Backdrop pending
Back to catalog
Now streaming
The Jazz Singer
Directed by Alan Crosland192789 minDrama / Music / Historical
The son of a stern New York cantor, Jakie Rabinowitz runs away from home to become Jack Robin, a jazz singer chasing lights, syncopation, and the stage. Alan Crosland’s 1927 Warner Bros. landmark — the first feature-length film with synchronized spoken dialogue — follows his rise from vaudeville to Broadway while his broken-hearted father waits for him to return to the synagogue. Al Jolson, already a sensation, bursts through the silent era with songs, ad-libs, and the immortal line “You ain’t heard nothin’ yet,” performing several numbers in blackface as the story builds to a choice between opening night and singing Kol Nidre on the Day of Atonement. Part silent picture, part talkie, and all show-business melodrama, The Jazz Singer is the movie that made the movies speak.
Free accounts can unlock two movies each month. Membership includes unlimited eligible films and commentary editions.
Share this film
Send the watch link, make a branded Story card, or choose an exact 30-second moment when this title is cleared for excerpts.
Share options ready.
A private space for every film
Build your own archive
Sign in to log watches, rate films, save thoughts, and return to favorite moments. Nothing is posted publicly.
Sign in to startAbout the film
The son of a stern New York cantor, Jakie Rabinowitz runs away from home to become Jack Robin, a jazz singer chasing lights, syncopation, and the stage. Alan Crosland’s 1927 Warner Bros. landmark — the first feature-length film with synchronized spoken dialogue — follows his rise from vaudeville to Broadway while his broken-hearted father waits for him to return to the synagogue. Al Jolson, already a sensation, bursts through the silent era with songs, ad-libs, and the immortal line “You ain’t heard nothin’ yet,” performing several numbers in blackface as the story builds to a choice between opening night and singing Kol Nidre on the Day of Atonement. Part silent picture, part talkie, and all show-business melodrama, The Jazz Singer is the movie that made the movies speak.
- Director
- Alan Crosland
- Year
- 1927
- Runtime
- 89 min
- Genres
- Drama / Music / Historical