desylva jolson franey 9780786420292 mordaunt blighted merson flannels blackie 388,000 mosher housman clicquot americanisms signifier speakeasy vitaphone frogmen haskin furia b.g mouthful footlight gensler sittin glancy wid dreyer sullivans gertie
the singing fool was a big commercial disappointment
The Singing Fool - wikipedia The Singing Fool <Th_colspan="2"> The Singing Fool <Td_colspan="2"> Directed by Lloyd Bacon Written by C. Graham Baker ( scenario ) Joseph Jackson ( dialogue & titles ) Starring Al Jolson Music by ( see article ) Cinematography Byron Haskin Edited by Ralph Dawson Harold McCord ( uncredited ) Production company Warner Bros. Pictures Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures Release date September 19 , 1928 ( NYC ) September 29 , 1928 US Running time 102 minutes Country United States Language English Budget $388,000 Box office $5.9 million The Singing Fool is a 1928 American musical drama Part - Talkie motion picture directed by Lloyd Bacon which was released by Warner Bros . The film stars Al Jolson and is a follow - up to his previous film , The Jazz Singer . It is credited with helping to cement the popularity of American films of both sound and the musical genre . Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Reception 5 Songs 6 Deleted scenes 7 See also 8 References 9 External links Plot ( edit ) After years of hopeful struggle , Al Stone ( Jolson ) is on his way . `` I 'm Sittin ' on Top of the World '' , he sings to an appreciative speakeasy crowd . But , as Al discovers , getting there is one thing . Staying there is another . Singing waiter Stone gets his huge break on a magical night when his song wows a big - time producer and a gold - digging showgirl he fancies . Broadway success and marriage follow , but sure enough , hard times are on the way . Al 's fickle wife abandons him , taking the beloved son he calls Sonny Boy with her . Heartbroken , Al becomes a devastated loner until friends from the speakeasy that launched his career rescue him from a life on the streets . Soon , Al is back in lights . But another crisis awaits : Sonny Boy is in the hospital and dying . Cast ( edit ) Al Jolson as Al Stone Betty Bronson as Grace Josephine Dunn as Molly Winton Arthur Housman as Blackie Joe Reed Howes as John Perry Davey Lee as Sonny Boy Edward Martindel as Louis Marcus Robert Emmett O'Connor as Bill , cafe owner Helen Lynch as Maid Agnes Franey as `` Balloon '' girl The Yacht Club Boys as Singing quartet Jack Stoutenburg ( uncredited ) Carl M. Leviness as Carl , a Waiter at Clicquot Club ( uncredited ) William H. O'Brien as Waiter at Blackie Joe 's ( uncredited ) Bob Perry as Doorman at Blackie Joe 's ( uncredited ) Production ( edit ) Like The Jazz Singer , The Singing Fool was a melodrama with musical interludes , and as such was one of the film industry 's first musical films . Produced during the transition period between silent film and talkies , the movie was released in both sound and silent versions . The Singing Fool was a part - talking feature , which featured a synchronized musical score with sound effects along with synchronized musical and talking sequences , although in this film roughly 66 minutes of talking and singing were included . Al Jolson 's first all - talking feature , Say It With Songs , would appear in 1929 . Reception ( edit ) The Singing Fool solidified Jolson 's position atop the movie world ; not until Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs would any sound era film be more financially successful than this audience - pleasing blend of sentiment and show biz . With a worldwide gross of $5.9 million , it would remain the most successful film in Warner Bros. history until the release of Sergeant York in 1941 . For the majority of movie audiences , The Singing Fool became their first experience with a talking film , since few movie theaters had been equipped with a sound system in 1927 . The film 's positive reception was also viewed as a signifier that sound films were here to stay . `` Here is complete vindication for the advocates of sound pictures '' , wrote Film Daily . `` The Singing Fool is the finest example of sound pictures made to date . '' Mordaunt Hall of The New York Times wrote that the dialogue was `` a little halting '' and that Dunn was `` not convincing '' , but recognized that the main point of interest in the film was `` not in its transparent narrative , but in Mr. Jolson 's inimitable singing '' , and on that basis it was `` capital entertainment . '' John Mosher of The New Yorker also recommended the film , writing , `` Fortunately , throughout this picture one has Al Jolson 's own songs to listen to , for the story has been contrived to exploit to the full his special talents . Whenever the action begins to slump and lag , Al has only to step forward and do his stuff , and the day is saved . '' One trade paper commentator stated that The Singing Fool `` will be to talking pictures what The Birth of a Nation has been to silent pictures '' . For a time , the film also made Davey Lee , Jolson 's 3 ​ ⁄ year old co-star , the most popular child star since Jackie Coogan. Lee was re-teamed with Jolson in Say It With Songs and starred in a few other films -- including 1929 's Sonny Boy -- until his parents pulled him out of the movie business . The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists : 2004 : AFI 's 100 Years ... 100 Songs : `` Sonny Boy '' -- Nominated Songs ( edit ) `` There 's a Rainbow ' Round My Shoulder '' -- words and music by Billy Rose , Al Jolson and Dave Dreyer `` Golden Gate '' -- words by Billy Rose and Dave Dreyer , music by Al Jolson and Joseph Meyer `` I 'm Sittin ' on Top of the World '' -- words by Sam Lewis and Joe Young , music by Ray Henderson `` It All Depends on You '' -- words and music by Lew Brown , B.G. DeSylva and Ray Henderson `` Keep Smiling at Trouble '' -- words by Al Jolson and B.G. DeSylva , music by Lewis Gensler `` Sonny Boy '' -- words and music by Lew Brown , B.G. DeSylva and Ray Henderson `` Sonny Boy '' became the first song from a movie to sell over a million copies . It eventually sold over 3 million copies of sheet music , piano rolls and phonograph records . `` The Spaniard That Blighted My Life '' -- Billy Merson ( see below ) Source : Deleted scenes ( edit ) Al Jolson 's rendition of `` The Spaniard That Blighted My Life '' is missing from extant prints of the film . This is due to a lawsuit initiated by the song 's author , Billy Merson . Merson claimed that he , as a performer , owed his income to his own renditions of the song , and that Jolson 's version would diminish his ability to earn a living . The song was removed from all prints of `` The Singing Fool '' shown in the United Kingdom . Unfortunately , the only surviving copies of the film are also from the U.K. , hence are missing the song . These copies also have the majority of the original decorative Warner Brothers title cards replaced with simple British made ones which were used to remove Americanisms which the British would not understand or appreciate ( a common practice during the silent era ) . Only the soundtrack survives on extant Vitaphone discs . See also ( edit ) List of early Warner Bros. talking features References ( edit ) Notes ^ Jump up to : The Singing Fool at the American Film Institute Catalog Jump up ^ Furia , Philip ; Patterson , Laurie ( 2010 ) . The Songs of Hollywood . Oxford and New York : Oxford University Press . p. 26 . ISBN 9780199792665 . ^ Jump up to : Bradley , Edwin M. ( 1996 ) . The First Hollywood Musicals : A Critical Filmography of 171 Features , 1927 Through 1932 . McFarland & Company . pp. 10 -- 12 . ISBN 9780786420292 . ^ Jump up to : Glancy , H Mark ( 1995 ) . `` Warner Bros Film Grosses , 1921 -- 51 : the William Schaefer ledger '' . Historical Journal of Film Radio and Television . 15 . Jump up ^ `` The Singing Fool '' . Film Daily . New York : Wid 's Films and Film Folk , Inc. : 6 September 23 , 1928 . Jump up ^ Hall , Mordaunt ( September 20 , 1928 ) . `` Movie Review -- The Singing Fool '' . The New York Times . Retrieved February 20 , 2015 . Jump up ^ Mosher , John ( September 29 , 1928 ) . `` The Current Cinema '' . The New Yorker : 77 . Jump up ^ `` AFI 's 100 Years ... 100 Songs Nominees '' ( PDF ) . Retrieved 2016 - 08 - 05 . Further reading Staff ( September 23 , 1928 ) `` Two Sound Pictures '' , The New York Times External links ( edit ) Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Singing Fool . The Singing Fool at the American Film Institute Catalog The Singing Fool on IMDb Synopsis at AllMovie <Th_colspan="2"> Films directed by Lloyd Bacon <Td_colspan="2"> Broken Hearts of Hollywood ( 1926 ) Private Izzy Murphy ( 1926 ) Finger Prints ( 1927 ) White Flannels ( 1927 ) The Heart of Maryland ( 1927 ) A Sailor 's Sweetheart ( 1927 ) Brass Knuckles ( 1927 ) Women They Talk About ( 1928 ) The Singing Fool ( 1928 ) Pay as You Enter ( 1928 ) Stark Mad ( 1929 ) No Defense ( 1929 ) Say It with Songs ( 1929 ) Honky Tonk ( 1929 ) So Long Letty ( 1929 ) The Other Tomorrow ( 1930 ) She Could n't Say No ( 1930 ) A Notorious Affair ( 1930 ) Moby Dick ( 1930 ) The Office Wife ( 1930 ) 50 Million Frenchmen ( 1931 ) Kept Husbands ( 1931 ) Sit Tight ( 1931 ) Gold Dust Gertie ( 1931 ) Honor of the Family ( 1931 ) Manhattan Parade ( 1931 ) Crooner ( 1932 ) Miss Pinkerton ( 1932 ) The Famous Ferguson Case ( 1932 ) You Said a Mouthful ( 1932 ) 42nd Street ( 1933 ) Picture Snatcher ( 1933 ) Footlight Parade ( 1933 ) Son of a Sailor ( 1933 ) Wonder Bar ( 1934 ) A Very Honorable Guy ( 1934 ) Here Comes the Navy ( 1934 ) He Was Her Man ( 1934 ) 6 Day Bike Rider ( 1934 ) In Caliente ( 1935 ) Frisco Kid ( 1935 ) Sons o ' Guns ( 1936 ) Cain and Mabel ( 1936 ) Gold Diggers of 1937 ( 1936 ) Marked Woman ( 1937 ) Ever Since Eve ( 1937 ) San Quentin ( 1937 ) Boy Meets Girl ( 1938 ) A Slight Case of Murder ( 1938 ) Cowboy from Brooklyn ( 1938 ) Wings of the Navy ( 1939 ) The Oklahoma Kid ( 1939 ) Indianapolis Speedway ( 1939 ) Espionage Agent ( 1939 ) A Child Is Born ( 1939 ) Invisible Stripes ( 1939 ) Three Cheers for the Irish ( 1940 ) Brother Orchid ( 1940 ) Knute Rockne , All American ( 1940 ) Honeymoon for Three ( 1941 ) Footsteps in the Dark ( 1941 ) Affectionately Yours ( 1941 ) Navy Blues ( 1941 ) Larceny , Inc. ( 1942 ) Wings for the Eagle ( 1942 ) Silver Queen ( 1942 ) Action in the North Atlantic ( 1943 ) The Fighting Sullivans ( 1944 ) Sunday Dinner for a Soldier ( 1944 ) Captain Eddie ( 1945 ) Wake Up and Dream ( 1946 ) Home Sweet Homicide ( 1946 ) I Wonder Who 's Kissing Her Now ( 1947 ) You Were Meant for Me ( 1948 ) Give My Regards to Broadway ( 1948 ) An Innocent Affair ( 1948 ) Mother Is a Freshman ( 1949 ) It Happens Every Spring ( 1949 ) Miss Grant Takes Richmond ( 1949 ) The Good Humor Man ( 1950 ) Kill the Umpire ( 1950 ) The Fuller Brush Girl ( 1950 ) Golden Girl ( 1951 ) Call Me Mister ( 1951 ) The Frogmen ( 1951 ) The Great Sioux Uprising ( 1953 ) The French Line ( 1953 ) She Could n't Say No ( 1954 ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Singing_Fool&oldid=856406610 '' Categories : English - language films 1928 films 1920s musical films Warner Bros. films American black - and - white films American films Films made before the MPAA Production Code Films directed by Lloyd Bacon Transitional sound films Films scored by Louis Silvers 1920s sequel films Hidden categories : Pages using infobox film with unknown parameters Talk Contents About Wikipedia Français Nederlands Polski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Svenska Edit links This page was last edited on 24 August 2018 , at 23 : 39 ( UTC ) . Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply . By using this site , you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy . Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation , Inc. , a non-profit organization . About Wikipedia