The Jazz Singer

Jerry Lewis stars in a rare dramatic role in this 1959 live-TV production, which reworks the classic play about a modern entertainer working as a nightclub singer and comedian (a natural fit for Lewis)—a career path that his traditional, old-world Jewish cantor father (Eduard Franz) considers a betrayal of everything he believes in. Stripped down to fit an hour-long network slot, this version—set in the world of TV and ‘50s nightclub culture—costars Anna Maria Alberghetti as a TV celebrity who scouts Lewis (against the advice of her loudmouthed agent, played Alan Reed) for her variety show. While there are better versions of this sentimental play, this is a fine showcase for Lewis, who sings, dances, and performs vaudeville in addition to showing off his dramatic chops, and it also features the great Yiddish theater legend Molly Picon as Lewis's doting Jewish mother. The production was an early color TV broadcast and was preserved on an archaic color videotape system (as well as the standard black-and-white kinescope film). This disc features both versions, plus a bonus featurette on the production and the restoration of the color tape. Recommended, overall. (S. Axmaker)