Tag Archives: Al Jolson

Musical Monday: Rhapsody in Blue (1945)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
Rhapsody in Blue (1945) – Musical #211

Studio:
Warner Bros.

Director:
Irving Rapper

Starring:
Robert Alda, Joan Leslie, Alexis Smith, Charles Coburn, Julie Bishop, Albert Bassermann, Morris Carnovsky, Rosemary DeCamp, Herbert Rudley, Darryl Hickman, Mickey Roth, Andrew Tombes, Will Wright, Johnny Downs, Gower Champion (uncredited)
Themselves: Oscar Levant, Paul Whiteman, Hazel Scott, George White, Al Jolson, Elsa Maxwell, Anne Brown, Tom Patricola

Plot:
A biographical film on composer and musician George Gershwin (Alda). The film follows his rise to fame to his death in 1937.

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Musical Monday: The Singing Kid (1936)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
The Singing Kid – Musical #613

Studio:
Warner Bros.

Director:
William Keighley

Starring:
Al Jolson, Sybil Jason, Beverly Roberts, Edward Everette Horton, Allen Jenkins, Lyle Talbot, Mary Treen (uncredited), Grady Sutton (uncredited), Milton Kibbee (uncredited), Hattie McDaniel (uncredited), Dennis O’Keefe (uncredited)
Himself: Cab Calloway, The Yacht Club Boys, Wini Shaw

Plot:
Singer and performer Al Jackson (Jolson) loses both his singing voice and all of his money, due to a tax mix-up. Al leaves the city and heads to the country for a rest. He meets Ruth Haines (Roberts) and her niece Sybil (Jason), who rent him their country home. Ruth is an aspiring playwright, who Al falls for while trying to help with her career. Sybil wins over Al’s friends (Horton, Jenkins).

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Musical Monday: Go Into Your Dance (1935)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 500. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

danceThis week’s musical:
Go Into Your Dance (1935) – Musical #559

Studio:
Warner Brothers

Director:
Archie Mayo, Michael Curtiz (uncredited)

Starring:
Ruby Keeler, Al Jolson, Glenda Farrell, Barton MacLane, Patsy Kelly, Helen Morgan, Akim Tamiroff, Joyce Compton, Ward Bond (uncredited), Theresa Harris (uncredited),
Themselves: Al Dubin, Harry Warren

Plot:
Famous Broadway performer Al Howard (Jolson) has been blackballed on Broadway after walking out on a successful show. His sister Molly (Farrell) enlists the help of dancer Dorothy Wayne (Keeler) to convince Al to create a duo. After creating an act, a gangster (MacLane) backs a show that will star Howard.

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I love to sing-a, about the moon-a and the June-a

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Owl Jolson loves to sing-a.

You may see me dancing around the office, shaking my finger and singing the tune from this Warner Brothers cartoon.

The 1936 cartoon “I Love to Singa” is one of those cartoons I saw as a child that has always stuck with me.

Every night before bed, I watched Warner Brother and MGM cartoons on Cartoon Network and TBS while I was growing up.

One of my favorite was the Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Tex Avery that features Owl Jolson. This was Avery’s ninth animated short.

In the cartoon, Mama Owl is sitting on her eggs as Papa Owl paces. They are waiting on their new children to be born in their home inside a tree.

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Owl Jolson’s brothers are already classically trained!

When they hatch: one owl pops out singing “Chi mi frena in tal momento” from the opera Lucia di Lammermoor,  another is playing “Traumerei” on the violin and a third is playing Mendelssohn’s “Spring Song” on the flute.

Yet when the fourth owl hatches, he’s dancing and singing “I love to singa, ‘bout the moon-a and the June-a and the spring-a.”

Papa Owl covers his ears and calls him a crooner and a jazz singer.

To correct his son’s love for contemporary music, Papa tries to teach him the classics and we see Owl Jolson unhappily singing “Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes.”

Owl Jolson runs away from home and is on a radio talent show hosted by Jack Bunny-a spoof of Jack Benny.

When his family hears little Owl on the radio, they rush down to the station, encourage his jazz music and he wins the talent show.

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Jack Bunny holds an amateur hour contest.

“I Love to Singa” is a small tribute to Al Jolson’s film “The Jazz Singer” (1927). The song comes from the Jolson film “The Singing Kid” (1936).

The voice of Owl Jolson is child actor Tommy Bond who played Butch in the “Our Gang” series.

The cartoon demonstrates Tex Avery’s talents while paying homage to an early sound film.

One of my favorite parts of the eight minute cartoon is when all the different animals are trying out for the talent show, and all are so bad they fall through a trap door.

Owl Jolson's family accepts his love for jazz.

Owl Jolson’s family accepts his love for jazz.

My other favorite is when all the little owls hatch, already equipped with instruments and excellent musical prowess! Mama owl must be quite talented!

There isn’t one thing I don’t love about “I Love to Singa.” The title song is catchy, the jokes are witty and the name “Owl Jolson”-spoofing Al Jolson’s name- doesn’t fail to make me chuckle.

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Musical Mondays: Rose of Washington Square (1939)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.

In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 500.

To celebrate and share this musical love, I’m starting a weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
“Rose of Washington Square” (1939)- Musical #462

roseStarring:
Alice Faye, Tyrone Power, Al Jolson, William Frawley, Joyce Compton

Director: 
Gregory Ratoff

Studio:
Twentieth Century Fox

Plot:
Set in the 1920s, Rose (Faye) and Ted (Jolson) dream of becoming singing stars. While Ted’s career takes off, Rose works her way up while singing in speakeasies. Then Rose meets and falls in love with gambling, con-artist Bart (Power). Bart has trouble with the law but somehow keeps his troubles away from her. When Rose is discovered by Ziegfeld and makes it big on Broadway, she and Bart marry but he disappears because of trouble with the law.

Trivia:
The plot of this film strongly resembled Fanny Brice’s relationship with Jules W. Arndt Stein. Faye even sings Brice’s signature song “My Man.”

Alice Faye as Rose falls in love with gambler Tyrone Power who plays Bart.

Alice Faye as Rose falls in love with gambler Tyrone Power who plays Bart.

Brice sued 20th Century Fox for $750,000 and the studio settled with Brice for an undisclosed amount, according to the Biography documentary on Alice Faye.

The publicity made “Rose of Washington Square the biggest musical hit of 1939.

Notable songs:
-Al Jolson sings his signature songs “My Mammy,” “Toot, Toot, Tootsie” and “California, Here I Come”

-Alice Faye sings Fanny Brice’s signature ballad “My Man”

Highlights:
-Louis Prima has an appearance playing the trumpet as Alice Faye sings. Not only is it always great to have a Prima appearance in a film, but Faye later married Phil Harris who performed with Prima in Disney’s “The Jungle Book.”

-When Alice Faye sings “Rose of Washington Square” specialty dancers Igor and Tanya perform a dizzying dance. Also dancers sing and dance as they smoke a cigarette, toss the cigarette and another appears in their hand.

"Rose of Washington Square" cigarette dancing

“Rose of Washington Square” cigarette dancing

My review:
Alice Faye once said, “My voice was deeper than the plot” of many of her movies and this applies to “Rose of Washington Square.”

I love Alice Faye and will watch her in anything, but my favorite part was getting to see her perform with Louis Prima. Though Jolson was in black face, it was interesting to see him perform several of the songs that made him famous.

The movie was released during Hollywood’s best year, has a stellar cast and well-known songs, but it lacks something. Aside from the Brice vs. 20th Century Fox publicity, it is a run of the mill singer-trying-to-make-it-big musical.

Check out the Comet Over Hollywood Facebook page, follow on Twitter at @HollywoodComet or e-mail at cometoverhollywood@gmail.com