Jolson Sings Again

Jolson Sings Again
1949 Theatrical Poster
Directed by	Henry Levin
Written by	Sidney Buchman
Produced by	Sidney Buchman
Starring	Larry Parks Barbara Hale William Demarest Ludwig Donath
Cinematography	William E. Snyder
Edited by	William A. Lyon
Music by	George Duning Morris Stoloff
Production company	Columbia Pictures
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date	August 10, 1949 (1949-08-10)
Running time	96 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$5 million (est. US / Canada rentals)

Jolson Sings Again is a 1949 American musical biographical film directed by Henry Levin, and the sequel to The Jolson Story (1946), both of which cover the life of singer Al Jolson. It was the highest-grossing film of 1949 and received three Oscar nominations at the 22nd Academy Awards.

Plot

In this follow-up to The Jolson Story, we pick up the singer's career where the original film ends: Jolson returns home after an unexpected nightclub performance, only to find that his wife has left him. Devastated, Jolson runs away from his problems, trading show business for life in the fast lane: women, horses, prizefighters, travel. His father becomes increasingly concerned about his frivolous lifestyle. With the death of his mother and the beginning of World War II, Jolson comes back to earth—and returns to the stage.

Once again teamed with manager Steve Martin, Jolson travels the world entertaining troops everywhere from Alaska to Africa. When he finally collapses from exhaustion it takes young, pretty nurse Ellen Clark to show him there is more to life than "just rushing around".

New singers have eclipsed Jolson in popularity, and his health has declined; he now has only one good lung, reducing his power. Steve Martin, seeing that the parade has passed Al Jolson, succeeds in getting his old friend a spot in an all-star charity benefit. Al is dismayed to find his name absent from the posters and programs, and his spot on the bill is even more humbling: the forgotten performer doesn't go on until the marathon show is almost over. Al sings "Sonny Boy" to the patrons still in attendance. He is disheartened by the experience, although his wife Ellen insists that his performance was magnificent.

One of the patrons who insisted on staying is Ralph Bryant, an Army officer who met Jolson during his tour. Bryant is now a movie producer, and he approaches Al with the idea of making a screen biography of his life. Al is interested, although he warns that the quality of his old, worn phonograph records wouldn't be good enough to use in a movie. Bryant settles that argument by asking the singer to make new, higher-fidelity recordings at the movie studio.

The project renews Al's interest in show business, and he trains actor Larry Parks to mimic his stage movements. When The Jolson Story premieres, Al is terrified of the public's reaction and can't sit still in the theater. The Jolson Story is a big success and Al Jolson is again a major celebrity, with the jubilant Ellen at his side.

Cast

Credited

• Larry Parks as Al Jolson / Larry Parks
• Barbara Hale as Ellen Clark
• William Demarest as Steve Martin
• Ludwig Donath as Cantor Yoelson
• Bill Goodwin as Tom Baron
• Myron McCormick as Ralph Bryant
• Tamara Shayne as Mama Yoelson

Uncredited

• Eric Wilton as Henry, Jolson's butler
• Helen Mowery as Script Girl
• Robert Emmett Keane as Charlie, benefit producer
• Nelson Leigh as Theater Manager
• Milton Delugg as Accordionist
• Marjorie Stapp as Nurse

Pre-release

Al Jolson himself took an active role in promoting the film, making a whirlwind round of personal appearances. He ran a gauntlet of six Loews theaters in New York during a single evening, singing three songs in each house before being whisked to the next one. He also toured New York radio stations, being interviewed by local disc jockeys.

Jolson Sings Again was so eagerly awaited by exhibitors who remembered The Jolson Story that it became a golden opportunity for moneymaking, and it soon became controversial. The Pacific Coast Conference of Independent Exhibitors claimed that Columbia would be expecting to collect 60% of each theater's admissions -- an exceptionally large chunk of revenue -- and would force theaters to charge higher prices to see the picture. In a formal protest, the exhibitors' group charged, "Their 60% demand is ridiculous. If Columbia is stupid enough to ask 60%, that is no reason why any exhibitor should be damn fool enough to give them 60%. We have preached for years that no picture is worth even 50% [emphasis theirs]." Trade publisher Pete Harrison reported, "Although no sales policy on Jolson Sings Again has been announced by Columbia, the picture has been and still is being shown in key situations at advanced admission prices. Variety states that Columbia is demanding the stiffest terms ever sought for a non-roadshow picture." Quoting his own sources, Harrison wrote, "In one situation Columbia has demanded a minimum guarantee of $50,000, backed up by a payment bond, for the run of the picture. In another situation, Columbia is demanding 54 cents from each adult admission," resulting in a typical admission fee of $1.25 [equivalent to $16.80 in 2025], then a very high price for an evening's movie entertainment. Columbia sales executive Abe Montague responded, according to Motion Picture Daily, "that the terms and conditions whereby Jolson is being marketed and will be marketed are determined by the individual situations involved" -- meaning, big theaters pay big rentals, smaller theaters pay smaller rentals. The exhibitors even pleaded its case before the United States Department of Justice, with Motion Picture Daily citing "the failure, the inability, or the refusal of the Department of Justice to take action beyond maintaining its standard attitude of keeping an eye on the situation." The decision by Assistant Attorney General Herbert A. Bergson read in part, "When a distributor asks terms, he is putting a value on his own product. I cannot see anything illegal in that. The exhibitor does not have to take the picture. If the distributor wants to price himself out of the market, that is his worry, not ours."

Despite the wrangling over admission prices, Jolson Sings Again found an audience easily, and it became the #1 hit of the year. Columbia placed full-page ads showing the film breaking house records in many large cities.

Reception

Abel Green of Variety labeled Jolson Sings Again "Socko! Jolson Sings Again bids fair to par The Jolson Story grosses and may even top them. In short, a smasheroo of unqualified proportions. Parks' personation [sic] of the title player is even suaver than the original." Showmen's Trade Review concurred: "Every bit as colorful and exciting, moving and heartwarming as The Jolson Story. Many will consider it even better. Larry Parks, who scored a triumph in his original role of the singer, seems even more assured and more at home in the role in this follow-up film; he doesn't perform Jolson, he IS Jolson [capitalization theirs]." Philip Hamburger of The New Yorker noted that "Jolson's voice is still a formidable, awesome, and grandiously captivating instrument." Thomas M. Pryor of The New York Times wrote, "The vitality of the Jolson voice is suitably matched in the physical representation provided by Larry Parks, who by now comes close to perfection in aping the vigorous expression with which Jolson tackles a song."

Commentary

Jolson biographer James Fisher comments, "Jolson Sings Again is a well-made sequel to The Jolson Story. In some ways, it betters the original. If anything, Jolson's voice sounds even better in this movie, and Larry Parks' Jolson is a warmer, more human character here. In this sequel, the story reaches the point in Jolson's life where the film of his life is to be made, and in preparation for the film Jolson meets the actor who is to portray him. In what is probably a cinema first, Parks plays both Jolson and himself (the young Larry Parks) as they meet in a split-screen scene.

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result
1950	22nd Academy Awards	Best Story and Screenplay	Sidney Buchman	Nominated
		Best Scoring of a Musical Picture	Morris Stoloff and George Duning	Nominated
		Best Cinematography, Color	William E. Snyder	Nominated
	2nd Writers Guild of America Awards	Best Written Musical	Sidney Buchman	Nominated

External links

• The Al Jolson web site
• Jolson Sings Again at IMDb
• Jolson Sings Again at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films