''The Singing Kid'' is a 1936 American musical film directed by

William Keighley William Jackson Keighley (August 4, 1889 – June 24, 1984) was an American stage actor and Hollywood film director. Career After graduating from the Ludlum School of Dramatic Art, Keighley began acting at the age of 23. By the 1910s and 1920s ...

and written by

Warren Duff Warren Duff (May 17, 1904 – August 5, 1973) was a film and television writer and producer. As a writer, Duff wrote for films including, ''Fashions of 1934'', ''Angels with Dirty Faces'' (1938), '' Experiment Perilous'' (1944), '' Step Li ...

and Pat C. Flick. Starring

Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Eizer Yoelson; June 9, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-American Jewish singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. He was one of the United States' most famous and highest-paid stars of the 1920s, and was self-billed ...

Sybil Jason Sybil Jason (born Sybil Jacobson; 23 November 1927 – 23 August 2011) was a South African-born, American child film actress who, in the late 1930s, was presented as a rival to Shirley Temple. Career Born in Cape Town, South Africa, on 23 ...

Beverly Roberts Beverly Louise Roberts (May 19, 1914 – July 13, 2009) was an American film and stage actress of the 1930s, as well as a singer and painter. She worked as business executive in the entertainment industry through the 1970s. Career Born in Bro ...

Edward Everett Horton Edward Everett Horton Jr. (March 18, 1886 – September 29, 1970) was an American character actor. He had a long career in film, theater, radio, television, and voice work for animated cartoons. Early life Horton was born in Kings County ...

Lyle Talbot Lyle Florenz Talbot (born Lisle Henderson, also credited Lysle Talbot; February 8, 1902 – March 2, 1996) was an American stage, screen and television actor. His career in films spanned three decades, from 1931 to 1960, and he performed on ...

and Allen Jenkins, it was released by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

on April 11, 1936.

Plot

Al Jackson (Jolson) has just moved into a magnificent penthouse apartment and would seem to have it all; fame, fortune, and a loyal retinue. But his accountant has embezzled his fortune, and this brings on a nervous breakdown (as well as the loss of his voice). His doctor orders him to take a long vacation in the country and forget all about show business, which, for Jackson, is almost impossible. But a meeting with pretty Ruth Haines (Roberts) and her 10-year-old niece (Jason) proves therapeutic. Roberts is an aspiring playwright, and Jackson decides to make his return to Broadway using her play. But he neglects to tell Roberts of the "surprise", and Roberts assumes he is trying to steal her play. The lover's quarrel is patched up at opening night, and the play is a rousing success. There are several elaborate musical numbers, the best remembered being "I Love To Sing-a" and "You're The Cure For What Ails Me".

Cast

as Al Jackson *

as Sybil Haines *

as Ruth Haines *

as Davenport Rogers *

as Robert 'Bob' Carey * Allen Jenkins as Joe Eddy *

Claire Dodd Claire Dodd (born Dorothy Arlene Dodd; December 29, 1911 – November 23, 1973) was an American film actress. Life and work Dorothy Arlene Dodd was born on December 29, 1911, in Baxter, Iowa, to Walter Willard Dodd, a farmer whose family ...

as Dana Lawrence *

Jack Durant Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

as Babe * Frank Mitchell as Dope *

Wini Shaw Wini Shaw (c. 1907 – May 2, 1982), sometimes credited as Winifred Shaw, was a 20th century American actress, dancer and singer. Early life She was born as Winifred Lei Momi in about 1907, in San Francisco, California, the youngest of t ...

as Blackface Singer * Joe King as Dr. May * William B. Davidson as Barney Hammond * Cab Calloway as Cotton Club Band Leader *

Cab Calloway and His Cotton Club Orchestra Cabell Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, conductor and dancer. He was associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he was a regular performer and became a popular vocalist ...

as Cotton Club Orchestra *

Yacht Club Boys The Yacht Club Boys were a quartet of American comic singers, popular in the 1920s and 1930s. The best-known set of Yacht Club Boys consisted of Charlie Adler, George Kelly, Billy Mann, and Jimmie Kern. They made recordings from the 1920s and appea ...

as Singing Quartette

References

External links

* 1936 films 1930s English-language films Warner Bros. films American drama films 1936 drama films Films directed by William Keighley Films scored by Ray Heindorf Films scored by Heinz Roemheld American black-and-white films 1930s American films {{1930s-drama-film-stub