Product Details

• Actors: Paul Whiteman, John Boles, Laura La Plante, Glenn Tryon, Jeanette Loff
• Format: Dolby, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Universal Studios
• VHS Release Date: March 1, 1992
• Run Time: 93 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6300182088
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #61,084 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Paul Whiteman Really Was the King!, June 19, 2000

By 

Robert M. Fells (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: King of Jazz [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Whether you're a big band buff, an early talkie buff, a Bing Crosby buff, or just looking solid entertainment, THE KING OF JAZZ is a wonderful film on all counts. TKOJ is a rare look at a surviving early talkie filmed in the two-strip Technicolor process. The various reels were obviously pieced together from several sources, some sequences being in pristine condition, others being worn. MCA deserves a lot of credit for restoring this masterpiece even though some material is missing (more on that later).

On the talent side, TKOJ proves why Paul Whiteman enjoyed such great popularity in the 20s and 30s, and why he remained personally popular long after he folded his band in 1940. A young Bing Crosby makes his debut in motion pictures as part of the Rhythm Boys and easily displays his future star power. Years later, Crosby would credit Whiteman for introducing him to the various forms of mass media, records, radio and movies, where Crosby would prove so enduring. As if to show the vicissitudes of fame, today TKOJ is marketed as a Bing Crosby film while Paul Whiteman is all but forgotten. But if that strategy gets people to watch, PW becomes a delightful re-discovery. It's interesting to note that one of Mr. Whiteman's latter day ideas would involve a him as a DJ in a television teenage record hop that eventually would be called American Bandstand. Mr. Whiteman's assistant was a young Dick Clark.

Having bought the VHS edition a long time ago, I'm eagerly awaiting the DVD release especially since MCA is really leading the pack on DVD releases of old movies. Recently, I read where a missing reel of TKOJ has been found so, hopefully, that reel will be incorporated to the DVD version making it bigger, better, and complete.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars EARLY TECHNICOLOR GEM, November 20, 2001

By 

"scotsladdie" - See all my reviews

This review is from: King of Jazz [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Paul Whiteman was the most popular bandleader of the Roaring Twenties and his VICTOR records were best sellers; his JAPANESE SANDMAN and WHISPERING went way over the million mark in sales. Universal's entry in the all-talking, all-singing, all-dancing sweepstakes was KING OF JAZZ. The result was a garish (RHAPSODY IN TURQUOISE?) over-long mixed-bag, yet it's an undeniably entertaining item which, surprisingly, holds up much better than you'd expect. Cleverly, the film opens with Der Bingle crooning MUSIC HAS CHARMS over the credits and then commences with an amusing animated cartoon about Whiteman's scrapbook and how he became the famed King of Jazz. Despite its length and creakiness, KING OF JAZZ remains a fascinating vintage musical. As a member of The Rhythm Boys, Bing Crosby made his film debut in this production; but a drunk-driving charge landed him in jail during filming,and so the song SONG OF DAWN went to another crooner/actor of the day - John Boles. Boles recorded both IT HAPPENED IN MONTEREY and the above tune for VICTOR and they became hot sellers. P.S. For the Hungarian version(?!) - Bela Lugosi served as the host!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic video of Whiteman at his prime!, April 27, 1998

By 

David J. Thrower ([e-mail]) (Lakeland, Florida USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: King of Jazz [VHS] (VHS Tape)

As acollector of vintage big band and jazz recordings, video is a new ground to me. However, it is also an important ground, and this film is a milestone in capturing classic jazz on video. The visual effects are stunning and quite way ahead of their time, and personally I loved the "Rhapsody in Blue" sequence in the video. If you love vintage big band jazz, this film is a must-see!! END