Rainy Day Movies by YourEnchantedGardener Blog entry

Blog: Plant Your Dream!
by YourEnchantedGardener

Rainy Day Movies

"The Jolson Story," and "Jolson Sings Again."
I love these films. My copy of "The Jolson Story"
brings tears to my eyes.

Date: 12/14/2006 7:12:40 PM ( 18 y ) ... viewed 1002 times

5:01 PM
December 14, 06

http://amazon.imdb.com/title/tt0041530/

Having some impactful events to process today.
Doing my best to put them on hold and get some work done.

Figured out that the VCR is working.

Watching "The Jolson Story" with Larry Parks.

This movie really plays on my own Jewish archetype
of the kid who sang with his father in the Synagogue
and ran away from home.

The first time I saw this film, it was playing
at the Fairfax Theatre, our local movie house.
I saw it a couple years after my mother died.
The year was around '63.

I believe I saw it on a Sunday.
I skipped home singing.

When I saw "The Jolson Story" they were also playing
the sequel "Jolson Sings Again."

I seldom see the sequel on TV, although it is a very
satisfying film, and a really high experience when seem
back to back with "The Jolson Story."

I have a copy of "The Jolson Story."
It brings tears to my eyes and touches a deep place
inside, issues of succeeding with great talent
against those who would hold the creation back.

This Song touches me:

You Made Me Love You
Al Jolson (1913)
Music by James V. Monaco and Words by Joseph McCarthy
Also sung by Cole Porter

You made me love you
I didn't wanna do it
I didn't wanna do it
You made me want you
And all the time you knew it
I guess you always knew it

Gimmie, gimmie, gimmie, gimmie what I cry for
You know you've got the brand of kisses
That I'd die for
You know you made me love you

You made me cry for
I didn't wanna tell you
I didn't wanna tell you
I want some love that's true
Yes, I do, 'deed I do
You know I do

Gimmie, gimmie, gimmie, gimmie what I cry for
You know you've got the brand of kisses
That I'd die for
You know you made me love you

Transcribed by Robin Hood

Here is a review of "Jolson Sings Again:"

http://amazon.imdb.com/title/tt0041530/

Plot Summary: In this sequel to The Jolson Story, we pick up the singer's career just as he has returned to the stage after a premature retirement... (more)

User Comments: JOLSON: "You Ain't Heard Nothing Yet!" (more)

User Rating: *******___ 6.8/10 (163 votes) Vote Here

Credited cast:
Larry Parks .... Al Jolson/Himself
Barbara Hale .... Ellen Clark
William Demarest .... Steve Martin
Ludwig Donath .... Cantor Yoelson
Bill Goodwin .... Tom Baron
Myron McCormick .... Ralph Bryant
Tamara Shayne .... Moma Yoelson
(more)

Runtime: 96 min
Country: USA
Language: English
Color: Color (Technicolor)
Sound Mix: Mono (Western Electric Recording) / Mono
Certification: Australia:G / Finland:S / Sweden:Btl

Trivia: Al Jolson auditioned to play himself. (more)

Goofs: Continuity: The headline "Forced By Weather To Cut Radio Programs" appears first next to a story about Al Jolson going overseas to entertain the troops and then again, several years later, next to an article about Jolson's successful return to show business. (more)

Quotes: Ellen Clark: [leaving room] My! We'll soon be smart as pigs! (more)

Awards: Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 1 nomination (more)

FAQ:
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JOLSON SINGS...
Amazon.com
Amazon USA
VHS available
DVD available
CD

Also available:
Auctions
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Amazon.com

User Comments:

5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful:-
JOLSON: "You Ain't Heard Nothing Yet!", 26 July 2003
Author: lugonian from Kissimmee, Florida

JOLSON SINGS AGAIN (Columbia, 1949), directed by Henry Levin, is a sequel to the highly successful THE JOLSON STORY (1946), which focuses on the life and times of legendary entertainer, Al Jolson (Larry Parks), continuing where the previous film left off, singing to his heart's content to a night club audience as his wife, Julie (Evelyn Keyes, in a role based on Ruby Keeler), finding that her husband is much happier singing to his audience than being in retirement with her, is seen walking out of the club and his life forever. With the film released three years later, one would have to assume that it had taken Al Jolson nearly three years to finally stop singing and get down to reality that his wife is out of the picture and not ever coming back.

In the opening of this sequel, Jolson (Parks) returns home to find Julie has packed up her bags and is gone for good. He searches for her, only to find that she has divorced him. With the advent of World War II, Jolson returns to show business by entertaining the troops overseas. During this time he finds sadness with the death of first his mother (Tamara Shayne), and later his father (Ludwig Donath). Jolson continues to be a trooper and perform whenever and wherever he is needed. But due to too much work and little rest, he collapses during a performance, and is later nursed back to health by Ellen Clark (played by Barbara Hale, based on Jolson's fourth wife, Erle Galbraith, an X-ray technician), whom he soon marries. In spite of his great showmanship, Jolson faces a setback in his career, receiving no offers and finding himself passed over by a newer generation of singers, like Bing Crosby or Frank Sinatra. When Jolson gets a chance to appear in an all-star benefit, his name is not among the many stars listed in the program, and he finds himself going on towards the end, and with the benefit going way overtime, most of the tired audience has left the theater, leaving a few to remain. But because it's very late, Jolson obliges to sing only one song and leaves. His song captures the attention of Colonel Ralph Bryant (Myron McCormick), an avid fan who refuses to leave the theater until Jolson makes his appearance. Bryant, who had previously met Jolson during his war tour, and currently a movie producer, stumbles upon an idea to produce a motion picture based on the life of the great Jolson, with Jolson as technical adviser. A big gamble that would soon pay off.

A half hour shorter than its predecessor, JOLSON SINGS AGAIN, at 96 minutes, fails to disappoint when it comes to bringing back many of the old Jolson songs, as before, sung by the real Jolson but lip-sync by Larry Parks. The soundtrack is as follows: "Rockabye Your Baby With a Dixie Melody," "Is It True What They Say About Dixie?" "For Me and My Gal," "Kol Nidre" (traditional Jewish prayer); "Back in Your Own Back Yard," "I'm Looking Over a Four-Leaf Clover," "When the Red-Red Robin Comes Bob-Bob Bobbin' Along," "Give My Regards to Broadway," "Chinatown My Chinatown," "I'm Just Wild About Harry," "Baby Face," "After You've Gone," "I Only Have Eyes For You," "Sonny Boy," "Toot-Toot Tootsie, Goodbye," "California, Here I Come," "California, Here I Come" (reprise); "You Made Me Love You," "Let Me Sing and I'm Happy," "My Blushin' Rosie," "Mammy," "The Spaniard Who Blighted My Life," "California, Here I Come" (reprise); "About a Quarter to Nine," "The Anniversary Song," "Waiting for the Robert E. Lee," "April Showers," "Pretty Baby," "Carolina in the Morning," and "Rockabye Your Baby With a Dixie Melody" (reprise, finale). As many songs heard in this and the previous Jolson story, it is evident there are more songs to go around that never made it to the final print.

Other than William Demarest and Bill Goodwin reprising their roles as Steve Martin and Tom Baron, the supporting players include: Robert Emmett Keane, Eric Wilton, Martin Garralaga and Larry Parks. Yes, Larry Parks! Parks is the star in this production playing Al Jolson, but he also appears as himself during the Hollywood sequence where Jolson meets Larry Parks prior to the production of THE JOLSON STORY. Barbara Hale, years before becoming TV's Della Street on PERRY MASON, as Jolson's new and younger wife, is extremely likeable. Unlike the Julie character, Hale's Ellen doesn't have a hold on her husband and agrees to let him do what he is put on Earth to do, and is to live up to his reputation as "the world's greatest entertainer."

While some may argue that JOLSON SINGS AGAIN to be an unnecessary sequel, but in fact, is a worthy follow-up. Since the earlier film found Jolson's wife leaving him during a performance, the question remains as to what becomes of Jolson afterwards. JOLSON SINGS AGAIN explains it, tracing his up and down career during the war years of the 1940s, and centers on a harsh reality as to how even the most popular of entertainers can no longer be wanted and soon forgotten by the industry. But Jolson was one of the fortunate ones to have witnessed his greatest comeback. While many bio-pics of the day focus on the subject matter who has since been deceased, THE JOLSON STORY and JOLSON SINGS AGAIN are rare cases in which the central character is still alive. Sadly, the real Jolson died a year after this release, in 1950, so chances for a third Jolson story was unlikely. As for Larry Parks, the other films in which he starred had failed to become as memorable as his two Jolsons. His career would suffer a setback during the early 1950s during the McCarthy-ism era, which had ruined many careers.

THE JOLSON STORY and JOLSON SINGS AGAIN would make fine double features for a rainy day or for a cinematic evening with Al Jolson in the carnation of Larry Parks. While both films are available on video cassette, it's JOLSON SINGS AGAIN that has lacked frequent television exposure in recent years. But as sequels go, JOLSON SINGS AGAIN is as good as it gets. And with Technicolor, it's an added plus.