his mother and destroying a family tradition for his career would be selfish. I wasn't particularly sold on the ending though as the whole film positions Jakie as having to choose one thing or the other whereas the ending seems to suggest he can happily do both. 

I think the film doesn't resonate with modern viewers especially well partly due to the music, a key part of the first film to include sound sequences. They are all popular songs of the twenties which I think to most modern ears, including my own, lack melody and seem to be little more than talking over some instruments. Still, Al Jolson appears to be very good at 'singing' these type of songs and if nothing else he is certainly an excellent performer. 

The other thing that feels horrific to modern audiences is the fact that Jolson wears blackface for the scenes in the Broadway show. It was wrong at the time and remains wrong now and it certainly taints this film. It feels especially ironic to do something racist towards black people given that the film gives a sympathetic portrayal of Jews, like it was taking a step forward and two steps back at the same time. I'm only thankful that it's only a fairly brief part of the running time and is irrelevant to the plot.

A fascinating piece of film history which feels outdated now in many ways but the basic premise still stands up well.