As a follow-up to The Jazz Singer (1927), the brothers Warner weren't hedging their bets. They gave Al Jolson another sentimental plot, this time about a Broadway star who falls apart when his fickle wife leaves him for another man and takes his beloved son with her. Since the plot gave no reason for the star's trademarked blackface, he suddenly dons it for the final number, a reprise of the picture's biggest hit, "Sonny Boy," by Buddy DeSylva, Lew Brown and Ray Henderson. Most of the score consists of Jolson classics like "I'm Sitting on Top of the World" and "It All Depends on You." The two songs written for the film -- "Sonny Boy" and Dave Dryer, Billy Rose and Jolson's "There's a Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder" -- would go on to join the list of Jolson standards. The former became the first song to top one million in sheet music sales, eventually reaching three million, which came as something of a shock to Jolson and the songwriters. To them, it was just a silly, maudlin song written as a plot point. Its success and Jolson's outsized personality helped make this Warner's biggest hit to date, with a gross of $5.9 million, and made Jolson a superstar.

By Frank Miller