Film Notes
     "Generally considered the first sound feature, this 1927 film is pretty much silent except for a few lines of dialogue and Al Jolson's songs. The story finds Jolson playing the son of a cantor who wants him to follow in his footsteps, but the singer prefers secular music. Except for its historical value, the film isn't all that interesting, though it is great to get a sense of why people considered Jolson to be a hugely exciting entertainer at the time." (Tom Keogh, Amazon.com)
     The first feature film to utilize Synchronous Sound. The story is about Cantor Oland's son who goes into show business over his objections. Tunes include My Mammy, Toot Toot Tootsie Goodbye and Blue Skies. Film debut for Al Jolson. Warner Brothers received a special award for producing this, the first talking picture. Though there were one or two sound pictures prior to The Jazz Singer, this film effectively ended the era of silent movies. It did not have talking throughout, only a few musical and conversational sequences. But audiences loved it, and soon all the studios were rushing to convert to sound.