User Reviews

"Let me sing a funny song, with crazy words that roll along, and if my song can make you happy, I'm happy.....I'm happy....." Al Jolson sang those words of the song, ' Let me sing and I'm happy,' in the opening of The Jolson Story, words that epitomized the passion and energy in his music. The Jolson Story does a magnificent job in giving us a taste of Jolson's magic that spellbound America in the twenties and early thirties, most of his songs are in the show, April Showers, Swanee, Mammy, California Here I Come and , the incomparable, The Anniversary Song, sang as only Jolson can. And, due to some enterprising technology at the time we also hear more of his voice in the Movie that perhaps his fans did in those days with Film Studio microphones capturing and accentuating a deep resonance that is solely Jolson's. The Film doesn't attempt to factually explore his life, although we do get a chance to see some truths of the relationship with his real life wife, Ruby Keeler, who in the Movie was known as Julie Benson, played by Evelyn Keys. Interesting to note was the fact that Columbia Pictures, who released the Movie failed to give Warner Bros.the Film company responsible for giving Jolson the role in The Jazz Singer, any recognition whatsoever, presenting further evidence of the Producer's and Jolson's desire to give us some entertainment, as opposed to a lesson in history. And, entertained we are, as Larry Parks, with his unbelievable miming to Jolson's songs......apart from a cameo from Jolson singing Swanee....takes us from Vaudeville days in the twenties with all Jolson's great songs and routines, to his semi retirement in the thirties. The Jolson Story is a wonderful experience, full of songs we still sing today more than fifty years after they were released, and sung by the man most of us remember as the greatest entertainer of them all......Al Jolson.

I was 20years old when this film came out, and Jolson voice was so well known even before, that it was such a big thrill to see his biography on film. Larry Parks was typecast from the very beginning, playing Al Jolson. He was a fine actor but got involved with communism politics of the McCarthy Hearings and was dropped by the studios in 1950. Evelyn Keyes (of Gone With the Wind fame) plays Mrs Jolson, and William Demarest plays Jolson's mentor. Ludwig Donath plays his father the Cantor while Tamara Shayne plays his mother. His father wanted him to be a cantor, but Jolson wanted to sing on stage, so he runs away at an early age. He takes up with a fidler on the stage played by William Demarest. It is true that Jolson was such an egotist and loved singing so much that it broke up his marriage. Wonderful scoring of the music, and photography is enchanting. If you like the old songs, especially Jolson's, don't miss it! 8/10

Al Jolson, along with Frank Sinatra, were perhaps the two greatest singer/entertainers of the 20th Century. This film, made in 1946, was both the launching pad and "ball and chain" for Larry Parks. His performance was so good it earned him an Academy Award nomination. He spent countless hours perfecting the Jolson mannerisms and lip-syncing the songs that the great Jolson recorded for the movie. Unfortunately he became so typecast in the role that his reprise of the role in the sequel in 1949 was his only other claim to fame. That, and his admission and subsequent subliminal blacklist from Hollywood for being a member of the Communist Party between 1941-1951, stopped his career before it ever really had a chance to bloom.

My father had me watch this movie as a kid on Million Dollar Movie and I was taken by the personality, drive, energy, and talent of this great entertainer. Hearing about, and seeing, silent movies made me all the more in awe of the talent Jolson must have been since Hollywood banked it's future on talkies with "The Jazz Singer".

Besides Parks excellent performances are also put in by William Demerest, who many of us remember as Uncle Charlie in My Three Sons, Evelyn Keyes as Julie Benson (Jolson's first wife) and the rest of the cast. The 1949 making of Jolson Sings Again is also worthwhile, if for no other reason than watching Parks do the masterful lip-sync and the incredible vocals of Jolson.

1946's The Jolson Story (in all of its lush, Technicolor glory) may not have been an accurate depiction of entertainer Al Jolson's life, per se, but, in the long run, it was still quite an engaging production (in a kitsch sort of way).

Corny, nostalgic and very sentimental, The Jolson Story is a film that is certainly true to form when it comes to the likes of being your typical 1940's Bio-picture.

With its $3 million budget (which was obviously well-spent on its numerous, lavishly-staged musical numbers, and such), I give a lot of credit to actor Larry Parks who played Jolson (as an adult) in the story. Parks' exuberant and likable portrayal, along with his seamless lip-syncing of Jolson's songs, were, to me, what clearly helped carry The Jolson Story successfully along to its unbelievable "happy ending" nonsense.

*Note* - Back in his heyday, Al Jolson was dubbed "The World's Greatest Entertainer". At the peak of his career he was America's most famous and highest-paid entertainers, bar none.

In 1950, at the age of 64, Al Jolson died from a massive heart attack.

"The Jolson Story" must be one of the most outstanding musical biographies to ever come out of Hollywood with a multitude of unforgettable popular songs, luxuriant colour photography, and a noteworthy performance by Larry Parks in his most accomplished role as Al Jolson. The stunning Evelyn Keyes sparkled as Julie Benson and the eminent William Demarest was entertainer Steve Martin (later Jolson's manager). "Give that boy a spotlight!!". Ludwig Donath and Tamara Shayne were an inspired choice as Jolson's parents: "Papa, Asa isn't Asa any more!". Bill Goodwin was Jolson's close friend and singer Tom Baron (later theatrical impresario) and talented Scotty Beckett gave an appealing performance playing Jolson as a boy. William Demarest had also appeared with Al Jolson years earlier in "The Jazz Singer" (1927) so it is intriguing to speculate whether they reminisced about that during the production of "The Jolson Story". William Demarest received an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his part in "The Jolson Story" but was beaten by Harold Russell for "The Best Years of Our Lives". Larry Parks was also nominated (as Best Actor) but lost to Fredric March (again for "The Best Years of Our Lives"). As some small consolation the film did win Oscars for the Best Musical Score and the Best Sound Recording. (For some obscure reason it wasn't even nominated for the best picture award much to my surprise).

The film has an absorbing storyline even though it is not entirely accurate and it does take some liberties with the facts. Jolson's mother died when he was eight years old yet in the film she lives on to see him become a big success on Broadway. Many people who played active parts in Jolson's real life story did not even get a mention in the film version. His long time manager Louis Epstein, his dresser/valet Frank Holmes and his brother Harry were all eliminated from the plot! The character Steve Martin played by William Demarest did not actually exist and it has been suggested that this role was probably a composite of the three men referred to above plus several other people. Jolson's first two wives were not even mentioned and Ruby Keeler (Jolson's third wife) would not allow her name to be used in the picture so ravishing Evelyn Keyes had to play the fictitious Julie Benson instead. Ziegfeld: "This is Julie Benson - the star of my next production "Show Girl"." Jolson: "Mr Ziegfeld you will please not advertise on my time!".

Harry Cohn (the notorious head of Columbia Pictures) is to be congratulated for going ahead with this film when all the other major studios had turned it down. Even Warner Bros. (for whom Jolson had starred in several films) were not interested. Filming was started on a small budget and in black and white. However, when Harry Cohn saw the early rushes he decided to film in colour and make "The Jolson Story" a major prestigious production. This certainly paid off for him in a big way as the film became one of Columbia Pictures top money earners. Jolson desperately wanted to play the leading role himself and was opposed to another actor portraying his life. Unfortunately at that stage in his career he was obviously too old (he was 60) but the studio could not have found anyone better than the young Larry Parks (31) who perfectly captured the Jolson style and threw himself into the part with relish. However, Jolson did manage to play himself in one scene singing "Swanee" on the Winter Garden runway (all filmed in longshot with no close-ups). When I saw "The Jolson Story" for the first time it had a major impact on my life and for weeks afterwards I was quoting lines from the film that had stuck in my mind such as these from Jolson to Julie Benson: "Broadway, ha, what a street, you know something baby - it belongs to me. You know something else, if you want it, I'll give it to you!"

The musical numbers were absolutely magnificent and with popular songs like "California Here I Come", "You Made Me Love You", "Toot Toot Tootsie", "April Showers", "Robert E. Lee", "Liza", "Mammy", "Liza", "About a Quarter to Nine", "I'm Sitting on Top of the World" and "Rockabye Your Baby" how could it miss! If there is one film I could take to a desert island it would have to be "The Jolson Story" as I never tire of seeing repeated showings of this timeless classic. As Jolson himself would have said: "Settle back folks, you ain't heard nothin' yet!" (and he would be right about that). 10/10. Clive Roberts.

Jolson's life story comes off as well as possible, thanks mostly to fluid direction and Parks' star turn as Jolson. The actual voice of Al Jolson was, fortunately, used in this movie in recordings he made especially for it (avoiding the negative results achieved in other biopics where the actor's voice was used, i.e. "The Buddy Holly Story" and "The Doors"). Of course, Jolson't personal participation, along with the fact that Jolson was a particularly admired star (by his fans, if certainly not by his fellow artists) make for this being a highly inaccurate, overly sympathetic, film biography. How it deals with his failed marriage to Ruby Keeler is particularly interesting, as Parks and Co. dance around Miss Keeler's potential lawsuits.

THE JOLSON STORY (Columbia, 1946), directed by Alfred E. Green, is a nostalgic tribute to the "world's greatest entertainer," Al Jolson, the man who loved to sing, as portrayed by Larry Parks, covering his life and career from the turn of the century to about 1940.

This Technicolor production opens in Washington, DC, at the turn of the century where a young teenage boy named Asa Yoelson (Scotty Beckett) and his girlfriend, Ann Murray (Ann E. Todd) are seated in the audience at Kernan's Burlesque House watching Steve Martin (William Demarest) doing his comedy act. He asks for the audience to sing along as he plays his cello, but it is Asa who's the only one brave enough to stand up and start singing. Amazed by this young lad's natural talent, Martin locates Asa's home asking permission of his parents, Cantor and Mrs. Yoelson (Ludwig Donath and Tamara Shayne) to have him as part of his act. Papa Yoelson says no to the idea, and feels that the only place where his son should be singing is not in a theater, but in a Synagogue. Respecting the Cantor's wishes, Martin leaves for his tour. However, Asa leaves home, hopping on a freight car to find Martin, ending up in the residence of a Catholic Church run by a Father McGee (Ernest Cossart). Learning about the boy's background and purpose, the priest sends for both Steve and the Yoelsons, who arrive to find Asa singing in the choir. Not wanting Asa to be constantly running away from home, Mama Yoelson's convinces Papa to have their boy pursue his dream. Years pass. The act of Martin and Yoelson prove successful. Because Asa, now Al Jolson, wants to advance himself, it is Steve who breaks up the act by sending him over to perform in Lew Dockstader's (John Alexander) minstrels. With Steve's help once more, he arranges for Al to start his long and successful career at the Winter Garden on Broadway, with former "blackface" singer and friend, Tom Baron (Bill Goodwin) acting as manager. Jolson, who has never forgotten Steve, hires him as his agent. Now the biggest name in show business, Al Jolson's career takes a turn to success, starring in "the first talking picture," THE JAZZ SINGER, his courtship with Florenz Ziegfeld's (Eddie Kane) latest attraction, Julie Benson (Evelyn Keyes), star of the musical show, LIZA, their marriage, screen careers and finally retirement to the country. Problems arise as Julie learns she's competing with a full-time husband who would rather be a full-time entertainer.

The success of THE JOLSON STORY may not necessarily rely on the plot or its leading stars, but mainly the songs long associated with Al Jolson throughout his years in show business. The songs used for this production include: "Let Me Sing and I'm Happy," "On the Banks of the Wabash," "The Sabbath Prayer" (traditional Jewish prayer); Franz Schubert's "Ave Maria," "When You Were Sweet Sixteen," "After the Ball," "By the Light of the Silvery Moon," "Goodbye, My Blue Belle," "Ma Blushin' Rosie," "I Want a Girl, Just Like the Girl That Married Dear Old Dad," "Mammy," "I'm Sitting on Top of the World," "You Made Me Love You," "Swanee," "Toot-Toot Tootsie, Goodbye," "The Spaniard Who Blightened My Life," "April Showers," "California, Here I Come," "Liza," "There's a Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder," "Latin from Manhattan," "Avalon," "About a Quarter to Nine," "The Anniversary Song," "Waiting For the Robert E. Lee," "Rockabye Your Baby With a Dixie Melody," and "April Showers." Trivia: The "Swanee" number is actually performed by the real Al Jolson (in long shot), not Larry Parks.

As a musical, THE JOLSON STORY is grand entertainment. As a biography, it plays too much with the facts, adding inaccuracies to the screenplay. For example, a scene where preview audiences attend THE JAZZ SINGER (1927), hearing Jolson singing "There's a Rainbow Round My Shoulder," that was actually introduced in his second movie, THE SINGING FOOL (1928). Or one where Julie Benson (based on Ruby Keeler) in her movie debut, 42nd STREET (1933) performing a dance number, "Latin From Manhattan," that was really introduced in her latter musical, GO INTO YOUR DANCE (1935). One fact the writers got right is that Jolson and Benson (a/k/a Keeler) collaborated on screen in GO INTO YOUR DANCE, and the number, "About a Quarter to Nine," that accompanies the film, is true to life. Other titles involving Benson's career, SHIPMATES FOREVER, DAMES and GOLD DIGGERS, are used in the montage, but not presented in the order of their release. The costumes and hairstyles acquired by Evelyn Keyes and other actresses are strictly 1946 modern, not fitting into the period for which it is set. The same can be said for the orchestration, sounding more like the Big-Band-era than 1920s or 30s. Larry Park's lip sync recording of Jolson's voice is deeper and softer than the recording of decades ago. Parks, a Columbia contract player since 1941, earned him an Academy Award nomination. So successful was THE JOLSON STORY that Al Jolson, then a forgotten entertainer, was rediscovered again, winning the admiration and charm of a new and younger audience.THE JOLSON STORY, as it stands, fully deserves its place in motion picture history as one of the finest and most entertaining bio-pics ever produced.

Thanks to cable television's Turner Classic Movies, where THE JOLSON STORY premiered November 13, 2006, the Jolson legend can be seen and rediscovered again, along with the original Al Jolson musicals produced at Warner Brothers period (1927-1936), especially his best known and historical film, THE JAZZ SINGER. THE JOLSON STORY, available on video cassette and DVD formats, formerly presented on the Disney Channel in the mid 1990s, and occasionally on other commercial free cable channels, is pleasing both to the eye as well as to the ear. (****)

Hardly any of this film is true; for one thing they missed out a couple of wives, and, like most biographical films of back then it is highly over-romanticised. Larry Parks was a strange choice for the part, since he was not very famous, and he doesn't really look like Jolson. Yet this film manages to stay relatively interesting for two hours, with some great music from the master performer, who appears himself briefly, in a long-shot down an isle singing "Swannee" (though it's quite obvious because Al Jolson was much smaller than Parks). Most biographical films were helped by guest appearances by stars playing themselves, but this film has none, and you can hardly say that it has an all star cast. But if you can't enjoy the story, then just sit back and listen to the stream of Jolson hits nicely mimed by Parks. Enjoy it! 7/10

I could sit and listen to Jolson music endlessly. First of all,he had to be the originator of soul music, sung right from the heart. We heard what he felt and then felt what he felt. Secondly,he was the only singer I ever heard whose voice sounded like a trumpet. Perfect pitch, clear,crisp and resounding. Hence, we put together those two attributes, add his showmanship, charm and charisma and we end up with the greatest single entertainer in the history of American show business. Larry Parks is truly astounding and gives a performance, including perfect lip synching, that should have earned him the Oscar. Politics came first, apparently.

The film, even with its occasional flaws, was amazingly entertaining. From the first scene to when his Julie Benson walks out by realizing that she could have never taken the music out of Jolson and vice versa,the entire production was pure hypnotic joy. Unbeatable music, warmth, tenderness and humility run wild. A superb feast for the ears and eyes. A never-to-be-forgotten film.

This spectacular 1946 Columbia musical in breathtaking almost-3D Technicolor is a very enjoyable if completely implausible musical biography of boisterous Al Jolson and his verbal bullying that apparently enchanted vaudeville in the teens and 20s. Bruce Willis lookalike Larry Parks performs admirably even with Jolson's real voice (Lina Lamont style) and some clever makeup (big rouged bottom lip) and pop eyes does enough to outline Jolson's look to put the part over. Othe comments here will tell you the ridiculous mistakes and glossing over of real events and other people all to condense his chatterbox career into a containable 2 hours. For me, the silliest section was the transition from stage to talkies thru The Jazz Singer and Ruby Keeler's rise as a musical star. Here she is called Julie Benson ( Ruby would'nt play ball for this pic) and somehow it goes from 1927 and The Jazz Singer premiere straight to 42nd St (1933) as if it is the next day. One really stupid scene set in 1927 shows Broadway day and then night... with the Empire State Building in the distance! It wasn't built and opened until 1932! Yeesh. And this pic was made in ' 46. How bad did Columbia's front office expect the awareness of the audience to be! It muddles songs from the later Keeler pics into Keeler's '42ND ST' and then somehow mashes it all together and jumps straight to about 1940. Mom and Pop Jolson are treated with the usual simpleton ethnic manner (food! food ! MUMMA, food!) that tormented Italians in the Marx Bros films. The production is really that star and Columbia certainly presented a handsome art direction effort if incredibly mangled storyline. A massive hit in its day, it spawned a great sequel in 1949: JOLSON SINGS AGAIN. Warner Bros reissued their 1935 Keeler/Jolson musical GO INTO YOUR DANCE in 1946 cashing in on the wake of this Columbia mega success.... maybe also as payback for mangling the mid section of The Jolson Story and their real years at Warners making musicals like DAMES and DANCE. .... GO INTO YOUR DANCE actually a great 30s musical and deserves a DVD reissue of its own.. It is better than a lot of other 30s musicals and with a really beautiful score and terrific dance numbers..... Anyway, in the early 50s poor Larry was harangued in the HUAC hearings that grinded many Hollywood careers to a halt. The pic did get a widescreen reissue and a stereo bump... then shelved.. However, amazingly, in the late 60s after Columbia won the Best Pic Oscar for OLIVER in 1968 and then more Oscars again in 1969 for FUNNY GIRL, there were big plans to reissue THE JOLSON STORY now amped up to 70mm and widescreen (like GWTW at the time) and 6 track stereo. I actually saw trailers for this 'coming attraction' in cinemascope here in Sydney in 1969 and it was all a big deal.... until it never happened. I am assuming it is these excellent stereo soundtrack separations that allow the DVD to be so audibly fantastic as I hear it tonight. Also, the color: original Technicolor, is gorgeous. It is also very easy to get sick of Jolson... as poor Ruby did in real life, and after their divorce refused every to speak of him again for as long as he lived. Jolson died in 1950. Ruby about 1990.

"The Jolson Story" is a very good piece of entertainment, sanatizing its subject and presenting a bevy of tunes that made Al Jolson the world's most beloved star of his era. This film takes the usual liberties with facts, yet manages to whip up an exciting and delightful package of Joslon songs, bio, and period atmosphere.

Alas, Jolson's penchant for blackface in the minstrel show, a convention of its time, is terribly dated now. In fact, it's downright uncomfortable watching these portions. The minstrel show's underlying purpose was to appease consciousnesses of "white patrons" for the exploitation of their "black citizenry," and to make them appear less threatening as they might otherwise have been. This convention lasted many years, and even when it all but faded away, Jolson was its last hold-out. This is all part of American history; it's just something we'd rather like to move away from. Not the sincere inner role diversity of casting, just the stereotypical, degrading elements.

Unfortunately, it is this aspect which now tends to dampen the Jolson spotlight. Actually, I don't think Jolson thought for a moment he was ridiculing anyone; he loved the blues and jazz and other exciting music of New Orleans black Americans. And I do believe he equally loved the people, in fact, all people generically. It was just that minstrel convention that continues to dog Jolson today; hopefully, in years to come all can look upon him in the proper light in which he sang this material.

Statistic bear out that Al Jolson was indeed one of the greatest entertainers of the 20th century. "The Jolson Story" does a very good job of depicting the rise of this phenomenal talent, with "Jolson Sings Again" completing the story. Larry Parks excels in the lead role in the highpoint of his own career. And the great songs! Wonderful "classics," which are always a joy to hear. A tuneful treat for the whole family.

Obviously, from the other comments here, lots of other people adore this movie, and you should probably take their word for it. But I'm partly left thinking - good gravy, what are these people ON?

OK, so it's a biography - except that it completely rewrites the guy's life. He wasn't married to Ruby Keeler (et al). He didn't save Warner Brothers. So you know less about Jolson when it ends than you did when it started.

I guess your response to this depends on how you can take Larry Parks. He's like Robert Downey as Chaplin: he works very very hard, but the essence is simply wrong. Parks has no grandeur or real assurance: 'on-stage', he looks like a low-wattage Jolson impersonator, and 'off-stage' his character development is uninspired. There is no real roguery in him; in the later scenes, he seems like a Jaycee pretending to be Jimmy Cagney.

Basically, I don't think Parks is a very inspired actor, and he's a very gauche mover: Jolson gestures, Parks throws his arms about on cue. (Tho' the poor guy had Jolson himself breathing down the back of his neck, so the shoot must have been pretty uncomfortable.) (And draughty) I never, for a minute, thought that I was watching the real Jolson - except in those famous longshots, where apparently it IS the real Jolson Star quality, eh!

If you ask me, as so often in musicals, it's the supporting cast that makes this work. Demarest is very good, and I like the Joelsen parents (tho' they remind me a little of the parents in "take the money and run").

I'm Generation X, so a lot of the sentimental / nostalgic stuff goes right past me. The lip-synched blackface stuff goes on and on in tight close-up; to me, it seems like some kind of surreal nightmare vision rather than light entertainment. Like drag, only much, much weirder. (I'm trying to imagine a movie about a black entertainer who makes his living by parodying violent, ignorant, superstitious, and venal orthodox Jews.)

I can't imagine watching it again; I'd probably watch a real Jolson movie for preference. For a backstage musical, I think I prefer "Me and my Gal" or "My Gal Sal" or "I'll see you in my dreams".

As a previous commentator put it so well, Larry Parks is better at playing Jolson than Jolson is! It's a fact. Watching him perform as Jolson is infinitely more pleasurable than watching the man himself--and if you've seen any of Jolson's own films you'll acknowledge the truth in my statement. Thank God Larry Parks was chosen to play him--his lip synch job is amazing. When those pure rich tones emanate from his mouth the movie goes into high gear. A dazzling number of songs sung in Jolson's inimitable style makes this a real treasure for fans of nostalgia. It's no wonder this was one of the most popular films of 1946. Glossy production values, a great cast, a script that whitewashes the true Jolson character but still has enough bearing on reality to make it an interesting bio. A total pleasure from beginning to end--again, mainly because Larry Parks was at the right place at the right time. Definitely one of the best musical biographies of all time...and fortunately, the sequel is not far behind it. See 'Jolson Sings Again' and you'll see what I mean.

You can't keep a good man down, and Al Jolson certainly proves that in "The Jolson Story," a somewhat fictionalized account of the great entertainer's life. The film stars Larry Parks as Jolson and Evelyn Keyes as Julie Benson, since Ruby Keeler would not allow her name to be used in the film. Happy marriage, that. Jolson does his own singing, but I'll get to that later.

Larry Parks, who was later blacklisted, is excellent as Jolson, if better looking, and Evelyn Keyes is delightful as Julie. Parks worked tirelessly at getting the lipsynching and Jolson's mannerisms perfect. Other excellent performances include Ludwig Donath as Jolson's father and William Demarest as his partner and later agent. In real life, Jolson started out singing with his brother and was never a child singer as shown in the film. Also, in the movie, he has a mother -- in real life, his mother died when he was young. It's one of the reasons why his rendition of "Mammy" is so poignant. When Jolson spoke the words, "Look at me mammy, don't you know me? I'm your baby" - it came from the heart because when his mother lay dying, she didn't know who he was.

The star of this film is the singing. If there was ever a question as to why Jolson was such a great star - a man who commanded standing ovations in the middle of a show, and someone whom the audience begged not to leave the stage - you know why after listening to that voice and feeling that dynamism and energy. He really was a tremendous singer and performer. He was an inspiration to such talents as Judy Garland, Sammy Davis Jr., Elvis Presley, Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Jackie Wilson and Jerry Lee Lewis.

"The Jolson Story" revived Jolson's career, and as a result, he made public appearances to promote the film, was received by Harry and Mrs. Truman, got a radio show, and entertained troops in Korea (as he had the troops in WWII), flying there at his own expense. A new film for him, Stars & Stripes Forever, about the USO, was in preproduction when he died suddenly of a heart attack.

In recent years, his reputation has suffered because he wore blackface, but this convention was not considered to be maligning blacks. In fact, stars such as Eddie Cantor, Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby, Judy Garland, Doris Day, Betty Grable and many black stars Jolson's used blackface. There was no bigotry meant.

Al Jolson used to say "You ain't heard nothing' yet." Yes, we have - we've heard one of the greatest singers and entertainers who ever lived. The sad thing is, now that we've heard it, we probably won't hear the likes of it again.

Although I knew who Al Jolson was and perhaps a few of his songs, I wasn't enthused by the idea of watching a movie about his life but now I see that perhaps I should've been. The story is well written, punchy, and highlights a lot about human nature. Cast did a fantastic job not only with emotion, but subtle nuances as well. A remarkable tale, perhaps a common one in show business, and one well worth sharing.

Only two critiques come to mind. The main one being the audio especially when singing, it would be nice to hear a remaster of the the sound instead of the kazoo distortion at the end of the vocal range. Second would've been "The End" is a bit cliffhanger. If that's all, perhaps a summary paragraph explaining what happened next.

Enjoyable show about the business of show and the people who make it happen.

The best movie ever made about the best entertainer who ever lived.Who else who performed 100 years ago are we still watching.....No One. The songs are the best and Larry Parks contributed immensely to endearing "Jolson" to all future generations. Sit back and turn up the volume and you will feel the electricity and amazing energy of Jolson through Jolson's voice and Parks portrayal. As all Bio's are fictionalized accounts of someones lives, this story is about the music that Jolson brought to millions of fans. My great grandmother born 1885 was the first generation of fans, my 17 month old grandson will become the sixth, his dad, my son plays Jolson every day. The "Greatest Entertainer" lives on.

Simultaneously one of the finest and MOST NEGLECTED musicals of Hollywood's "Golden Era." One can only attribute this to the current atmosphere of political correctness that so erodes truth and learning in our society. No one (or very few, at least) are willing or able to understand what blackface really meant and how it was used and who used it. It is a sad situation and has lead to almost complete amnesia that pervades our time regarding Al Jolson and this fabulous film biography.

Great songs sung by a master showman. No special effects beyond the dubbing of Jolson's voice by Larry Parks. No explosions, rapes, bloodletting. No morphing, shape-shifting aliens. No loud, tuneless music. No rap "songs" extoling attitude and misogyny. Imagine a world like this one and you have "The Jolson Story." If you are under 45 you probably don't know what this means.

Larry Parks plays vaudeville and early film legend Al Jolson, but he has a hard time conveying the enormous appeal of the show-biz wonder who made a name for himself in black-face singing sappy versions of songs drawn from the Old South. Jolson's own voice is dubbed for Parks, and this film brought him renewed popularity as he continued to influence other entertainers, from Judy Garland to Bob Dylan. A sequel to this film cam out in 1949, Jolson Sings Again. ---from Musicals on the Silver Screen, American Library Association, 2013

This movie started the wave of biopics that began after WWII. Larry Parks doesn't look the least bit like Al Jolson. For that matter, the script doesn't look much like Jolson's life either. However, the film is very entertaining with a few ironies for the classic film buff. When Parks is on stage, you really get a taste of Jolson in his prime. Al Jolson actually tutored Parks in how to move and interact with the audience using his own style, and it comes across well, even if it is obvious that you are hearing Jolson's voice during the performances and that this voice does not match Larry Parks' speaking voice at all.

Jolson's life story has been sanitized here to keep in line with the values of the post-war motion picture production code, right down to extending the life of Jolson's mother an extra forty years - she died when Al was ten. Also, the movie has Jolson playing the career-absorbed bachelor until he meets his wife Julie Benson (code for Ruby Keeler) when he is in his forties. Yes, Al was career-absorbed, but he still went through two marriages and two divorces before he ever got to Ruby Keeler.

Two very interesting points of the film involve the insertion of the fictional character Steve Martin that allegedly got Al into show business and also the choice of director. The first interesting point is that fictional character Steve Martin is played by William Demarest, who actually had a bit part in 1927's "The Jazz Singer". You'll see him sharing a plate of eggs with Al at Coffee Dan's just minutes before Al bursts into song in "Toot Toot Tootsie". Demarest was a bit player over at Warner's during the beginning of his career. He had no real association with Al Jolson that I know of. The second interesting point is the choice of director - Alfred E. Green. Mr. Green was among that group of directors that ground out the early talkies for Warner Bros during the time that Jolson was a star at that studio. However, he never directed any of the eight motion pictures that Al Jolson starred in for Warners. There were four directors that Jolson worked with over at Warner Brothers that were still alive when this film was made, but for some reason none of them got the job.

At any rate, the movie is very entertaining and well-paced with great renditions of Jolson's acts and songs. For the unvarnished truth about Jolson's life, try to find a copy of the documentary "The Real Al Jolson Story" made in 1986 and originally telecast by Bravo, back when they really were dedicated to the performing arts and before they became so concerned with Top Chefs and Flipping Out - you know, the same kind of stuff you can find on 50 other channels.

This movie is fascinating in its way, but not so much for its basic storyline; it is obviously a glossed-over version of a real life and there is practically no conflict or dramatic tension in the movie. It is more interesting as a portrayal of an energetic entertainer who clearly appealed greatly to audiences of his time, but his style of entertainment is so bizarre and dated by today's standards that he has completely fallen off of the radar. The "blackface" performance mode is cringe-inducing to watch now, as is the hokey singing style and oft-imitated gestures and phrasing; this makes the movie too politically incorrect to be aired often.

After all these years, and all my countless viewings, "The Jolson Story" remains the most magical and thrilling of all Hollywood musical biographies. It also stands as testament to "The World's Greatest Entertainer," Al Jolson, and his tremendous impact on show business for all time. Jolie's fantastic voice, filled with warmth, power and soul, will always be heard as long as this wonderful movie is viewed. Larry Parks and his supporting cast are superb, but it is that Jolson voice, electricity-personified, that elevates the film to immortal status.