Jolson Sings Again

Infobox Film
name = Jolson Sings Again


caption =
director = Henry Levin
producer = Sidney Buchman
writer = Sidney Buchman
starring = Larry Parks
Barbara Hale
William Demarest
Bill Goodwin
music = George Duning
Morris Stoloff
cinematography = William E. Snyder
editing = William A. Lyon
distributor = Columbia Pictures
released = 1949 (U.S. release)
runtime = 96 min
language = English
budget =
imdb_id = 0041530

"Jolson Sings Again" is the 1949 film sequel to "The Jolson Story", both of which cover the life of singer Al Jolson.

Brief synopsis

In this follow-up to "The Jolson Story", we pick up the singer's career just as he has returned to the stage after a premature retirement. But his wife has left him and the appeal of the spotlight is not what it used to be. This time Jolson (Larry Parks) trades in the stage for life in the fast lane: women, horses, travel. His father becomes increasingly concerned about his frivolous lifestyle. With the death of his mother and the beginning of World War II, Jolson comes back to earth - and returns to the stage.

Once again teamed with manager Steve Martin (William Demarest), Jolson travels the world entertaining troops everywhere from Alaska to Africa. When he finally collapses from exhaustion it takes young, pretty nurse Ellen Clark (Barbara Hale) to show him there's more to life than "just rushing around".

Reviews

"Jolson Sings Again" bids fair to par "The Jolson Story" grosses and may even top them. In short, a smasheroo of unqualified proportions."Abel., "Variety", August 1949] rp|8 "...Jolson's voice is still a formidable, awesome, and grandiously captivating instrument." [Hamburger, Philip. "New Yorker", August 27, 1949, pp. 37-38]

"There is heart, humor, tragedy and a warm sprinkling of sentiment in Mr. Buchman's story. Much of the latter is conjured up by a succession of nostalgic songs which run all through the film and are sung in grand style by Mr. Jolson himself. The vitality of the Jolson voice is suitably matched in the physical representation provided by Larry Parks, who by now comes close to perfection in aping the vigorous expression with which Jolson tacks a song."T.M.P., "New York Times", August 18, 1949] rp|16

Commentary

"Jolson Sings Again" is a well-made sequel to "The Jolson Story". In some ways, it betters the original. If anything, Jolson's voice sounds even better in this movie, and Larry Parks' Jolson is a warmer, more human character here."

In what is probably a cinema first, Jolson, being portrayed by actor Larry Parks, meets an actor who is to portray him in an upcoming film--"The Jolson Story", the prequel to "Jolson Sings Again"--and the actor he meets is Larry Parks, playing himself in a split-screen scene.Fisher, James. "Al Jolson - a Bio-bibliography" (1994)] rp|116-117

The film was nominated for three Academy Awards: CINEMATOGRAPHY (Color) by William Snyder, MUSIC (Scoring of a Musical Picture) by Morris Stoloff and George Duning, and WRITING (Story and Screenplay) by Sidney Buchman.rp|118

Footnotes

External links

* [http://www.jolson.org/ The Al Jolson web site]