wes-connors Central Park tramp Al Jolson (as Bumper) rescues beautiful amnesiac Madge Evans (as June Marcher) from suicide, falls in love with her and gets a job, then learns she is the girlfriend of New York City Mayor Frank Morgan (John Hastings). "Hallelujah I'm a Bum" was the film that revealed - for one and for all - that it was finally "curtains" for Mr. Jolson as a "box office" movie star. Depression stricken audiences were not buying the "World's Greatest Entertainer" (and incredibly wealthy) Jolson as a happy homeless bum. In real life, he was notoriously "difficult" and egotistical. And, it didn't help that the film was more artistically innovative than mass appealing. The semi-operatic "musical dialogue" by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart produced no hit single...From 1912-1932, there weren't many years without Jolson selling over a million records; but, "Hallelujah I'm a Bum" barely scraped the bottom of the record charts, and Bing Crosby had already swiped Jolson's crown. Today, this film's whimsical quality raises it above most 1933 product. Jolson fired directors, had everyone re-shot, and got quality filmmaking from director Lewis Milestone and the crew. Jolson had notably good support from down-on-his-luck "silent" star Harry Langdon (as Egghead) and vaudeville pal Edgar Connor (as Acorn). Jolson's comeback was very big, when it finally arrived, with "The Jolson Story" (1946).******** Hallelujah! I'm a Bum (2/3/33) Lewis Milestone ~ Al Jolson, Madge Evans, Frank Morgan, Harry Langdon

zetes Delightful, offbeat musical starring Al Jolson. He plays the King of Central Park (basically king of the bums). He likes his carefree life, and is actually good friends with the real mayor of New York (Frank Morgan). One day, Morgan suspects his girlfriend (Madge Evans) of theft and basically kicks her to the curb. After a suicide attempt, Evans develops amnesia and becomes Jolson's girlfriend. Silent film star Harry Langdon appears as Jolson's communist friend. The Depression era politics are odd and interesting. I wonder if the film's weirdness is the reason it kind of flopped in 1933, and why it's so little known today. I can't say it's a great film - the story's not strong and it definitely fizzles in the end. And the Rodgers and Hart score isn't especially memorable (and the sound is so tinny the lyrics are pretty difficult to understand). But it's a must-see.

hte-trasme Al Jolson was justly well-known for having starred in the first widely-distributed talking feature. Here, six years later, it was announced that he would headline another first in sound film-making -- the inaugural picture all in "rhythmic dialogue." This makes it a highly stylized piece and the experiment has rarely if ever been repeated, but I think that hardly means it fails. The rhythmic dialogue, sometimes subtle and hardly noticed but for the jaunty kick it gives the scenes, sometimes cleverly rhyming, and sometimes blending seamlessly into full-on song, is enormous fun to hear (Rodgers and Hart largely live up to their reputation with words and music, and the occasional almost-rhymes are alright when they're in the middle of dialogue) and as a result of it "Hallelujah, I'm a Bum" simply breezes along.Al Jolson radiates energy and presence, and it is no secret from this film why he was known as The Great Entertainer. His comic and musical timing (which are maybe one in the same for him) are perfect, and he can play credibly when he needs to be serious within the rhythmic conceit. The plot is unlikely but sweet; it works well and it doesn't need much tending. Jolson is Bumper, "The Mayor of Central Park," a hobo with a heartfelt philosophy that enjoying the world around him trumps working. He's possibly the best man in the world, too, returning the $1,000 bill he finds, portioning it out when given it, saving a woman from drowning, not even tempted to take advantage of her in some very suggestive scenes after her, abandoning his way of life for her, and then sacrificing his love because it's the right thing to do. It may not be often you meet someone so good, but Jolson pulls it off, and he needs to be how he is to take live for what it is even when it beats him down in the end.The great comedian of the silent era, Harry Langdon, plays Egghead, a socialist garbage man, and he is wonderful as always. It's interesting to note that while the sound era (ushered in by Jolson) was a big part of bringing Langdon's career as a feature film star to a standstill, he plays brilliantly in this film that depends totally on his delivery of rhythmic, musical, well-timed sound. Egghead fits being a manifestation of Harry usual befuddled, stunned child-man character better than one might expect; it's amusingly almost as if somebody told him to be a Socialist, so he's just doing his best to do as he's told. The little bewildered expressions and bits of business that he adds in between his lines or in the back of shots really do add to the movie.Egghead's a big part of "Hallelujah, I'm a Bum's" neat trick of folding some actually thoughtful material about money, wealth, and poverty into its breezy, cheerful framework. It must say something that one of the quintessential films of the depression should be such a happy piece, but with such a sad ending, and that the citizens of Central Park it follows should not be en who can't work, but one's who are simply happier not to.

theowinthrop I see this film and love it, but I also wish to cry a little.The image of Al Jolson, to this day, is the first star of sound movies who appeared in minstrel make-up. It has damaged his historical record in a way that is hard to question. While Jolson did show up in many scenes in his films without burnt cork on his face, his show stoppers were usually his "Mammy" numbers. So people will watch him in a few films (most notably THE JAZZ SINGER, ROSE OF WASHINGTON SQUARE, and STEPHEN FOSTER) but they will not watch films like WUNDERBAR or GO INTO YOUR DANCE. You'll notice that the films ROSE OF WASHINGTON SQUARE and STEPHEN FOSTER were late in his film career, when he was supporting Tyrone Power, Alice Faye, and Don Ameche, and (in the former) the main story concentrated on Faye, and the latter was a historical film (or claimed to be) set in a period when minstrels (Jolson's "Edwin Christy") were perfectly acceptable.HALLALUJAH, I'M A BUM is a notable musical for several reasons: Jolson is able to perform in a relatively relaxed mode as a hobo - the "Mayor of Central Park". He is also shown as egalitarian, traveling around with his friend Edgar Connors (who is an African-American). The film was one of a series of musicals done in Hollywood by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart (who appear in cameo parts in this film) where the dialog changes from regular speech into a singing speech the characters all join in on. This was done with George M. Cohan, Jimmy Durante, and Claudette Colbert in THE PHANTOM PRESIDENT the year before, and would reach its fruition in the film LOVE ME TONIGHT. The score is above average, with one real standard: "YOU ARE TOO BEAUTIFUL". It has a curious view on economics and happiness, due in part to the atmosphere of the Great Depression. And there are some nice side features: Frank Morgan as the Mayor of New York, Madge Evans as his girlfriend, and Harry Langdon in an odd part as a leftist part-time hobo who is also a street cleaner. Langdon (unpopular with the other hobos in general) is not the only silent film comic in the film. Chester Conklin plays a friendly carriage driver. Another hobo is played by W.C.Fields occasional performer Tammany Young.The film follows Jolson's "Bumper" on his winter vacation in the South and notes his close friendship with Morgan's Mayor. There are hints about a current scandal in New York City there: Morgan frequents the Central Park Casino with Evans for lunch and dinner. The Casino was frequented in the late 1920s and 1930s by then New York City Mayor Jimmy Walker and his girlfriend Betty Compton. Jolson stumbles onto a purse (Evans) that contains a $1,000.00 bill. He tries to return it, but Evans (after a quarrel with Morgan) has left her apartment. Subsequently Jolson does meet Evans when he rescues her in a suicide attempt that leaves her with amnesia. He falls for her, and decides to take a job to take care of her, and eventually marry her. In the meantime Morgan is troubled by Evans vanishing so totally, and starts drinking heavily. I won't go into the film's conclusion.The film shows that being a hobo means having unlimited freedom, and a lack a pressure from the cares of the world. Most of the talk-sing songs deal with the relative happiness of the hobos. Only Langdon shows the irony of the situation. He feels the world will only be set right when everyone has a job, and supports themselves. He sees a type of Communist happiness in the future. He also sees that the hobos, by cadging and living off working people and businesses (Jolson gets leftovers from the Casino) are as parasitic as the very rich. These views make Langdon unpopular generally with the hobos. Only Jolson really tolerates him at all.It is a unique musical for its time, and a welcome addition to Jolson's work. Certainly well worth viewing. But it still saddens me: if only Jolson could have made more films like this one.