The 1920’s and The Jazz Singer

The 1920’s and The Jazz Singer

The Roaring twenties refers to the decade of 1920 when society was flourishing culturally and economically. This was when new technologies such as the automobile and telephone were being introduced and when artistically, it was booming. Hollywood was growing at a rapid pace because the newly established art form of entertaining, the movie, was a huge success. Movies were a respectable mode of entertainment and were relatively cheap. In 1927, Alan Crosland’s The Jazz Singer emerged as a trend setter and the new model for movies forever changed. The Jazz Singer tells the story of Jackie Robinowitz, a cantor’s son who wants to be a jazz singer. Although The Jazz Singer does not fit into a specific film movement; it does, however, significantly mark the period it was made in. With the success of The Jazz Singer the film industry saw the emergence of a new genre, the musical as well as the emergence of sound and looks at particular characteristics prominent during the 1920s, American assimilation.

The roaring twenties was an extravagant era, one of indulgence, especially in cinema and entertainment. The 1920s was the decade of the Picture Palaces, grand theaters that could hold 100 piece orchestras, hold over and 1000 guests and was dressed up like the glamour of the decade. At the end of the movie, Jack Robin has finally made it into show business and was appearing in one of these picture palaces. Modern audiences can see the extravagance of the palace with grand architecture and Jack Robin’s name written in lights on a billboard as big as a modern day Jumbotron. The city is lit up by dozens of billboards flashing with bright lights that illuminate the dark sky above. Through this one scene, audien...

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...ed to flocked to the movies.

Works Cited

Carringer, Robert, L. The Jazz Singer. Madison, Wisconsin: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1979.

Green, Stanley. Hollywood Musicals Year by Year. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard Corporation, 1990.

Kenrick, John. “History of The Musical Stage 1920s: Keep the Sun Smilin' Through.” Musicals 101. Last modified 2003. http://www.musicals101.com/1920bway.html.

Kirle, Bruce. Unfinished Show Business: Broadway Musicals as Works-in-process. Carbondale, Illinois: The Board of Trustees, Southern Illinois University, 2005.

The Jazz Singer. DVD. Directed by Alan Crosland. 1927; Los Angeles, CA: Warner Brothers Video, 2007.

Thompson, Kristin , and David Bordwell. Film History : An Introduction. 3 ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2009.

Virdi, Jyotika. “The Coming of Sound.” Class lecture, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, October 29, 2013.