THE JAZZ SINGER *

If you've never seen it what you have to get into your head is that "The Jazz Singer"
wasn't the first all-talking picture. In fact, it was a silent picture to which a certain amount of talking and, of course, singing was later added and in such a perfunctory way it's little wonder people said it would never catch on. This looks like an experiment and not a very good one. It was based on a play by Samson Raphaelson though it was hardly likely to be remembered as great drama; indeed it is shamelessly sentimental and melodramatic. Fundamentally this is a vehicle for the great Al Jolson who, even in these primitive circumstances, brings the stamp of his considerable personality to every scene in which he sings. As the man himself says, "You ain't heard nothin' yet". You can just imagine how cinema audiences must have felt at the time.