"The Singing Fool" (1928)

"The Singing Fool" did become the top box office draw of all time, and
remained so until displaced by "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves" nine years
later. "The Singing Fool" was released on laserdisc by MGM/UA (in a box
with "The Jazz Singer" and subsequent Jolson features).

"Matt Barry" <barrys RemoveThis @bellatlantic.net> wrote in message
news:kTxRi.2770$pl2.2038@trndny09...
>I have wanted to see this film for years. I believe it remained the top box
>office earner for almost a decade. The soundtrack was included on the
>Rhino/TCM Al Jolson CD, and the selection of songs used in "The Singing
>Fool" was excellent.
>
> I believe that TNT ran the film back when they used to run "classic" films
> during the early hours of the morning. I can't for the life of me imagine
> why TCM hasn't run it yet.
 >> Stay informed about: "The Singing Fool" (1928) 

On Oct 18, 2:30 pm, Harold Aherne <leotolstoy....DeleteThis@yahoo.com> wrote:
> On Oct 17, 7:35 pm, "Matt Barry" <bar....DeleteThis@bellatlantic.net> wrote:
>
> > I have wanted to see this film for years. I believe it remained the top box
> > office earner for almost a decade. The soundtrack was included on the
> > Rhino/TCM Al Jolson CD, and the selection of songs used in "The Singing
> > Fool" was excellent.
>
> > I believe that TNT ran the film back when they used to run "classic" films
> > during the early hours of the morning. I can't for the life of me imagine
> > why TCM hasn't run it yet.
>
> Some films from the Jolson LD set (but not all) were released to VHS
> in 1996. "The Singing Fool" was one of them, and I think the others
> were "Mammy", "Hallelujah I'm a Bum", and "Wonder Bar". These titles
> are available on Amazon marketplace, but are a bit pricey. The only
> exception is "Bum", issued on DVD in 2002 by MGM/UA (since they own
> it). Given the early success of "The Jazz Singer" it is to be hoped
> that additional Jolson titles find their way to DVD.
>
> -Harold

Hopefully you are correct that "Jolie" will prove popular again and we
can see some of these early talkies. I have never seen "The Singing
Fool" and have always wanted to see it. "Mammy" I last saw back about
1965 when it was screened one morning on commercial television. (At
about the same period this channel screened a lot of Joe E. Brown's
early talkies which I wouldn;t mind seeing again either).

Regards
Donald Binks
 >> Stay informed about: "The Singing Fool" (1928) 

I have wanted to see this film for years. I believe it remained the top box
office earner for almost a decade. The soundtrack was included on the
Rhino/TCM Al Jolson CD, and the selection of songs used in "The Singing
Fool" was excellent.

I believe that TNT ran the film back when they used to run "classic" films
during the early hours of the morning. I can't for the life of me imagine
why TCM hasn't run it yet.

--
Matt Barry
View my films at: www.youtube.com/comedyfilm
http://mbarry84.tripod.com
http://filmreel.blogspot.com
"clint" <clintwalkerlives.RemoveThis@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1192665956.548947.104920@e34g2000pro.googlegroups.com...
> This follow up film was said to be a far bigger hit commercially, and
> with the critics, than "The Jazz Singer". By the time of this film's
> release more theaters had been wired for sound and it took in a far
> greater financial return than its predecessor.
>
> Yet today it is never mentioned. In Deems Taylor's 1940' s book it
> merits a larger pic than "Sunrise" or "King of Kings", but while those
> flicks can be ordered any day from Amazon.com, "The Singing Fool" has
> vanished.
>
> Has anyone seen it? Does anyone have any idea why it wasn' t included
> in the 3 DVD extravaganza that was released earlier this week?
>
 >> Stay informed about: "The Singing Fool" (1928) 

On Oct 18, 3:28 am, Donald4564 <dbi... RemoveThis @aapt.net.au> wrote:
> On Oct 18, 2:30 pm, Harold Aherne <leotolstoy... RemoveThis @yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > On Oct 17, 7:35 pm, "Matt Barry" <bar... RemoveThis @bellatlantic.net> wrote:
>
> > > I have wanted to see this film for years. I believe it remained the top box
> > > office earner for almost a decade. The soundtrack was included on the
> > > Rhino/TCM Al Jolson CD, and the selection of songs used in "The Singing
> > > Fool" was excellent.
>
> > > I believe that TNT ran the film back when they used to run "classic" films
> > > during the early hours of the morning. I can't for the life of me imagine
> > > why TCM hasn't run it yet.
>
> > Some films from the Jolson LD set (but not all) were released to VHS
> > in 1996. "The Singing Fool" was one of them, and I think the others
> > were "Mammy", "Hallelujah I'm a Bum", and "Wonder Bar". These titles
> > are available on Amazon marketplace, but are a bit pricey. The only
> > exception is "Bum", issued on DVD in 2002 by MGM/UA (since they own
> > it). Given the early success of "The Jazz Singer" it is to be hoped
> > that additional Jolson titles find their way to DVD.
>
> > -Harold
>
> Hopefully you are correct that "Jolie" will prove popular again and we
> can see some of these early talkies. I have never seen "The Singing
> Fool" and have always wanted to see it. "Mammy" I last saw back about
> 1965 when it was screened one morning on commercial television. (At
> about the same period this channel screened a lot of Joe E. Brown's
> early talkies which I wouldn;t mind seeing again either).

Be careful what you wish for. It was a huge hit, but it's pretty tough
sledding. For me, THE SINGING FOOL is second only to SAY IT WITH SONGS
as Jolie's worst film - and I generally like Jolson.

The most frustrating part of it is that it's *mostly* sound. Unlike
THE JAZZ SINGER, which is essentially a silent with a few Vitaphone
inserts, THE SINGING FOOL keeps bouncing back from sound to silent.
With so much synced up, why didn't Warners just bite the bullet and
make it all sound?

According to Barrios' A SONG IN THE DARK the film breaks down as
follows:

13 1/2 minutes silent
45 minutes sound (with a few transitional silent moments and
intertitles)
3 minutes silent
5 1/2 minutes sound
9 minutes silent
4 minutes sound
1 1/2 minute ssilent
9 minutes sound
3 minutes silent
12 minutes sound

Once it switches from that 45 minute block of sound, it's a very
frustrating ride.
 >> Stay informed about: "The Singing Fool" (1928) 

The Singing Fool was the first Jolson film I ever saw. They ran it at
a museum in my hometown. I was a teenager and remember really liking
it. Maybe I was just starved for classic films. Tulsa was not a hotbed
of film festivals. It was many years after that that I finally saw The
Jazz Singer. I would love to be able to compare the two now.
 >> Stay informed about: "The Singing Fool" (1928) 

Thanks for all the interesting reponses.

It was shown on TCM Canada just the other night?! That makes more
sense than what TCM programmed here in the US. I would gladly have
exchanged yet another showing of "Don Juan" for "The Singing Fool"
or "Sonny Boy".

I wondered if perhaps "The Singing Fool" contained more black face
numbers than the "The Jazz Singer" and if TCM and Warners might be
treading lightly, lest the combined perceived racism really rouse the
PC police.

That's funny because the only pic I have ever seen from the film is
one of Jolson peforming onstage in what appears to be a gaucho or
Spanish costume.
 >> Stay informed about: "The Singing Fool" (1928) 

On Wed, 17 Oct 2007 17:05:56 -0700, clint <clintwalkerlives.TakeThisOut@yahoo.com>
wrote:

>This follow up film was said to be a far bigger hit commercially, and
>with the critics, than "The Jazz Singer". By the time of this film's
>release more theaters had been wired for sound and it took in a far
>greater financial return than its predecessor.
>
>Yet today it is never mentioned. In Deems Taylor's 1940' s book it
>merits a larger pic than "Sunrise" or "King of Kings", but while those
>flicks can be ordered any day from Amazon.com, "The Singing Fool" has
>vanished.
>
>Has anyone seen it? Does anyone have any idea why it wasn' t included
>in the 3 DVD extravaganza that was released earlier this week?
>


TCM Canada showed "The Singing Fool" on Tuesday night replacing "When
a Man Loves". (Why they did that I don't know. It couldn't be a
rights problem. They've shown "When a Man Loves" on TCM Canada
before.) I haven't watched it yet so I can't comment on the quality
of the movie, but it does show that it should be available. Maybe if
TCM had a Jolson day they'd show it in the US.

A. Watson
Burnaby, B. C., Canada
 >> Stay informed about: "The Singing Fool" (1928) 

I remember someone telling me --- although I can't remember who --- that THE
SINGING FOOL is a problematic film and candidate for DVD release not because
of content, but because, quite simply, vastly below-par picture elements are
all that we have for this title.

Recalling the laserdisc release, it was indeed a murky affair --- with
carelessly re-created inter-titles replacing many of the originals --- and
then too, the audio was muddy and lifeless.

I would imagine there's just so much sprucing-up that could be done with
such a title. The audio could, of course, be re-mastered from sets of
Vitaphone discs (which do survive for the title) but the hazy image, the
crude inter-titles and the absence of the long-lost "The Spaniard Who
Blighted My Life" sequence (part of Jolson's set in the night-club on New
Year's Eve) all make it seem like a major and nearly impossible task to
present this film in a form anywhere approaching what audiences saw and
heard in 1928.

That said, the film is utterly electrifying in spots and, at least for me,
far more satisfying than "The Jazz Singer."

Jeff



"clint" <clintwalkerlives.DeleteThis@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1192730501.119729.242460@e34g2000pro.googlegroups.com...
> Thanks for all the interesting reponses.
>
> It was shown on TCM Canada just the other night?! That makes more
> sense than what TCM programmed here in the US. I would gladly have
> exchanged yet another showing of "Don Juan" for "The Singing Fool"
> or "Sonny Boy".
>
> I wondered if perhaps "The Singing Fool" contained more black face
> numbers than the "The Jazz Singer" and if TCM and Warners might be
> treading lightly, lest the combined perceived racism really rouse the
> PC police.
>
> That's funny because the only pic I have ever seen from the film is
> one of Jolson peforming onstage in what appears to be a gaucho or
> Spanish costume.
>
 >> Stay informed about: "The Singing Fool" (1928) 

My recollection is that "The Singing Fool" goes to sound for the first time
when Jolson first sings. The effect is like that in "The Jazz Singer" when
Jolson breaks the silence by belting out his emotion in song, or like effect
in the 1939 "Wizard of Oz" when it goes to color with the leaving of the
dreary farm life and the start of the more exciting Munchkin/Oz world.
After Jolson has sung, dialogue in that scene (and most subsequent scenes )
is spoken rather than communicated in titles.

The post below accurately indicates that "The Singing Fool" returns to
silence a few times. My recollection is at these points in the film, the
story is told in exterior scenes. My guess is that Warners was unable to
shoot and record sound for exterior scenes with their existing equipment or
technique. Perhaps it was owing to those enclosed rooms that the cameras
went into, perhaps it was an inability to exclude street noises, sounds of
bystanders, etc.

--
David Hayes

Remove director name from address when responding privately.

"Harlett O'Dowd" <chris.connelly.RemoveThis@worldspan.com> wrote in message
news:1192714345.520377.285710@v23g2000prn.googlegroups.com...
> The most frustrating part of it is that it's *mostly* sound. Unlike
> THE JAZZ SINGER, which is essentially a silent with a few Vitaphone
> inserts, THE SINGING FOOL keeps bouncing back from sound to silent.
> With so much synced up, why didn't Warners just bite the bullet and
> make it all sound?
>
> According to Barrios' A SONG IN THE DARK the film breaks down as
> follows:
>
> 13 1/2 minutes silent
> 45 minutes sound (with a few transitional silent moments and
> intertitles)
> 3 minutes silent
> 5 1/2 minutes sound
> 9 minutes silent
> 4 minutes sound
> 1 1/2 minute ssilent
> 9 minutes sound
> 3 minutes silent
> 12 minutes sound
>
> Once it switches from that 45 minute block of sound, it's a very
> frustrating ride.
>
 >> Stay informed about: "The Singing Fool" (1928)