The Singing Fool (Movie) 1928

(Part sound, part silent, part music)

The Singing Fool - Starring Al Jolson; with Davey Lee, Josephine Dunn, Betty Bronson, Reed Howes, Arthur Housman, Robert O'Connor and Edward Martindel.

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.

"I'm Sittin' on Top of the World", Al Jolson 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.

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.

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.

The Songs Al Jolson sings in this film are as iconic as the legend himself (perhaps the greatest Broadway actor and singer of his time) and will forever remain the most memorable and greatest film of this era. The song list includes "It All Depends on You", "I'm Sitting on Top of the World", "There's a Rainbow Around My Shoulder", "I'll Live in the Towns", 'Sonny Boy" and "Keep Smiling At Trouble".

The Soundtrack includes "Golden Gate", "The Spaniard That Blighted My Life", "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody", "California, Here I Come", "Auld Lang Syne", "It Looks Like a Big Night Tonight", Laugh Clown, Laugh", "San" and "From Monday On."

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