Really people! It was 1934. That was what they called entertainment back then. I found it entertaining, funny and startling. Still trying to decipher what the Yiddish newspaper and what the headline meaning was all about. Just know theres a hidden Hollywood message behind it.
(St. Peter:) Here you is, in the heavenly land where the good folks go; (Gabriel:) Come right in, hallelujah to you, (Kids:) And a hi-de-ho! (St. Peter:) Step right up, get a new pair o' wings and a new halo. (Al Jolson:) Thank you, suh, and my thanks to the Lawd. (Kids:) And a hi-hi-de-hi, hi-de-ho! And a hi-hi-de-hi, hi-de-ho! (Jolson:) Oh, Saint Peter, is I goin' where the pork chops am a-growin' on the trees? (Picks:) On the trees. (Jolson:) Tell me, is I goin' where the watermelon vines am a-blowin' in the breeze? (Picks:) In the breeze. (St. Peter:) Yes, you is an' the chickens am free 'cause they roam at large, Help yourself to the fat of the land, and there ain't no cover charge. (Jolson:) Who's dat there? That's a friend of mine, why, it's Old Black Joe; Hear him play on his little banjo. (Picks:) And a hi-hi-de-hi, hi-de-ho-o! (Jolson:) Who's dat there? Why, it's ol' Uncle Tom that I used to know; I'm so glad that he landed up here with his cabin show. Seems like home from the things I've seen and the folks I've met. (Gabriel:) Wait a while, You'll have a reason to smile, 'Cause you ain't seen nothin' yet.
@@nathansharp5743 yeah it is it definitely is you must be white. And there's nothing wrong with that that's fine maybe you're not but with the statement like that I'm wondering
Gone are the days when my heart was young and gay Gone are the friends from the cotton fields away Gone from the earth, to a better place, I know I hear the gentle voices calling Old Black Joe. I'm comin', I'm comin' Though my head is bending low I hear the gentle voices calling Old Black Joe. --Stephen Foster
Pre-Code Hollywood. This one made right on the cusp when the Hays Code censors took over for 34 years. It barely eeked through. Jolson was a Jew, thus the Hebrew newspaper. You wouldn't know it's the height of the Depression when Busby Berkeley is behind the show. Guy had martinis brought to him in his bathtub, so there you go. They repealed Prohibition the year before this was released, but I don't think Prohibition mattered, they were all drinking anyway.
Perhaps the most monumentally offensive production number in movie history. And yet, it retains a weird grandeur of its own, somehow. So offensive, it's not offensive? Or is it horribly offensive after all? You make the call.
@@Shifter22 How do you draw your conclusions? there is only one color shown here? Does that mean no other color deserves to exist in the now or in the here after?
@@Shifter22 I am not going to try and defend this as the greatest artistic masterpiece on film - it is not! However bringing in outside specifics to make contemporary bitter points is not going to improve the plight of anybody. This originated from the Green Pastures based on the Teachings of an African American preacher. Yes a long the way, everything has not been presented as it should be with Dignity and respect to people of all colors. Know of people like Oliver and Hardy. Lou Costello, The 3 stooges? - Not exactly representing fairer skinned people as INTELlIGENT! Wings, Watermelons etc etc in this clip does mock things, but I take it not [ at the time } meant for insult but humour! There is vision that is obviously wrong and down right dis respectful! - I.E Birth of a Nation, but there is a lot that is not,and much that helped pave the way for Colored people and others to make a better life for themselves, and that included being exposed to white or black people in blackface. I like the response of Clarence Frogmam Henry when he was asked about it " I don't play the game racial. I respect people and I try to have them respect me, to me it was just a part of Entertainment"! You or nobody has to like it, I LOVE people like AL Jolson, Eddie Cantor and others who did it, but it is something much dated now, and as an art form, it was not a personal preference of mine. Much of it is however done with dignity, respect and credibility, not the mock and insult that is blown totally out of proportion by Contemporary Image moguls protecting their hip pocket! I personally don't play the color game. Singers,Actors? whatever are great because they are, not the color they are! Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole. Little Richard, The Beatles, Humphray Bogart, Morgan freeman, just a few of the top of my head I enjoy very much, and it has nothing to do with color. Politicians and others of recent times there is no need for them to color their faces, even if it is to show what they did.nor is it to be used now, only in some sort of representation of the times when people of all color did it. How people are to others, is within the people themselves, not their color, I feel for everybody that have had to do it tough, or their family before them, The very fact that people of all colors, races, cultures, beliefs etc can consult on equal terms on modern day technology like this makes it clear a lot must have been done right! i am greatfull I am free to express my own conclusions and assesaments on here than be pressured by peer pressure. Hope you and your's are safe and well at this difficult time!
Typical for this period in film, an grossly exaggerated version of what a Black Heaven would appear as. Of course it was not made by Blacks however it does give you a glimpse into Cinema past and what our ancestors viewed as entertainment at that time.
@@kofi5964 This was considered entertainment at the expense of others. At the time stereotyping was the norm. I meant no offense to anyone I do apologize if I didn’t clearly convey what I meant. When, I said our ancestors I meant former generations of the American public. I do apologize, if it appeared to have been addressing anyone personally. Not so. Just voicing my opinion on what was considered to be entertaining during times past that was one example of stereotyping.
From whites in blackface peddling racial stereotypes back then to today (2022) where everything is a remake featuring race and gender swaps (Disney and various others) as opposed to creating new characters for minorities in America to play. Hollywood sucked then and blows now.
Are there people here who actually enjoy this as if it's just a normal comedy? Racism in reality is such a childish thing and some of the people here have yet to grow up. Also, assuming the Uncle Tom at the beginning is the real Uncle Tom from the novel, I doubt he would enjoy the countless unauthorized stage productions bastardizing his experiences as a slave like this film seems to imply.
Please define? With out connecting it to general broad atrocities to non white people in America over history please? Of which the only relationship was,it was generally around the same time.
ignoring race insults, this is one truly terrible piece of film making and performance. rubbish costumes, non-existent choreography, a very stupid premise.
