The Jazz Singer

I just watched a movie called The Jazz Singer. I watched the original version that was filmed in 1927 (there have been three remakes including one for television). It was the first full-length movie with sound – the first feature-length talkie. Most of the film was silent with dialog on title cards, just as with silent movies, but parts of it – mostly the musical numbers – had sound. The movie was made before the advent of sound-on-film technology, and the sound technology used was the Vitaphone process. With Vitaphone, each sound sequence had its own reel with a 12- to 16-inch phonograph record to be played as the film was projected. The record was played at 33-1/3 rpm with a playing time that matched the 11-minute maximum running time of the reel. Unlike most phonograph discs, the needle on Vitaphone records moved from the inside of the disc to the outside.

The movie was set in the year 1927, and it was interesting to see some of the customs of that day. For instance, in one scene showing a singer performing in a cabaret, there were small mallets lying on the tables. During the singer’s performance I couldn’t help thinking, “What’s up with all the little hammers?” At the end of the performance, the men in the room applauded while the women picked up the mallets and knocked on the tabletops with them.

The history of the movie begins on April 25, 1917, when New York City native Samson Raphaelson attended a performance of the musical Robinson Crusoe, Jr. in Champaign, Illinois. He found the performance by the star of that musical so emotionally intense that it inspired him to write a short story about the star’s real life. It was called The Day of Atonement and was published in 1922. Later he adapted the story into a stage play, The Jazz Singer, which premiered on Broadway in 1925 and became a hit. The play starred George Jessel in the lead role. In 1926 Warner Bros. acquired the movie rights and signed Jessel to a contract. For various reasons, plans to make the movie with Jessel fell through and Warner had to find another actor who could sing. They signed a superstar of the day to play the lead role. His name was Al Jolson.

And who was the star of Robinson Crusoe, Jr. whose performance inspired a short story about his life that became a play that became the movie The Jazz Singer starring Al Jolson? That actor was none other than Al Jolson.