The Jazz Singer (1927)
A cantor's son runs away to become a jazz singer under a new name, and years later must choose between his Broadway debut and returning home to his dying father on the eve of Yom Kippur.
The Jazz Singer was the first feature film with synchronized recorded dialogue and singing, and its box-office success effectively ended the silent era within a few years. It entered the National Film Registry in 1996.
Background
The Jazz Singer was made by Warner Bros. using the Vitaphone sound-on-disc system and premiered on 6 October 1927. It is based on Samson Raphaelson’s play, and Al Jolson, the biggest stage star of the day, plays Jakie Rabinowitz, the cantor’s son. Sam Warner, who championed sound at the studio, died the day before the premiere. The film won an honorary Academy Award for its pioneering role in bringing sound to feature films.
What to watch for
Most of the film is silent with intertitles, and only a few passages have synchronised speech, but the moment when Jolson says “Wait a minute, you ain’t heard nothin’ yet!” changed the industry. Modern viewers should also be aware that the film includes a performance by Jolson in blackface, a common stage convention of the time that is now uncomfortable to watch. The film is historically important, and watching it in that context shows how the arrival of sound reshaped cinema within a few years. It joined the National Film Registry in 1996.
