Jolson Sings Again (1949) August 17, 2006
Posted by derek in : Reviews, Musical , trackbackLarry Parks again played the World’s Greatest Entertainer in this sequel to The Jolson Story (1946).
The film covers Jolson’s life roughly from 1939 (his divorce from Ruby Keeler (named Julie Benson in the movies) till 1947 (when he started a new starring radio series). Parks is once again fine as Jolson adroitly miming to the great man’s singing voice. It is slightly more nasal and even deeper than in the first biopic but sounds great.
Back from the first movie are William Demarest as Al’s manager Steve Martin (an imaginary amalgam of a few real people), Ludwig Donath and Tamara Shayne as Cantor and Mama Yoelson and Bill Goodwin as Tom Baron (a Shubert substitute?) Myron McCormick pops up as a movie producer Al meets while entertaining troops during the war who of course is instrumental in making The Jolson Story (1946). The new Mrs Jolson, Ellen Clark based on real life Erle Galbraith is played by Barbara Hale who I believe later appeared in the Perry Mason TV series.
This is an interesting biopic as it actually depicts the making of The Jolson Story (1946) and the revival of interest in Jolson the film generated. This is a bit weird to watch and also involves watching chunks of the first biopic. Al himself is softened as he was in the first movie and his reaction to somebody else playing him is downplayed. It has been suggested that Jolson might have played himself in the second movie (screen test footage survives) but apparently remarked : “this guy Larry Parks plays me better than I play myself.” The real Jolson would definitely have been too old (62 though he looked older) but Parks at times almost looks too young though years where the prinicipals hardly age a day is hardly unusual in biopics. Parks almost looks the right age as Jolson in the weirdest scene in the movie. In this scene Parks playing Jolson meets Parks playing Parks : this is somehow achieved by having “Jolson” look like his hair is covered with whitening while “Parks” has his all vaselined. Songs include : Rockabye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody, Is It True What They Say About Dixie ?, For Me and My Gal, Back In Your Own Backyard, Give My Regards To Broadway, I’m Looking Over A Four Leaf Clover, When the Red, Red Robin Comes Bobbin’ Along, Chinatown My Chinatown, I’m Just Wild About Harry, Baby Face, I Only Have Eyes For You, Sonny Boy, Toot Toot Tootsie, Pretty Baby, Carolina In the Morning (3 stars out of 5)
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