The Jolson Story is a 1946 American biographical musical film, a fictionalized account of the life of singer Al Jolson. It stars Larry Parks as Jolson, Evelyn Keyes as Julie Benson, William Demarest as his manager, Ludwig Donath and Tamara Shayne as his parents, and Scotty Beckett as the young Jolson. Many of the film's episodes are based on fact but the story is simplified, with some people disguised or combined into single characters.
The Ladies Man is a 1961 American comedy film directed by and starring Jerry Lewis. It was released on June 28, 1961, by Paramount Pictures.
Jonathan Rosenbaum is an American film critic and author. Rosenbaum was the head film critic for The Chicago Reader from 1987 to 2008, when he retired. He has published and edited numerous books about cinema and has contributed to such notable film publications as Cahiers du cinéma and Film Comment.
The Singing Fool is a 1928 American sound part-talkie musical drama motion picture directed by Lloyd Bacon which was released by Warner Bros. In addition to sequences with audible dialogue or talking sequences, the film features a synchronized musical score and sound effects along with English intertitles. The soundtrack was recorded using the Vitaphone sound-on-disc system. 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. The film entered the public domain on January 1, 2024.
Henry "Harry" Philmore Langdon was an American comedian who appeared in vaudeville, silent films, and talkies.
Part of the American Film Institute, AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes is a list of the top 100 quotations in American cinema. The American Film Institute revealed the list on June 21, 2005, in a three-hour television program on CBS. The program was hosted by Pierce Brosnan and had commentary from many Hollywood actors and filmmakers. A jury consisting of 1,500 film artists, critics, and historians selected "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn", spoken by Clark Gable as Rhett Butler in the 1939 American Civil War epic Gone with the Wind, as the most memorable American movie quotation of all time.
The Palm Beach Story is a 1942 screwball comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges, and starring Claudette Colbert, Joel McCrea, Mary Astor and Rudy Vallée. Victor Young contributed the musical score, including a fast-paced variation of the William Tell Overture for the opening scenes. Typical of a Sturges film, the pacing and dialogue of The Palm Beach Story are very fast. The film was distributed by Paramount Pictures.
Chester Cooper Conklin was an early American film comedian who started at Keystone Studios as one of Mack Sennett’s Keystone Cops, often paired with Mack Swain. He appeared in a series of films with Mabel Normand and worked closely with Charlie Chaplin, both in silent and sound films.
Zenobia is a 1939 comedy film directed by Gordon Douglas and starring Oliver Hardy, Harry Langdon, Billie Burke, Alice Brady, James Ellison, Jean Parker, June Lang, Stepin Fetchit and Hattie McDaniel. The source of the film was the 1891 short story "Zenobia's Infidelity" by H.C. Bunner, which was originally purchased by producer Hal Roach as a vehicle for Roland Young.
"Hallelujah, I'm a Bum" is an American folk song, that responds with humorous sarcasm to unhelpful moralizing about the circumstance of being a hobo.
10 Items or Less is a 2006 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Brad Silberling and starring Morgan Freeman and Paz Vega. Shot in fifteen days, 10 Items or Less made its release as a digital download – the first such release via the Internet – while it was still in theaters.
Rose of Washington Square is a 1939 American musical drama film, featuring the already well-known popular song with the same title. Set in 1920s New York City, the film focuses on singer Rose Sargent and her turbulent relationship with con artist Barton DeWitt Clinton, whose criminal activities threaten her professional success in the Ziegfeld Follies.
Laughter is a 1930 American pre-Code comedy film directed by Harry d'Abbadie d'Arrast and starring Nancy Carroll, Fredric March and Frank Morgan. It was shot at the Astoria Studios in New York.
Wonder Bar is a 1934 American pre-Code film adaptation of a Broadway musical of the same name directed by Lloyd Bacon with musical numbers created by Busby Berkeley.
Al Jolson was an American singer, actor, and vaudevillian.
Hollywood Cavalcade is a 1939 American film featuring Alice Faye as a young performer making her way in the early days of Hollywood, from slapstick silent pictures through the transition from silent to sound.
Varsity is a lost 1928 American sound part-talkie comedy film directed by Frank Tuttle, written by Howard Estabrook, George Marion Jr. and Wells Root, and starring Charles "Buddy" Rogers, Mary Brian, Chester Conklin, Phillips Holmes, Robert Ellis and John Westwood. In addition to sequences with audible dialogue or talking sequences, the film features a synchronized musical score and sound effects along with English intertitles. The soundtrack was recorded using the Western Electric sound-on-film system. The film was released on October 27, 1928, by Paramount Pictures.
Her Majesty, Love is a 1931 American pre-Code musical comedy drama film directed by William Dieterle for First National Pictures, starring Broadway stars Marilyn Miller and Ben Lyon, and in his talking feature debut, W. C. Fields.
You Are Too Beautiful is a 1932 song written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart for the 1933 film Hallelujah, I'm a Bum, where it was sung by Al Jolson. It became a pop and jazz standard in the 1940s, with a notable recording made on August 3, 1945 by Dick Haymes (Decca 23750).
Skirts is a lost 1921 American silent comedy film directed by Hampton Del Ruth and starring Clyde Cook, Chester Conklin, Polly Moran, Jack Cooper, Billy Armstrong, and Ethel Teare. The film was released by Fox Film Corporation on April 10, 1921.
