Jolson Story

Starring: Larry Parks; Evelyn Keyes & William Demarest Director: Alfred E. Green

DVD Features:

Major Awards:

Academy Awards - Best Sound Recording (1946)

Academy Awards - Best Adapted or Musical Song/Score (1946)

Description by OLDIES.com:

One of the greatest musicals ever made, The Jolson Story is an electrifying cavalcade of lavish production numbers with an all-star cast. Winning Academy Awards for Musical Scoring and Sound Recording, the film also received four Academy Award nominations in 1946, including Best Actor for Larry Parks' portrayal of Al Jolson.

The film traces the meteoric singing/performing career of Asa Yoelson, a talented cantor's son determined to make it big in the "biz." After changing his name to Al Jolson, Asa captivates audiences everywhere as a spellbinding minstrel and jazz performer. Featuring 25 songs by Jolson and big hits such as "My Mammy" and "You Made Me Love You," The Jolson Story is a compelling tribute to an incomparable performer once hailed as "America's Greatest Entertainer!"

Product Description:

This entertaining biography traces the life of the one-of-a-kind performer, Al Jolson (Larry Parks). Jolson, a cantor's son, rose from his humble background to become first a vaudeville performer, and then a world-famous Broadway and film star. The films soundtrack includes 25 original Jolson classics, including "April Showers," "Mammy," and "Swanee."

Plot Keywords:

Biography | Musical

Production Notes:

• Shot in Technicolor.
• Al Jolson's fading career received a brief revival thanks to the success of this film and its sequel. In addition to actually singing the film's songs, Jolson appears in some of the movie's long shots. Jolson, whose real name was Asa Yoelson, died in 1950.
• The character of Evelyn Keyes was based on singer/dancer Ruby Keeler, the film star who was Jolson's wife.
• Additional Cast: Coulter Irwin (Young priest), Bill Brandt (Orchestra leader), Fred F. Sears, Adelle Roberts, Bud Gorman, Charles Jordan, Pierre Watkin, Lillian Bond, Eugene Borden, Eddie Rio, Will Wright, Arthur Loft, Edward Keane, Eddie Fetherston, Pat Lane, Mike Lally, George Magrill, Helen O'Hara, Jessie Arnold, Donna Dax, Eric Wilton, The Robert Mitchell Boy Choir, Franklyn Farnum, and Major Sam Harris.
• Additional Crew: Martin Fried (Arrangements) and Wilbur McGaugh (Assistant Director).
• Songs included: "By the Light of the Silvery Moon" (Gus Edwards, Edward Madden), "You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Wanna Do It)" (Jimmy Monaco, Joseph McCarthy), "I'm Sitting on Top of the World" (Lew Henderson, Joe Young, Sam Lewis), "There's a Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder" (Dave Dreyer, Billy Rose, Al Jolson), "My Mammy" (Walter Donaldson, Joe Young, Sam Lewis), "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby to a Dixie Melody" (Jean Schwartz, Joe Young, Sam Lewis), "Liza" (George & Ira Gershwin, Gus Kahn), "Waiting for the Robert E. Lee" (Lewis E. Muir, L. Wolfe Gilbert), "April Showers" (Louis Silvers, B.G. DeSylva), "About a Quarter to Nine" (Harry Warren, Al Dubin), "I Want a Girl Just Like the Girl That Married Dear Old Dad" (Harry Von Tilzer, Will Dillon), "Anniversary Song" (Al Jolson), "The Spaniard Who Blighted My Life" (Billy Merson), "Swanee" (George Gershwin, Irving Caesar), "Forty-Second Street" (Al Dubin, Harry Warren), and "Rosie You Are My Posy."

Cast and Crew: