The Jazz Singer


Theatrical release poster

Directed by: Alan Crosland
Screenplay by: Alfred A. Cohn
Based on: The Jazz Singer by Samson Raphaelson
Produced by: Darryl F. Zanuck
Starring: Al Jolson, May McAvoy, Warner Oland, Yossele Rosenblatt
Cinematography: Hal Mohr
Edited by: Harold McCord
Music by: Louis Silvers
Production companies: Warner Bros. Pictures, The Vitaphone Corporation
Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date: October 6, 1927

The Jazz Singer is a 1927 American part-talkie musical drama film directed by Alan Crosland and produced by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is the first feature-length motion picture with both synchronized recorded music and lip-synchronous singing and speech (in several isolated sequences). Its release heralded the commercial ascendance of sound films and effectively marked the end of the silent film era with the Vitaphone sound-on-disc system, featuring six songs performed by Al Jolson. Based on the 1925 play of the same title by Samson Raphaelson, the plot was adapted from his short story "The Day of Atonement".

The film depicts the fictional story of Jakie Rabinowitz, a young man who defies the traditions of his devout Jewish family. After singing popular tunes in a beer garden, he is punished by his father, a hazzan (cantor), prompting Jakie to run away from home. Some years later, now calling himself Jack Robin, he has become a talented jazz singer, performing in blackface. He attempts to build a career as an entertainer, but his professional ambitions ultimately come into conflict with the demands of his home and heritage.

Darryl F. Zanuck won an Academy Honorary Award for producing the film; Alfred A. Cohn was nominated for Best Writing (Adaptation) at the 1st Academy Awards. In 1996, The Jazz Singer was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant". In 1998, the film was chosen in voting conducted by the American Film Institute as one of the best American films of all time, ranking at number ninety. The film's copyright expired on January 1, 2023, when all works published in the U.S. in 1927 entered the public domain.

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Al Jolson sings in the 1st-ever Talkie "The Jazz Singer" .mpg

Nandan Sharma
29.4K subscribers

342,529 views Mar 8, 2012
It was Warner Bros that took the 1st leap into the all-talking movie with the Jazz Singer in 1927. Though there are instances of sound being used earlier this film is the 1st feature-length motion-pic with synchronized dialogues. Directed by Alan Crosland, it starred Al Jolson performing the 6 songs in the Movie. And as the saying goes the rest is history.

Blue Skies - Al Jolson

Xanadude192
2.09K subscribers

255,151 views May 18, 2010
Al Jolson performing 'Blue Skies' (written by Irving Berlin) in the 1927 film 'The Jazz Singer' - credited as the first feature-length 'talkie'. This clip is the final 'sound on camera' sequence in the film - and was mostly ad libbed and improvised. Love it!