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International Al Jolson Society
Video Department
DVD Information


The Jazz Singer is more than a movie. It's history -- the first feature with spoken dialogue. Audiences at the October 6, 1927, premiere were electrified by what they could now see and hear when star Al Jolson, in the film's best-remembered line, proclaimed: "Wait a minute, you ain't heard nothing yet!" To watch The Jazz Singer today is to relive that exciting event. Because of its prominence in the film universe, The Jazz Singer is available on a commercial BluRay and conventional DVD. It may be ordered from Amazon by clicking the cover image to the left.  

The movies truly hadn't heard nothing yet. After The Jazz Singer, there was The Singing Fool! Meet singing waiter Al Stone, who, on the way to the top, wore out eight pianos, rhymed mammy with Alabamy 981 times and did more for Dixie than Robert E. Lee. Stone is The Singing Fool -- and he's played by the man who did more for the Sound Era than any other star: Al Jolson. The IAJS DVD includes a special extra, helping to introduce the movie.   
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US$22 for US/UK
US$33 International

Behind bars... but still belting out a song! In Say It With Songs, fate rolls snake eyes for dice-playing family man, Joe Lane (Jolson). He does time for manslaughter, then returns home where new heartaches await. Through them all, Joe relies on his gift of song to express his pain and ultimate triumph.  
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US$22 for US/UK
US$33 International

A bygone American entertainment form -- the traveling minstrel show -- is the setting for "one of Jolson's better musicals" (Halliwell's Film Guide). In Mammy, Jolson plays minstrel end man Al Fuller, who's set up for an attempted murder rap when someone slips real bullets into the gun he uses in a gag routine. Irving Berlin's Let Me Sing And I'm Happy, from this movie, became one of Jolson's theme songs. While we don't have the recently restored Technicolor sequences on this DVD, the original trailer for this film is included.  
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US$22 for US/UK
US$33 International

With songs and a fast horse, Jolson brings home a winner with Big Boy. The dynamic entertainer puts on his trademark blackface makeup to portray sunny-natured Gus, a stableman-turned-jockey who overcomes adversity and wins the Kentucky Derby after gamblers conspire to have him fired from Bedford Stables. Al Jolson's only film played entirely in blackface, save the special ending, many feel that this film shows Jolson the closest to his stage performance.  
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US$22 for US/UK
US$33 International

Quite a different movie, Jolie plays Bumper, a hobo whose close friend just happens to be the mayor of New York. The interesting sidenote to this picture is the title, itself, which was changed to Hallelujah, I'm A Tramp for release in England, where "bum" has a more vulgar meaning. It may be ordered from Amazon by clicking the cover image to the left.  

Bon soir, Wilkommen. And howdy! The welcome mat is out at the posh Parisian night spot Wonder Bar. Here you'll find willing ladies, eager gents, lots of musical razzmatazz, even an on-stage murder and shady cover-up. It all happens in one night -- and it all happens at Al Jolson's Wonder Bar. Along with a young Dick Powell, this movie includes the controversial "Goin' To Heaven on a Mule" sequence. The original trailer is on the DVD as well.  
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US$22 for US/UK
US$33 International

Abour a quarter to nine -- or any time -- is right for this backstage extravaganze, starring Jolson as a down-and-out Broadway star and Ruby Keeler as a hoofer who helps him launch his own show. With seven zippy Harry Warren - Al Dubin tunes and famed splashy production numbers showcasing "About a Quarter to Nine" and "A Latin from Manhattan," Go Into Your Dance is true entertainment. The original trailer is included on the DVD.
A new remastered transfer of this film is in progress. Watch for an announcement of its availablity, predicted for late 2024.
 

In The Singing Kid, Jolson's a kid at heart with a heart full of song! His belt-it-out singing meets jazz-baby jive in this story of a Broadway star who loses his fortune and voice yet rallies to knock 'em dead in the aisles again. Supporting Jolson is a fun-time combination of hepcat skidoo and ace comic talents. Al Jolson's great performance with costar Sybil Jason is not to be missed. This DVD includes the trailer for the movie, and the famous I Love To Sing-a cartoon featuring Owl Jolson.  
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US$22 for US/UK
US$33 International

Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back again. Jolson was dropped to third billing, and his character is clearly not the star, but the scenes in which he sings Rock-A-Bye, Toot Toot Tootsie!, California, Here I Come, and My Mammy have to be seen and enjoyed! Jolie may have lost top billing, but he was still a star and stole the show in this film based on the life of Fanny Brice. Never before available, included in this DVD are Jolson's deleted scenes, and alternate audio takes specially produced for this DVD.  
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US$22 for US/UK
US$33 International

This Technicolor film features Don Ameche playing songwriter Stephen Foster against Jolson's portrayal of E. P. Christy of the original Christy Minstrels in this fictionalized biography of Foster. Jolson sings many of Foster's more popular songs, including Oh! Suzanna, De Camptown Races, and Old Folks At Home. This DVD is a beautiful restoration of a fine film.  
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US$22 for US/UK
US$33 International

This film biography of George Gershwin, starring Robert Alda, is highlighted with the cameo of Al Jolson singing Gershwin's first, and greatest, hit, "Swanee." The DVD includes the original trailer, and even a cartoon!  
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Hollywood takes an early look at its own past as Alice Faye is whisked from Broadway obscurity to movie stardom. Don Ameche is the silent-movie director who guides her; Buster Keaton and Al Jolson play themselves, with Jolson doing a recreation of the Kol Nidre scene from The Jazz Singer.  
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This Technicolor masterpiece tells the fictionalized story of Al Jolson, the man who truly was the World's Greatest Entertainer. Tracing his career from his boyhood in Washington, D.C., singing with his father in synagogue, with his boyhood voice provided by the talented then-young singer, the late Rudy Wissler, through his minstrel days, to becoming a headliner on Broadway, this film won the Academy Awards for Musical Scoring for Morris Stoloff, as well as an Oscar for Sound Recording for John Livadary, the movie also was nominated for Best Actor for Larry Parks' portrayal of Al Jolson. It premiered at New York City's Radio City Music Hall on October 10, 1946, 19 years and four days after The Jazz Singer took the world by storm as the first talking picture. Featuring 25 songs by Jolson, including "My Mammy," "You Made Me Love You," and "Ma Blushin' Rosie," Jolson himself appears in a long runway shot, singing Gershwin's immortal "Swanee." While playing a bit loose with the facts of Jolson's life, this film is a must see for anyone who wants to get a flavor of this show business legend. It may be ordered from Amazon by clicking the cover image to the left.  

Picking up the fictionalized life story of Al Jolson at the end of The Jolson Story, as his wife leaves him, and he finds himself in show business once again. Finding that his unique style is no longer at the center of the entertainment world, he finds a new audience, the servicemen overseas, who discover the talent their parents once knew. Stricken by illness, he finds love in a new wife, and reaches yet another peak of his career with the making of The Jolson Story itself. Jolson Sings Again stars Larry Parks, Barbara Hale, William Demarest, Ludwig Donath, and Bill Goodwin, and premiered on August 10, 1949, at Loew's State Theatre in New York City. It may be ordered from Amazon by clicking the cover image to the left.  

Within the tracks of this DVD, Jolson on Celluloid, are images of Al Jolson spanning almost forty years of his life. Including footage never before widely available to collectors, as well as videos specially prepared for this collection, it allows a unique view of an aspect of Al Jolson not seen in his feature film appearances.

There are clips of a young Al Jolson in front of an acoustic recording horn, and the mature man, billed as "The World's Greatest Entertainer," on his final tour before his favorite audience. Included are rare clips from battlefields during World War II and the Korean War, as well as several short films featuring Al Jolson.

Among the more than twenty segments are the Screen Test footage, shot by Jolson during the making of the film biography of his life, film of the Soldier Field program in Chicago during August, 1949, and home movies shot at the Jolsons' Encino home, featuring Al, Erle, Asa Jr., and Alicia.

There is also newsreel coverage of Al Jolson's funeral, as well as tributes done in his honor after his passing.

Each of these clips is presented in the best possible quality. While several of them were shot without sound, audio tracks have been added to suggest the flavor of the original program. Perhaps the best way to describe this DVD would be to paraphrase Jolson's famous catch phrase: Until you've watched this disc, you ain't seen nothin' yet!

 
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US$22 for US/UK
US$33 International

Another compilation of Jolson video clips from the archives of the International Al Jolson Society, edited and compiled by Marc Leavey, this DVD contains ten segments, featuring Al Jolson and some of those who knew and admired him.
· A Day At Santa Anita, 1937, starring Sybil Jason, cameo by Al Jolson and Ruby Keeler.
· Men of Destiny on Al Jolson, a man of the century
· The Voice of Hollywood, 1929, featuring Harry Jolson
· Harry Jolson singing "You Made Me Love You" on You Asked For It
· George Jessel singing "California Here I Come" and "If You Knew Susie"
· Al Jolson in Korea footage and audio tracks
· Jolson Sings As Seen On TV
· Clean Pastures cartoon
· Al J. Olson - Dogville short
With this collection, you really "ain't seen nothin' yet"!
 
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US$33 International

On one DVD you can get two of the most significant Jolson Documentaries. The Hollywood and the Stars series from the early 1960s featured Joseph Cotton narrating the story of Jolson's life, told through film clips and story in an episode called "The Immortal Jolson." Although it took its title from the Pearl Sieben book, the information is part fact and part legend, folded into a half hour of black and white television from some 40 years ago.

Also included on the DVD is the British produced South Bank Show, which features Michael Freedland, who himself has written a Jolson biography, as narrator, and many more clips and legends. This show, which runs almost an hour, also includes interviews with Irving Caesar and others who knew Jolson and worked with him, as well as more modern stars who speak of their feelings for the man.

This DVD is certainly an important part of the Jolson history, and belongs in any Jolson fan's collection.

 
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Cut from the The Jolson Story when released film, the film from this excised segment was acquired by the IAJS some years ago. Initially released to our membership in a copy repaired with the tools of the day, it was obvious that age did not treat this Jolson treasure well. The lush Technicolor had faded and multiple screenings had robbed the film of its brilliance. Scratches, repeated frames, dust and dirt ... as well as a rip down the center of the film contributed to its undoing. The film was in need of serious restoration. With the aid of today's advanced technology, the scene was brought back to its glory; color was enhanced and the scratches, rips, and dirt were digitally removed. The result reveals what the film may have looked like to its first preview audience in 1946. This DVD places the clip in context, and included the original film as we received it, so that you can appreciate the restoration.  
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US$33 International

Originally broadcast on October 28, 1963, the hit TV series, Hollywood and the Stars, released an episode featuring Al Jolson, The Immortal Jolson, narrated by Joseph Cotten, which showcased the entertainer's career and personal life through vintage film, newsreel footage, and home movies. It served as a wonderful introduction to Al Jolson and helped spread the legend of the World's Greatest Entertainer.

This reconstruction breathes new life into the timeless documentary. With restored quality and newly found color footage, it's sure to thrill fans, old and new. As added features, the original broadcast is included, and a newly created Jolson Overture.

 
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This extraordinary DVD is a beautiful compilation of every song performed by Al Jolson in every motion picture in which he appeared. With songs from A Plantation Act to the Jolson appearance with "Swanee" in The Jolson Story, this is almost three hours of The World's Greatest Entertainer singing his movie hits. A must have for Jolson collectors, this is also a great gift to highlight Jolson's film career.

Films included are: A Plantation Act, The Jazz Singer, The Singing Fool, Say It With Songs, Mammy, Big Boy, Wonder Bar, Go Into Your Dance, The Singing Kid, Rose of Washington Square, Hollywood Cavalcade, Swanee River, Rhapsody in Blue, and even Jolson's "Swanee" from The Jolson Story, presented as never before.

Each film can be played as a chapter, or the entire collection can be viewed continuously. Running time for the collection is two hours and forty-nine minutes. This DVD, as off of these productions, is offered exclusively by the International Al Jolson Society.

 
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US$22 for US/UK
US$33 International

This DVD, produced for the members of the International Al Jolson Society, holds over an hour of musical memories, as it presents all of the songs from the two film biographies of the life of Al Jolson, The Jolson Story and Jolson Sings Again. Including the early songs from the film, performed by Rudy Wissler to the screen images of Scotty Beckett, as well as Larry Parks' masterful miming of the voice of Al Jolson for the major parts of the films, it also includes Virginia Rees singing for Evelyn Keyes and Cantor Saul Silverman voicing Ludwig Donath's Papa Yoelson. To complete the package, two songs cut from The Jolson Story are included as bonus tracks, "Cantor on the Sabbath" and "Sonny Boy."  
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In 1980, comedian and author Larry Wilde had the idea for a television special about the World's Greatest Entertainer, Al Jolson. To research his project, he interviewed three men who were directly involved with Al Jolson. This DVD presents those interviews, along with a concept pitch for the program, featuring Mr. Wilde, himself.

The interviews are with George Jessel, whose career so intertwined with Jolson's through the years, Milton Berle, who looked up to Jolson throughout his life, and Stephen Longstreet, who penned much of the script for The Jolson Story. In addition, the concept presentation by Mr. Wilde for the television show that never was is also included.

At over 100 minutes of Jolson history, this DVD belongs in every Jolson fan's collection.

 
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The International Al Jolson Society proudly presents a video of previously unknown, rare color footage of Al Jolson, filmed between September 13th and September 21st, 1950, during Al Jolson's historic rendezvous with history. See Jolson and some of the many diverse cultural sites of everyday life in occupied Japan. Travel with Jolson by air and thru the camera's lens, see the exact aerial view Jolson himself saw, and walk side by side with Al on the same battlefronts in South Korea.

This beautifully restored color footage was believed lost, and only recently was discovered in the depths of The Library of Congress. This film affords us a firsthand glimpse into Al Jolson's patriotic persona; as we see him chatting with General MacArthur's Field Commander, General Walton H. Walker, during his brief visit to his Pusan Headquarters. Watch Jolson chow down with GIs at the Korean front, and witness the genuine camaraderie between Al Jolson and his favorite audience — the American servicemen, as he signs autographs and regales his boys with amusing anecdotes.

In the autumn of his life, Al Jolson sang and clowned his way into the hearts of war-weary soldiers in a foreign land, and, in the process, into the annals of history.

 
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US$33 International

This is a compilation of highlights and musical numbers from the International Al Jolson Festival, May 2014, in Baltimore, Maryland.  
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US$33 International

This is a compilation of highlights and musical numbers from the International Al Jolson Festival, May 2019, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  
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Due to the worldwide pandemic, the 2020 Jolson Festival was a Virtual Festival, featuring presentations of Jolson material by members who have researched various aspects of Al Jolson's life and career, and entertainment with performers who have graced the stage at our weekend shows, all online. The first DVD of this 2 DVD set contains all of the material from the website. Enjoy informative and entertaining presentations by enthusiastic experts of the Jolson catalog of works, by Paul Bowers, Ed Greenbaum, David McCarthy, Marc Leavey, and Jon Sonneborn. Hear Jolson songs through contemporary performances, unique to this Virtual Festival, with the music of the Lithuanian Ensemble Vilniaus Divertismentas, Krissy Ross, Nigel Dreiner, Richard Halpern and Tony Babino. And unique to this DVD set, a Bonus disc containing over three hours of archival material from the IAJS Video Vault. See clips with Davey Lee, Betty Garrett, Sybil Jason, Barbara Hale, Beverly Roberts, Rudy Wissler, Ira Green, and, of course, Dolores Kontowicz. There are clips from appearances through the years, great and memorable moments, and segments rarely seen. There is even some of our Karaoke night fun, as well as our regular entertainers. There are over 5 hours of material on these discs. As noted, this 2 DVD set is priced a bit higher than the single DVDs offered.  
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US$33 for US/UK
US$43 International

For the second year, the annual Jolson Festival was moved into the realm of cyberspace. This two DVD set includes all of the material presented on the website, nearly four hours of information and entertainment. Presentations by Paul Bowers, Ed Greenbaum, David McCarthy, Marc Leavey, and Jon Sonneborn; performances by the Lithuanian Ensemble Vilniaus Divertismentas, Nigel Dreiner, Richard Halpern and Tony Babino; and a Karaoke section with a dozen Jolson fans trying to put their own stamp on a Jolson song! A Bonus DVD is also included, with looks at some Festival productions of the past, including Clive Baldwin, Tony Babino, Richard Halpern, and others. With nearly three more hours of material, these two DVDs contain some seven hours of Jolson pleasure.  
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US$43 International

For the third year, the annual Jolson Festival was moved into the realm of cyberspace. This DVD includes all of the material presented on the website, over four hours of information and entertainment. Presentations by Paul Bowers, Ed Greenbaum, Marc Leavey, and Jon Sonneborn; performances by Stéphan Palladini, Vlad Petncki, Tom Stevens, Celia Berk, Mark Nadler, and a 90 minute concert given live for the virtual audience by Richard Halpern. Also included is an encore performance by our young Canadian friend, Stéphan Palladini. A devoted group of Karaoke performances complete the enjoyable presentation.  
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US$22 for US/UK
US$33 International

Again, for a fourth year, the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic squashed our plans for a face to face Jolson Festival, planned for Baltimore, Maryland, in May, 2023. With a theme of Give My Regards To Jolson, the 2023 Virtual Festival presented clips from those who knew and worked with Al Jolson, including Davey Lee, Irving Caesar, Sybil Jason and Betty Parks Garrett, as well as performers from times past, with Clive Baldwin, Ira Green, Rudy Wissler, and Eddie Ambrose, as well as a few recent extras. The DVD contains extended clips from those posted online, with some six hours of material on the DVD.  
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US$22 for US/UK
US$33 International

Shortly after the 2010 Jolson Festival in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which marked the 60th anniversary of the passing of Al Jolson, Dolores Kontowicz, the founder of the International Al Jolson Society, passed away. This DVD, which runs a bit over a half hour, contains clips from the 2004 and 2006 Jolson Festivals, which highlighted Dolores, and included a line up of living Society Presidents, as well as the creation of the Dolores Kontowicz Presidential Award.

At the 2010 Festival, a special tribute was paid to Dolores, and this is included in its entirety, as well.

And, finally, a collection of family photos was presented at the memorial for Dolores, and these have been overlaid with a special Jolson audio track, including some rare and specially edited material.

This is a unique way to remember a singular individual; one without whom the International Al Jolson may not have been.

 
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Film Talk is a community television show based in Staten Island. It originated as a spin off from The Dirctor's Chair, a weekly interview format geared toward independent film making, produced by Kenneth Graham and Kimbra Eberly. Film Talk is hosted by Mimi, an impassioned film admirer who would rather talk film than eat any day. Mimi, a die-hard Eddie Cantor fan, thought it was quite appropreate that a segment on Al Jolson should be produced, especially in light of Jolson't connection with the 80th anniversary of Warner Brothers' The Jazz Singer, the film that introduced the spoken word to film around the world. As president of the IAJS, Jan Hernstat was asked to facilitate the project, along with the very talented performer, Tony Babino. The segment, produced in the studios of Staten Island Commuinity Television, is a lively discussion based on the development of Al Jolson's career in show business.  
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This listing and material Copyright © 1995-2024 Marc I. Leavey, M.D. Baltimore, Maryland
Updated 01 Jul 24