The Jazz Singer (1927) (nat)

Oh. My. God.

First, this is a silent movie; the first to have synchronized talking/singing sequences (i.e. lip-synching). So that's painful for me.

Second, it's terribly terribly racist. Terribly.

So little Jakie Rabinowitz is Jewish and living in a New York "ghetto" with his mother and father. His father is the cantor and wants Jakie to follow his lead. Jakie is a quite good singer and knows all of the songs. The little boy, however, has other plans. He wants to be a jazz singer. He sneaks off to the beer garden to sing and makes his father mad. Little Jakie persists, leaving home to pursue his dream, at which point his father disowns him. He stays in contact with his mother and changes his name to Jack Robin, much to the chagrin of his father. He gets to play Broadway, finds a nice non-Jewish girl, and gets to be a jazz singer. Then his father falls ill and his mother comes to retrieve him so that Jakie can sing on the Day of Atonement. He finishes the dress rehearsal that's in progress first but then goes home to see his dying father. Jakie sings for the Day of Atonement the next night, cancelling the opening night of his show, and his father dies while he sings. His jazz singing begins again the following night as his show opens.

So, all of that, in and of itself, isn't too terribly bad. He's rejecting his Jewish heritage for something less traditional but kids do that every single day. While it's not a great portrayal of the Jewish faith, it's no worse than if the kid decided he wanted to be a singer instead of a baker like his parents. And, while he leaves his faith, he doesn't dismiss is as useless and he does come back to it when it matters (when there would be no cantor for the Day of Atonement, when his father needs him most). Where this movie becomes incredibly problematic is the inexplicable use of blackface. When Jack Robin is on stage as a jazz singer, he's in full on blackface with a nappy wig. Why? Who knows. One could say jazz is a black tradition. Sure. No one is going to argue with that. But in the 20s jazz went Broadway (which is where Robing was performing) and big band, which is to say it went white. So there is no overwhelming reason for Robin to be in blackface. And it makes today's viewer uncomfortable for no real reason. Historically interesting as the first integration of synchronized talking/singing so I can at least see why it's on the list but otherwise . . . . not so much my cup of tea.