THE JAZZ SINGER

1927 ***1/2 89 mins.

This is a mildly entertaining film about a young man (Al Jolson) who longs to make it big on Broadway. His cantor father disapproves, of course, feeling that jazz music is the devil. This film is entertaining, partially, because it was the first film to ever use synchronous sound. Don't get that statement wrong, though, aside from the musical numbers and any dialogue contained around them, this is still a silent film. There is a musical score, as well. As I said, though, this is still mostly silent. There are still title cards explaining the action and the dialogue.
Number 90 on AFI's 100 Years . . . 100 Movies.
Not Rated.