Jazz+Singer

= Films In The Thriving 20's =

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The 1920's was a decade of thriving culture and booming businesses, especially the film business. In 1927, Warner Brothers released The Jazz Singer, the first talking picture ("talkies"). Most of the movie was silent, but in four scenes and a couple songs, Jolson sang and spoke. The Jazz Singer was the first talkie to be a box office boom, and went on to make history in the movie business. ====== ** Al Jolson ** Al Jolson (born Asa Yoelson) was born in Lithuania on May 26 1886. As a young child, hemedia type="youtube" key="G-WZRUIfHjo" height="421" width="531" align="left" his parents immigrated to America. In 1901, Jolson began to perform in vaudevilles, which are performances that don't connect with one another and were very popular at that time. In 1904, Jolson was cast as the lead in //Robert Crusoe Jr//. Samson Raphaelson, a writer, saw Jolson perform, and two years later, he wrote //Day of// //Atonement//, which would later become the script and storyline for //the Jazz Singer.// After the Jazz Singer, Jolson became a huge success, and went on to perform in other successful movies, like //Say it with Song// and //Mammy.// Al Jolson died in 1950 at age 64 from a massive heart attack. He was married four times.

** The Jazz Singer Movie In 1927, Warner Brothers released The Jazz Singer, the first talking picture ("talkies"). People were bored with the same old silent pictures, so they decided to use sound. The movie starred Al Jolson, as Jakie Rabinowitz, the son of a very religious cantor. After being punished by his father, he runs away to live his dream (become a performer) and changes his name to Jack Robins. On the night of his big broadway performance (in the movie), he remembers that it is Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement and one of the most important jewish holidays), and learns that his father is very ill. Jolson's character rushes to his father death bed, and his fathers final request is that he take over the Yom Kippur service for him when he dies. Most of the movie was silent, but in four scenes and a couple songs, Jolson sang and spoke. The Jazz Singer was the first talkie to have a box office boom. Everyone from each social class came to see it, because the movies were cheap. They were played in movie theaters called Nickelodeons, movie theaters that costed on 5 cents. On the night before the premiere, Sam Warner unexpectedly died. Even though the Warners were in mourning, the premiere was a huge success. **

= Causes and Effects of the Jazz Singer = The Jazz Singer was written to break the silent era of movies. It was not expected to become as popular or to modernize as much as it did. Some effects that happened because of the Jazz Singer were: The Jazz Singers success also made the directors and producers more confident about their new films. A movie with sound was important because it was the first of its kind. Sooner or later, the silent movie era ended, and the era of the talkies had begun.
 * The expansion of sound in the movies.
 * The popular demand for Jazz music.
 * The progression of color into movies.
 * All social classes could afford to go to the movies.