Cantor Rabinowitz wants his 13-year-old son, Jacob "Jakie" Rabinowitz, to carry on the generations-old family tradition and become a cantor at … See more

• "My Gal Sal" (music and lyrics by Paul Dresser; dubbed by unknown singer with Bobby Gordon onscreen)
• "Waiting for the Robert E. Lee" (music by Lewis F. Muir and lyrics by L. Wolfe Gilbert; dubbed by unknown singer with Bobby Gordon … See more

Concept and development
On April 25, 1917, Samson Raphaelson, a native of New York City's Lower East Side and a University of Illinois undergraduate, attended a … See more

The film developed into a major hit, demonstrating the profit potential of feature-length "talkies", but Donald Crafton has shown that the reputation the film later acquired … See more

• Al Jolson as Jacob “Jakie” Rabinowitz (Jack Robin), Son of Cantor Rabinowitz and Sara Rabinowitz, and a singer of jazz
• Warner Oland as Cantor Rabinowitz, Jakie Rabinowitz’s … See more

The premiere occurred on October 6, 1927, at Warner Bros.' flagship theater in New York City. In keeping with the film's theme of a conflict within a Jewish family, the film premiered … See more

Jack Robin's use of blackface in his Broadway stage act—a common practice at the time, which is now widely condemned as racist … See more