Hallelujah I'm a Bum

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Al Jolson says, "You ain't seen nothin' yet," but this isn't The Jazz Singer. Jolson found one of his better movie roles in Hallelujah, I'm a Bum!, a curious 1933 artifact of the early-sound, pre-Code era, a movie replete with music, political comment, and occasionally risqué humor. Jolie plays "the mayor of Central Park," a happy hobo who cleans up after he meets an amnesiac beauty. Alas, the workaday world isn't what it's cracked up to be, as his leisure-minded pals knew all along. Although never quite clicking into classic status, the movie is borne aloft on the Rodgers and Hart score (which includes "You Are Too Beautiful" and much rhyming dialogue) and director Lewis Milestone's fluid tracking shots of hoboes marching and singing through Central Park. That's Harry Langdon, former silent clown, as the Communist tramp warning about the impending revolution as he picks up garbage--a measure of this film's true oddness. --Robert Horton

Description

The legendary Al Jolson is the self-proclaimed "Mayor of Central Park" in this "stylized, sophisticated and lyrical" (Pauline Kael) comic operetta Â- one of the most decidedly different and delightful musicals ever made! A unique attempt to expand the boundaries of the format, Hallelujah I'm a Bum! captures Jolson at his charismatic best and "reveals more than any of his other surviving films just why [he] was so great a star" (The London Times)!Bumper (Jolson) is the happiest hobo in New York. He's just fallen head-over-heels in love with the beautiful young amnesiac (Madge Evans) he's rescued from a park lake. But when he discovers her true identity, the "Mayor of Central Park" suddenly finds himself competing for her affections with a rich playboyÂ...the Mayor of New York (Frank Morgan, The Wizard of Oz)!

Customer Reviews:

fine Jolson vehicle.......2007-08-23

Hallelujah I'm A Bum let Al Jolson really flex his muscle in one of the earliest musicals after "talkies" were invented. Al Jolson sings numerous songs marvelously throughout the entire picture; and the plot moves along at a fine pace. The action and musical numbers held my attention. Some people may call this film an oddity but it's really a much better film than that. They released it on DVD when other great films still remain only on VHS; and that's proof enough for me that this is one film you definitely want to watch.

The action begins in Florida where the Mayor of New York John Hastings (Frank Morgan) is vacationing--at the same time that his homeless buddy Bumper (Al Jolson) is there with his sidekick Acorn (Edgar Connor). We see how they are friends and how both Mayor Hastings and Bumper passionately believe in their own lifestyles: Bumper wants nothing more than to be free--of money, that is; and he lives off the land in Central Park with pride (and a little financial help from none other than Mayor Hastings). Mayor John Hastings seems to be the ultimate capitalist ham who is remarkably wealthy as he poses for press "photo ops" even on vacation with a goose that he shot while hunting.

Soon, however, they all return to New York--the mayor by train, Bumper and Acorn by hitchhiking. Back in New York, Mayor Hastings has a huge misunderstanding with his lover June Marcher (Madge Evans); and the couple split up. June can't recover from the pain. When June tries to kill herself by jumping into the water in Central Park, Bumper just happens to notice and he saves her life. June lives; but she can't remember anything about her life. When she quickly falls for Bumper, he gets a job through the Mayor and pays for her to be able to rent a small room.

Of course, all throughout the movie there are great musical numbers; and Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart have a great cameo in the film as photographers when Mayor Hastings must lay a cornerstone for a new public school. Perhaps you can figure how the plot winds toward the ending of the picture; but I won't give away any spoilers here!

The cinematography shows careful forethought in crowd scenes with all the homeless people in Central Park gathering around to celebrate the return of Bumper and Acorn to their "neighborhood" after their Florida vacation; and the choreography works wonders in the musical numbers that showcase Jolson and his sidekick Acorn (Edgar Connor) with the park people following them as together they all march and sing their way through the park.

The DVD comes with few extras: you get the theatrical trailer and optional subtitles in French and Spanish. However, the movie is so enjoyable that I will overlook this.

I highly recommend Hallelujah I'm A Bum for Al Jolson fans and fans of early Hollywood musicals. The razor thin plot just barely works; but the real reason you watch this movie is for the song and dance numbers. In addition, people who like silent films will delight to see Harry Langdon as Egghead the Communist litter man; and Frank Morgan gives a great performance as Mayor John Hastings.

Enjoy!

Not worthy of "The Greatest Entertainer".......2007-05-13

Al Jolson was certainly one of - or possibly THE greatest entertainer of all time. His performance shines in this movie. But the story and disjointed flow do not even come close to being worthy of Al Jolson. Although he does an excellent job as usual - this show does little to highlight his amazing talent. Why he would choose to star in such a movie I can only imagine.

Rodgers & Hart And Al Jolson Shine In This Early Hollywood Musical.......2005-12-08

Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart had just scored a critical and popular success with 1932's Love Me Tonight. They used their new leverage with their next film, Hallelujah I'm A Bum, to push further their idea of rhyming dialogue and more integrated songs. The movie starred Al Jolson and was a poignant tale of a happy-go-lucky bum who falls for a woman he rescues from a lake who has amnesia, only to lose her to a good friend of his who had been her lover. Despite the film's many charms, it was just too unusual and probably too bittersweet. It didn't do well at the box office. As a result, Rodgers and Hart were consigned to the fate of all the other Broadway songwriters who had come to Hollywood when the Depression cut the legs off much of the Broadway theater; they were given piecemeal assignments with the songs altered, cut, changed or dropped at the whim of the producers. Within a year and a half the pair had fled Hollywood, returned to Broadway and created a stunning series of hit musicals until the partnership finally came apart in 1943.

Bumper (Al Jolson) is a cheerful, resourceful bum, the leader of the Central Park lay-abouts. He has his standards, too. His friends call him the Mayor of Central Park, and among those friends is Mayor Hastings, the real mayor of New York City. Hastings keeps a mistress, June Marsden (Madge Evans), whom through a mistaken series of events he believes is being unfaithful. She tries to explain, he says he no longer wants to see her, and so she wanders to Central Park, jumps off the bridge into the lake and is rescued by Bumper. She has amnesia. Bumper falls for her, and falls hard. He even gets a job at a bank so he can take care of her. But Hastings realizes how much he loves June and how wrong he was about her. Bumper finds out the girl he calls Angel is really June Marsden, and honorably he brings her back together with Hastings. June recovers her memory, but now she sees Bumper only as this funny, harmless bum. The last we see of Bumper he has given up his coat and tie and returned to Central Park. He's leaning back on a bench and staring at the sky. Some how, we know, his innate cheerfulness and sense of what's right will pull him through.

Probably a third of the movie is made up of lengthy set pieces involving stretches of rhymed dialogue half sung, half spoken. Rodgers and Hart wrote several songs, but they are so much a part of the characters and the plot that only two can stand alone. One, You Are Too Beautiful, became a hit. The other, I've Got To Get Back to New York, became a standard among supper club saloon singers like Bobby Short.

Al Jolson does a first-rate job as Bumper. He had such an outsized personality that you can see how he could easily dominate a theater. In movies, you can also see how he could just be too much. Here, he's playing a nice guy, a little shy at times but basically a confident, fair-minded man with a sense of what's right. Jolson isn't exactly subdued, but you wind up liking his character. He's the point of the movie, and he makes the movie work. Frank Morgan does a fine job as the mayor, tired of his duties, a charming man, not realizing he loves June until it's almost too late. Madge Evans doesn't have a lot to work with, but she looks great and works well with both Jolson and Morgan. One of the standouts in the cast is Harry Langdon as Egghead, who picks up trash in the park. He's an innocent Red, a naive socialist, a friend of Bumper's most of the time. Langdon was one of the great silent comics of the Twenties until success went to his head. By the time the talkies came in Langdon was doing bit parts. Nothing came of his prominent role in Hallelujah, but you can see why he was big in his prime. He has a child-like face and a confused expression, he's a little helpless, he stumbles about some, and he is a master of small bits of business. Also on hand is Chester Conklin, once one of the Keystone Kops and a great silent movie clown, as a driver of a horse-drawn park carriage who has as forbidding a wife as you can imagine.

The movie is dated but is still great fun. If you're interested in the development of Hollywood musicals, or Rogers and Hart, or Al Jolson, or just movies that tried being unconventional, you might enjoy watching and owning this one. The DVD presentation is very good considering the age of the film. There are no extras.

We'll let Bumper have the last words:

Rockefeller's busy giving dough away;
Chevrolet is busy making cars;
Hobo, you keep busy when they throw away
Slightly used cigars.
Hobo, you've no time to shirk.
You're busy keeping far away from work.

The weather's getting fine.
The coffee tastes like wine.
You happy hobo, sing,
"Hallelujah, I'm a bum again!"
Why work away for wealth
When you can travel for your health?
It' s spring, you hobo, sing,
"Hallelujah, I'm a bum again!"
Your home is always near;
The moon's your chandelier;
Your ceiling is the sky,
Way up high.
The road is your estate,
The earth your little dinner plate;
It's spring, you hobo, sing,
"Hallelujah, I'm a bum again!"

We arw waiting to look at it........2005-08-22

We are waiting to look at it.
We saw it on TV maney years ago.

MGM asleep at the switch..........2005-01-30

I sought this movie out primarily to see silent-comedy star Harry Langdon in a talking role, but I got a kick out of Jolson and the whole ensemble as well. Unfortunately, I must second another reviewer in regards to the so-called "Dolby Digital" DVD soundtrack: This is, without a doubt, the worst remastering job I've ever heard. It sounds as if they calibrated the noise-reduction to the loud opening title music, and left it that way for the remainder of the film.

As a result, the dialog and singing is either muted, choppy, or completely unintelligible. This is the kind of snafu I might expect from a cheap DVD house that churns out public-domain titles, not MGM with a Rodgers and Hart musical!

I'd give the movie itself at least three stars, but this particular DVD edition gets only one, as it's been rendered nearly worthless by the sloppy sound processing. Perhaps next time, MGM will pay a little attention to quality control.

Average customer rating:

fine Jolson vehicle
Not worthy of "The Greatest Entertainer"
Rodgers & Hart And Al Jolson Shine In This Early Hollywood Musical
We arw waiting to look at it.
MGM asleep at the switch...

Hallelujah I'm a Bum
Starring: Al Jolson , Madge Evans , Frank Morgan , Harry Langdon , and Chester Conklin
Director: Lewis Milestone
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: Video
Binding: VHS Tape

Brooke, Tyler | ( B ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Conklin, Chester | ( C ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Evans, Madge | ( E ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Goodwin, Harold | ( G ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Jolson, Al | ( J ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Langdon, Harry | ( L ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Potel, Victor | ( P ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Roach, Bert | ( R ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Milestone, Lewis | ( M ) | Directors | VHS | Video

General | Musicals & Performing Arts | Genres | VHS | Video

Deals Under $8 | Today's Deals in Video | Features | VHS | Video

All Deals | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: 0792837118
Release Date: 1998-09-01