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Jolson Sings Again

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.

Shades of trick photography, here's a shot of Larry Parks playing Al Jolson meeting Larry Parks playing Larry Parks. Although history records Jolson as being less than totally happy about the portrayal, at least at first, the movie shows Al practically jumping for joy. As he is quoted in the movie, the exact facts of his life weren't important, just the general scheme of things.

Without a doubt, the two Al Jolson film biographies, whether true biographies or not, brought millions of people to become fans of the World's Greatest Entertainer, Al Jolson. Having presented the first Jolson biography, The Jolson Story, in February, 1948, it was quite appropriate that the Lux Radio Theatre production of Jolson Sings Again was broadcast in May, 1950. Again, with many of the original stars taking radio roles, and Jolson playing Jolson, this radio adaptation of the movie Jolson Sings Again is a fast paced trip through Jolson's screen biography. Click here to listen to this radio program

JOLSON LEGEND #2
	As with The Jolson Story (see JOLSON LEGEND #1 on that page), Al Jolson is said to have made an uncredited cameo appearance in Jolson Sings Again. In this shot, taken as Larry Parks portrays Parks doing Jolson singing You Made Me Love You, Jolson himself has been said to be seen wearing a gray fedora hat standing behing the camera. The full scene is on the above left, a close-up of the area is on the right. Even though several knowledgeable fans through the years have made a case for it, close examinations of high resolution copies of the film now available cast serious doubt on this being Jolson.

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