The Singing Fool
by Lloyd Bacon
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DVD details
Actor: Al Jolson, Arthur Housman, Betty Bronson, Josephine Dunn, Reed HowesDirector: Lloyd Bacon
Brand: Warner
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Black & White, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 101 minutes
Published: 1928
DVD Release Date: 2009-10-21
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Warner Bros.
DVD Reviews of The Singing Fool
DVD Review: The first talking picture many people ever saw
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a Warner Archive product. It is an unrestored copy of the film on DVD-R with no frills other than a trailer. There are no chapter stops - you can only go forwards and backwards in ten minute increments.
"The Singing Fool" is relatively unknown compared to the previous year's "The Jazz Singer", probably because it was the first feature film with synchronized dialogue. However, 1928's "The Singing Fool" is important for a number of reasons. For one, it was the first talking picture many people ever saw. Remember that in order to exhibit a talking picture special equipment had to be installed in the theater, and theater owners weren't sure enough of the future success of talking pictures to invest in that equipment until well after "The Jazz Singer" came and went. Also, "The Singing Fool" was the top box office draw of 1928. In fact, with the Great Depression just over the horizon, no film made more money until "Gone with the Wind" in 1939. Finally it is one of the very few talking pictures that survive from the year 1928 due to the ease of breakage of the Vitaphone discs.
The story behind "The Singing Fool" is not that remarkable. It is overly sentimental and you can see from the start exactly where it is headed. Jolson plays singing waiter Al Stone who loves snobby Molly, a singer at the night spot where he works. Likewise, Al is loved in secret by the cafe's cigarette girl. When Al makes a big hit with an agent, Molly suddenly finds Al - and his money and fame - very attractive. Of course Al is blind to Molly's poisonous ways until it is too late. You have to remember that the whole purpose behind the film is to give you a chance to see and hear the world's greatest entertainer, Al Jolson, singing on screen in his prime. In this film you get that in bigger doses than you got in "The Jazz Singer". So, if you are a Jolson fan, you are in for a big treat. However, be warned this film is what was known in 1928 and 1929 as a "goat gland" movie. That is, it is part silent. The exact ratio is about 75% talking, 25% silent. How it is chopped into sound/silent portions is particularly baffling. Some dialogue is sound, then will abruptly transition to silent. Warner's had already made an all-talking picture, in fact they made the first - 1928's "The Lights of New York". That film was supposed to be a two reel short that grew to six reels when Jack Warner was out of town, but it was a huge hit and sent the march towards talking pictures into overdrive. With the technical challenges of making an all-talking picture behind them, you would have thought Warner Bros. would have made Jolson's second talking picture an extra special effort and given it the all-talking treatment too. They didn't, but it was still a huge success.
In conclusion, if you are a Jolson fan and you are interested in the early sound era of motion pictures, you'll love this film. However, also note that this particular release has had no restoration done to it and to me it looks and sounds like my VHS copy that was merely transferred to DVD. Al's songs come off wonderfully, but there is considerable hissing and popping in the dialogue portions. The video looks good but not great. This Archive release has a trailer of what appears to be the announcement of a 1960's theatrical run of the film. It's odd and even a little sad that in 1960 the announcer can assume that the audience knows what "The Singing Fool" is when most people today have never even heard of it.
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Description of The Singing Fool
Studio: Warner Bros. Digital Dist Release Date: 06/23/2011Bestsellers in DVD
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