The Jolson Story (1946)

My Review

Fans of singer Al Jolson will enjoy “The Jolson Story.” The tuneful tale of the life of the popular music star of the 1920’s and 1930’s was a fast moving two hours, with crisp direction by Alfred E. Green (“Four Face West” 1948) and a well written screenplay by Stephen Longstreet.

Actor Larry Parks plays Jolson, with vocals performed by Al Jolson himself. Co-stars include Evelyn Keys, William Demarest, Bill Goodwin, Ludwig Donath, Tamara Shayne, Ann Todd, and Eddie Kane as Florenz Ziegfeld. “The Jolson Story” was the third highest grossing film of 1946 for Columbia Pictures.

It received six Academy Awards nominations and two wins – Best Musical Scoring (Morris Stoloff) and Best Sound Recording. Non-winners include Best Actor (Parks), Best Supporting Actor (Demarest), Best Cinematography/Technicolor (Joseph Walker), and Best Film Editing.