Big Boy

Now the movie is far from politically correct. But it was made in 1930! Jolson is at his funniest. Sure, he's in blackface for almost all of the film, but this film serves as an historical recording of one of Jolson's biggest Broadway successes. Many people lump Cantor and Jolson together as similar type performers because both did blackface routines. But where Cantor played the scared little man (and played it very seriously, making it all even funnier), Jolson played the aggressive braggart. Jolson's Gus is a wise cracking schemer. His Gus is no Uncle Tom! Jolson is often the butt of the joke and this is a good thing. It softens his aggressiveness and makes him more human. I am only glad that with his massive ego, Jolson allowed himself to be the butt of jokes. The final punch line of the film is side splitting and is a wonderful inside joke. We need to look at these films with a 1930s mentality. We have advanced greatly in the area of tolerance, but we should not condemn performers like Al Jolson and Eddie Cantor who were only appealing to the popular tastes of their time.