PLAZA

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 688, 13 June 1929, Page 15

PLAZA

“THE SINGING FOOL” “The Singing Fool,” A 1 Jolson’s wonderful talking picture, which continues to attract huge crowds of Aucklanders to the Plaza Theatre, tells the story of the Joves and losses, successes and failures, of a singing waiter of Broadway. Jolson, in his own inimitable way, portrays the piercing joys and sorrows of the humble waiter, raising him to heights of beaut" thrilling audiences as the unique, king of jazz lias always done—but never quite to the degree which his role in “The Singing Fool” makes possible.

D«vey Lee, the child who plays the part of the hero’s little son, was chosen by the star himself from among almost 200 applicants. The scenes between the father and son are tremendously moving, more so than any previously witnessed on stage or screen. The all-talkie programme includes a number of short features, including solos by Giovanni Martinelli, the leading dramatic tenor of the Metropolitan Opera Company; a Howard Brothers’ comedy and singing number, “Between the Acts of the Opera,” and “In a Monastery Cellar,” by a male quartette. Mischa Elman, the famous violinist, plays two solos, and these are heard as clearly as though the great aritist were present in person.