Jolson Sings Again (1949)

Columbia Pictures

Director: Henry Levin

Starring: Larry Parks, Barbara Hale

In an age where big budget motion pictures did not receive big budget sequels comes the follow up to the 1946 smash hit bio pic The Jolson Story reiterating evidence that one of show business’ favorite subjects is show business itself.  This Technicolor musical uniquely picks up exactly where the previous film concludes, further padding the title characters illustrious career, focusing mostly the polished positives of his career rather than the turbulent facts that surrounded his life’s true story. The film’s crescendo is its look back on the previous film as it strokes the ego of one of the earliest twentieth century’s most beloved entertainers resulting in a picture becoming1949’s biggest box office draw before falling off the historical cinematic radar.

Jolson Sings Again is the musical sequel the The Jolson Story (1946), continuing Al Jolson’s life story and eventuality revitalizing his career with movie based on his career. Literally picking up from the moment The Jolson Story ends, we follow Al Jolson (Larry Parks) and his return to performing after his premature retirement. Traveling the world Jolson entertains American troops exhaustively until he physically begins to break down. Resting from his exhaustion he meets attractive nurse, Ellen Clark (Barbara), whom he falls in love with and marries. The once great entertainer now weaker, tired, and mostly forgotten is surprisingly contacted by a Hollywood producer and begins the phases that culminate in the creation of The Jolson Story. This creative twist looks back on a polished tale how the prior film was made including Larry Parks also portraying himself alongside his Jolson performance. The success of the movie revitalizes Jolson’s career once agin becoming a major name in entertainment.

What The Jolson Story did in 1946 to refine the famed entertainer’s life story Jolson Sings Again takes it further. Already cutting off much of the fat and imperfections of the man’s life stories, including changing names and inconvenient facts, the film forms an overly clean story of overcoming the odds back to prestigious top. Essentially the film is a disservice to the being a proper biography as is uses a well-known name to deliver a feel good Hollywood story. Its creativity lies in its self-awareness delving into the light facts of the successful picture that allowed for this sequel to be produced. Its oversimplification of the making of The Jolson Story is highlighted with Larry Parks coming face to face with himself as two characters on screen, Al Jolson and himself. A creative move like this would have been a mind blowing event during its release as a movie presents a story about a movie that had recently been made, helping to give the picture its appeal beyond just its initial prestige. However, with time this cheap ploy to garner more money and stroke the egos of star, subject, and studio would see the novelty quickly fade into a very forgettable tacked on bio pic that successfully trailed is predecessor.

Much of the cast from The Jolson Story reprise their roles in Jolson Sings Again, this time under the direction of one of Columbia’s rising filmmakers Henry Levin. Larry Parks pulls off a bit of double duty as an aging Jolson and a curiously line-less version as himself during the portrayal of the production of The Jolson Story. Al Jolson as before is present in the film purely as the musical vocals of himself while Parks perform as dialogue and lip sings Jolson’s work and actions. This production process is actually explained within the movie displaying how it was done to audiences. In real life this creative decision a bit of contention for the real Jolson who wanted to portray himself in this feature, but was shot down by the studio.

Returning in supporting roles are William Demarest as Jolson’s friend and manager Steve Martin, Ludwig Donath as Al’s aging cantor father, Tamara Shayne as his mother, and Bill Goodwin as Broadway producer Tom Baron. Featured in this picture is Barbara Hale as Ellen Clark, the attractive nurse that claims Jolson’s heart here later in his life. Like Evelyn Keyes’ role of Julie Benson in The Jolson Story, Hale’s character of Ellen is a factionalized version of one Jolson’s wives, his third wife Erle Galbraith, who fell in love with Jolson while he was hospitalized and would not see him perform until after their marriage. The name and fact changing was most likely to keep Galbraith’s name out of the limelight. Clark was a rising starlet that had come up through RKO and here performs as a strong, intelligent woman that is able to handle her prideful husband through his semi-midlife crisis.

When Jolson Sings Again premiered in August 1949 critics raved about the picture helping to drive great attendance at theaters showing this prestige picture filled with nostalgic songs and innate star appeal. During award season the film found itself nominated for three Oscars, including Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography (Color), and Best Score for a Musical. Three nominations may sound like the picture was massive success creatively, but a closer look manifests the Best Score and Best Cinematography awards are in categories that would have been very limited fields of completion during its time giving this picture near automatic nominations for such heavily pushed features. Only the Best Screenplay nomination would be real honor, however it was clearly not one of the best written features of the year evidenced by how quickly the picture faded into the cinematic background. Above all things, Jolson Sings Again was a massive box office success and to Columbia that is really all that mattered.

 

Today Jolson Sings Again is a feature you would be hard pressed to hear about, because there are still few that even look back at The Jolson Story as a good motion picture. Both films were Hollywood sweetening up its history for its own perpetuity and hits just for its time. With names, facts, and most of the stories made up these pictures were simply Hollywood fluff. Jolson Sings Again was an admirable second dip into the cash grab riding the coattails of the first feature with continuing the first film’s success and doing so with great success. Its Technicolor cinematography allows the story to shine, but does little polish up it fictional substance.

Alone, all facts aside, the film is a mediocre A-picture, with its great appeal coming form its connection with Al Jolson in his later years in life. Columbia, Jolson, and Larry Parks all had ridden high with these two features. Al Jolson would continue to enjoy his resurgence with continued performances for servicemen before passing away of a massive heart attack in the fall of 1950. Jolson’s fictional stories live on in these two films, but his legacy would forever be best connected for his contribution in The Jazz Singer. (1927)