WONDER BAR, an adaptation of the play by Geza Herczeg, Karl Farkas and Robert Katscher; music and lyrics by Harry Warren and Al Dubin; directed by Lloyd Bacon; a First National production. At the Strand. A rejuvenated Al Jolson sings, acts and jokes his way through this latest of musical pictures to come out of the Warner Brothers studio. To those who thought that Mr. Jolson was looking for a chair near the fire and a pair of slippers this extravagantly produced film will come as a revelation.
When Jolson bursts into his elaborate Parisian Wonder Bar and lets loose an opening number called “Vive La France” you realize that this peer of entertainers has not lost any of his ability to hold the attention of his audience. His voice is full and warm and he puts himself into a song with his old time vigor.
As you may have guessed, this picture is an adaptation of Jolson’s “Wonder Bar,” which in its stage form was quite a hit. As a picture I believe it is an improvement over the Broadway version. What little plot there is concerns the happenings in a Montmartre cabaret during one evening. This is called the Wonder Bar. Various musical and dancing interludes relieve the romance and tragedy of the plot. Mr. Jolson is Al Wonder, the owner of the cabaret. He is in love with one of the dancers (Dolores Del Rio) but this striking looking girl is enamored by Harry (Ricardo Cortez) who is her dancing partner. He is a glorified gigolo and a villian. Harry has received from the wife of a banker (Kay Francis) a necklace which leads to all sorts of complications, but before the doorman closes the Wonder Bar for the evening, everything rights itself in the best movie manner.
The plot of the picture is unimportant. Mr. Jolson is the picture. His number “Goin’ to Heaven on a Mule,” in which some rare shots of a negro’s idea of the Celestial Land are shown, is one of the most striking things I have seen in months. The rest of the tunes are above par and Jolson’s wise cracks, especially his bit with the Russian emigre, are more than just amusing.
A word must be said for the photography–it is breath taking. By the use of mirrors the producers have been able to create an impression of vastness that is astounding.
“Wonder Bar” is entertainment, Grade AA. If you are at all interested in screen musical comedy, you can’t possibly afford to pass this one up.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
