Blackface to Blacklist: Al Jolson, Larry Parks, and "the Jolson Story" [Hardcover]

Doug McClelland (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0810819651 | ISBN-13: 978-0810819658 | Publication Date: December 1987

Originally published in 1987 by Scarecrow Press, an illustrated history of the 1946 Hollywood biographical musical, The Jolson Story, and its star, Larry Parks. It chronicles the career of Parks, particularly the deterioration following his admission to holding Communist beliefs.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Wonderful...a first rate piece of work. (Leonard Maltin )

Scrupulously researched, with each page yielding a nugget of movie history gold. (Hollywood Studio Magazine )

Clearly a labor of love, an exhaustive treatment of its subject and then some...A clear, sometimes peppery, and frequently amusing style...Carefully researched, well-paced, and extremely entertaining. A top-notch job from a fine pro. (Quirk's Reviews )

An interesting account...Plenty of good illustrations... (Film Review Annual )

Contains more backstage melodrama than the most creative scenarists could devise...McClelland has researched his book meticulously...A constantly fascinating look at the untinseled murk beneath one of our most successful musicals. (Films In Review ) --This text refers to the Textbook Binding edition.

About the Author

Doug McClelland, a former newspaper and magazine editor, is a writer-lecturer on film. He is the author of eleven books, including Susan Hayword: The Divine Bitch, Down the Yellow Brick Road: The Making of the Wizard of Oz, and Hollywood on Ronald Reagan. He has written for such periodicals as After Dark, Films in Review, Films of the Golden Age, and Hollywood Studio Magazine. --This text refers to the Textbook Binding edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 284 pages
• Publisher: Scarecrow Pr (December 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810819651
• ISBN-13: 978-0810819658
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,481,768 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Guess Who Didn't Sing Again., December 21, 1999

By 

Ray Carnay (Eugene, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blackface to Blacklist (Textbook Binding)

I could probably add another "star" to the rating of this book if McLelland would make at least one correction. This is really not a review but rather an important comment. Important, at least, to me.

On a back page of "Blackface to Blacklist" is a photo of Saul Silverman. He is credited as having dubbed the cantorial voice for papa Yoelson (Ludwig Donath) in both the Jolson Story and Jolson Sings again. Doug is HALF right. Silverman did the cantorial dubs for Donath in The Jolson Story. In Jolson Sings Again, however, the voice was that of Ray Carnay who was the Cantor at Temple Emanuel in Beverly Hills. Since I am the one who did the cantorial vocal I'd like to set the record straight. My Columbia press releases, photo with thanks inscribed by Donath and countless news articles in my files lend credence to my claim. I'd like to get this information to McClelland. The International AL Jolson Society has already received this information and corrections will be made in their archives and future releases.

Great memories!

Ray Carnay 1336 Emerald Park Dr. Eugene, OR 97404-2708 541/461-6161 541/688-2242 541/688-1234

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very informative, fast moving with great pictures., August 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Blackface to Blacklist: Al Jolson, Larry Parks, and "the Jolson Story" (Hardcover)

This book is just what I needed. One of my favorite actors is Larry Parks. Trying to find movies and any information about him nearly impossible, it was wonderful to find a book about two of his movies, with pictures.

This book will also interest all Al Jolsen fans and classic movie buffs or anyone interested in how movies are made. It took you backstage to how the movies about Jolsen were conceived and made, with intereview with the actual participants. Lots of backstage gossip.

For me it was the pictures and information about Larry Parks. I wish to thank the author when trying to find anything about Parks is like trying to navigate a Black Hole, which is a pity and a great loss.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A little disappointed, April 15, 2004

By 

Windowsyl39 "Windowsyl39" (Oak Park, MI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blackface to Blacklist: Al Jolson, Larry Parks, and "the Jolson Story" (Hardcover)

I couldn't wait to read the book, so you can imagine how excited I was when it arrived. I have seen both movies many times, I own them both, and needless to say they are my favorites. I already know the story of Jolson, both the truth, and what the two movies tell us, but I would have loved to learn more about the real star of the two movies, Larry Parks. The problems he and his wife had with the stupid blacklisting, how it affected his wife and two sons. The one real cute thing in the book was when a small girl met the real Jolson in person and said, "Gee Mr. Jolson, you're much better looking in the movie then you are in person." To use the terms the young girls now a days use, I think Larry Parks was a Hottie. I first saw The Jolson Story when I was seven years old, got the biggest crush on Larry Parks, I am now 64 years old, and still swoon when I see him in the two movies. I wonder if Betty Garrett has any idea how much the public loved her husband. It was because of him that Jolson's career got going again.