Comet Over Hollywood Posted by on September 14, 2015

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. This week’s musical: Jazz Singer...   read more

In The Good Old Days Of Classic Hollywood Posted by Crystal Kalyana on April 16, 2015

MUSICAL MONTH THE JAZZ SINGER ( 1927 ) My parents have always been avid fans of Neil Diamond, and growing up I became accustomed to his music, later becoming an ardent supporter of his work myself. When I was younger they purchased the 1980 remake of “The Jazz Singer” which...   read more

Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on February 26, 2013

If people think of Al Jolson at all today, they think of him in blackface, belting out his plaintive "Mammy" song at the end of The Jazz Singer (1927) or in countless cartoon parodies of it. It may well discourage viewers from giving the original movie a chance, which is...   read more

Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on February 26, 2013

If people think of Al Jolson at all today, they think of him in blackface, belting out his plaintive "Mammy" song at the end of The Jazz Singer (1927) or in countless cartoon parodies of it. It may well discourage viewers from giving the original movie a chance, which is...   read more

Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on February 26, 2013

If people think of Al Jolson at all today, they think of him in blackface, belting out his plaintive "Mammy" song at the end of The Jazz Singer (1927) or in countless cartoon parodies of it. It may well discourage viewers from giving the original movie a chance, which is...   read more

Pretty Clever Films Posted by Pretty Clever Film Gal on October 6, 2012

Well, hell, The Jazz Singer was released on October 6, 1927. And the rest is… well, history. But let’s get the story straight. It was not the first sound picture – there was never really a problem with sound pictures. It was not the first Vitaphone flick, either – that...   read more