Content warning: blackfaceJack Robin (Al Jolson) wants to be a jazz singer but on the eve of his big break on Broadway, he learns that his father (Werner Oland), a cantor, is too sick to perform at synagogue. Even though Jack has been estranged for many years for not following his father's footsteps, he feels conflicted. Should he follow his dreams and sing secular music or should he listen to his parents and perform only for God?
So this is the big one. The first talking picture. Without taking away that achievement, which was pretty remarkable, this isn't a particularly good film on its own merits. The story is lame, the songs are crap, and it hasn't aged well (the minstrel routine he does is full-body cringe). It's a historical artifact but really not worth watching outside of a film class. Still, as a film nerd, I felt like I had to so I did. And now I'm saving you all. Don't watch this, even though it is on Tubi for free. Watch Singin' in the Rain instead.
In other news, I watched the first season of Mob Psycho 100 (the anime, not the live action) on Hulu. The animation took me a while to get into, it's not a style I like, but I did really enjoy the story and the characters. If you liked One Punch Man, it's done by the same people. In fact, there's a cameo early in one of the episodes. The first season is only 12 episodes so you can knock it out in a day.
Warner Oland - A Swede - was the go-to guy for "Ethnic" in the 30's. In addition to old Jews, evil Turks, and villainous Orientals, he famously played Charlie Chan in Fu Manchu in dozens of films.
ReplyDeleteHilariously, in a 1931 film called "Drums of Jeopardy" he played a character called "Dr. Boris Karlov" and in 1932's "Passport to Hell" he played "Baron von Sydow" (which borders on the spooky as Max von Sydow was only 2 at the time [but could play older]).