Tuesday, September 22, 2015

The Jazz Singer's Kol Nidre

Al Jolson plays Jakie Rabinowitz in "The Jazz Singer" (1927). Unwilling to adhere to the strict Jewish traditions of his father, a cantor on the Lower East Side, Jakie leaves home to pursue a career singing jazz. Years later on the eve of Yom Kippur, the jazz singer now known as Jack Robin is called to his father's deathbed. That night he is forced to choose between appearing in the opening of a new musical or singing the Kol Nidre service in his dying father's place. Broadway's loss is the synagogue's gain, but ultimately the film has it both ways.

"Kol Nidre" from "The Jazz Singer" (1927)
Al Jolson as Jakie Rabinowitz/Jack Robin
Directed by Alan Crosland

Al Jolson in "The Jazz Singer"

Note:  Al Jolson is mentioned in the "In Our Midst" section of a 1925 issue of the New Yorker as he's preparing to leave the East coast for California. I guess that turned out all right.


Let's get ready for autumn with some blog posts from the archives.

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