I must take exception to all the favorable comments for this AL JOLSON movie, HALLELUJAH I'M A BUM directed by Lewis Milestone.
First of all, Jolson himself is hardly appealing as a screen personality, lacking the looks and charm of a leading man in every conceivable way.
He may have been the man immortalized in THE JOLSON STORY by Larry Parks, but as a screen personality he's totally lacking in many ways. His tendency to mug doesn't make him believable as a Central Park bum cavorting with several other equally unappealing characters.
Furthermore, it's a musical with two average songs and a script that features musical dialogue--which strangely enough comes from the pen of Rodgers and Hart, both of whom have bit roles.
The only good things about the movie are seeing FRANK MORGAN in a relatively straight dramatic role without all of his bumbling excesses, and lovely MADGE EVANS as the woman Jolson and Morgan are in love with through a strange set of circumstances.
It took a lot of patience for me to sit through this one. And frankly, I do love musicals--but this was the pits. An oddity if there ever was one. He may have been a great entertainer on the stage, but it's no wonder his film career as a lead was a brief one.
First of all, Jolson himself is hardly appealing as a screen personality, lacking the looks and charm of a leading man in every conceivable way.
He may have been the man immortalized in THE JOLSON STORY by Larry Parks, but as a screen personality he's totally lacking in many ways. His tendency to mug doesn't make him believable as a Central Park bum cavorting with several other equally unappealing characters.
Furthermore, it's a musical with two average songs and a script that features musical dialogue--which strangely enough comes from the pen of Rodgers and Hart, both of whom have bit roles.
The only good things about the movie are seeing FRANK MORGAN in a relatively straight dramatic role without all of his bumbling excesses, and lovely MADGE EVANS as the woman Jolson and Morgan are in love with through a strange set of circumstances.
It took a lot of patience for me to sit through this one. And frankly, I do love musicals--but this was the pits. An oddity if there ever was one. He may have been a great entertainer on the stage, but it's no wonder his film career as a lead was a brief one.