The Singing Kid

THE SINGING KID(1936) was a flop on initial release and Warner Brotehrs let their former No.1 moneymaker out of his contract. Maybe the problem was Jolson was 50 years old and still making movies with the word "Kid" in them.

So what if "I Love To Sing-a" is pretty much the same thing as his previous Irving Berlin hit "Let Me Sing And I'm Happy"? The opening number with Cab Calloway is electric to the 200th degree,and thank Heaven it was done without the blackface.

And there is the promo cartoon with "Owl Jolson"---the passage of time made that little guy a legend in his own right,even though it was his sole cartoon.

After his business manager walks off with his fortune,singing star Jolson has a nervous breakdown and his doctors tell him to go out in t he country and forget all about show business. This is an impossible feat for both the fictional AND the real-life Jolson. He finds romance and SOME peace and quiet,although with his knockabout entourage along complete quiet is a dream.

JOLSON--"Has there ever been a death in your family?"

MITCHELL&DURANT--"No"

JOLSON:"Well,why don't you go home and break the monotony?" But it's impossible to top that opening number---and I don't blame them for not trying.

I think the singing kid is a great film and my favorite musical numbers in the film Were save me sister you're the cure for what ails me and I love to singa reprised oh by the Busby Berkeley did more of the numbers than bobby Connolly' oh And wonderful cast members Al Jolson sybil Jason bravely Roberts allen Jenkins Edward horton and and the yacht club boys wini shaw Cab Calloway but 8/10 for blackface

This was the last of eight films that Jolson did for Warner Brothers between 1927 and 1936. Not many people have seen this one, but it is rather addictive with a great parody of Jolson as Jolson.

Jolson plays likable if irresponsible stage and radio star Al Jackson. He's given to trusting the people in his life to handle things for him just a little to much as he runs on overdrive from performance to performance. This gets him in trouble later in the film. Jackson lives at the top of a tall penthouse where he gives his most jubilant performance of "I Wanna Singa" along with Cab Calloway who happens to be practicing on an adjacent rooftop. Just in case you didn't know, that famous song comes from this movie, not the cute little cartoon with the singing Owl in it as most people think. Cab Calloway appears in several numbers with Jolson in this film.

One of the best scenes/numbers in the movie has Jolson rehearsing his radio show, starting out with "I Wanna Singa" and then segueing into "Mammy". At this point The Yacht Club Boys, playing representatives of the sponsor, tunefully interrupt and tell Jolson why he's out of date and can't sing his traditional Mammy songs on their show.

Being Jolson's leading lady didn't really help the film careers of the actresses involved (I'm excluding Mrs. Jolson here, AKA Ruby Keeler). Beverly Roberts - who plays the love interest here - is no exception. She worked for Warner Bros. in 1936 and 1937 and then went back to stage work. Lending strong support here is the ever-confused Edward Everett Hornton as the befuddled gentleman's gentleman to Jolson's character.

Definitely worth it for all Jolson fans. If you don't like Jolson I don't recommend it, as Jolson's films are usually all Jolson all the time, although this one has Jolson interacting with the rest of the cast a little more than his other films usually did.

Even though I admit to being an Al Jolson fan, I never expected to see an Al Jolson film that's not rubbish. This however wasn't - what a revelation! It's actually good! It's not too dissimilar in feel to those old Busby Berkeley movies.

Honestly, as hard as it is to believe, it's an Al Jolson movie that's actually good - well quite good. Some people are offended by the old 'blacking up' practice and there is some of that in this so some of you might not feel comfortable watching this. Apart from that, if you enjoy 1930s movies, particularly from the pre-code era, this is almost as much fun as a lot of those pre 1934 pictures were.

I'd also say that it's much better than a lot of the bland, cloned musicals the studios were churning out in the mid thirties. Being directed by the same guy who did FOOTLIGHT PARADE, you can feel that same sense of fun here. It's not brilliant - the first part, set in New York is a lot livelier than the second half which really slows down as it evolves into a rather mushy (but still amusing) sentimental drama set in the countryside with a 'cute' child and annoying mother.

The 'cute' child, Sybil Jason is surprisingly tolerable but that annoying mother is not. She is Beverly Roberts, not a name you'll be familiar with and that's because she's awful. She's got a terribly affected accent and zero stage presence - utterly lacking in any believability. Al Jolson however along with his two mates: Allen Jenkins and E E Horton have more than enough personality to keep you engaged.

The songs are ok but a bit forgettable however Al Jolson gave his friend, the immensely popular black jazz performer, Cab Calloway quite a lot of exposure in this which adds something different. I don't know whether it was just because I didn't expect it not to be terrible but I really enjoyed non pre-code, pre-code cheerful chunk of happiness.

Busby Berkeley actually directed at least one section of this film even though he wasn't credited. I have seen a photograph of Berkeley directing Al Jolson and Sybil Jason as they sing "You're the Cure for What Ails Me" on a lakeside dock, as well as home movies shot by composer Harold Arlen showing Berkeley clowning around at that location with Jolson, lyricist EY Harburg and others. According to Harold Arlen biographer Ed Jablonski, Berkeley choreographed the "I Love to Sing-a" reprise in which Jolson and ensemble begin in a radio station, continue through the outer offices, down an elevator, through a lobby and out into a busy street conversing in rhyme all the way. This number seems to me a foreshadowing of the "Munchkinland" sequence in THE WIZARD OF OZ three years later, wherein Judy Garland strolls through the village to the music and lyrics of the same songwriting team (Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg) with choreography by SINGING KID's credited choreographer, Bobby Connolly; maybe Connolly was inspired by Berkeley's work here. It is to Jolson's credit that he even agreed to perform in the "I Love to Sing-a" reprise because it's all about how dated and irrelevant his "Mammy" singing was. So at least he had a sense of humor.