A PLANTATION ACT (1926) ¢ ¢ 1/2
D: Philip Roscoe
Al Jolson
Al Jolson in blackface sings "Red, Red Robin", "April Showers" and "Rockabye Your Baby" in front of a painted backdrop of a cotton field. Creepy, sure, but a useful reminder that once upon a time in our cultural past, something like this could actually pass for mainstream entertainment. A Vitaphone short, filmed a year before "The Jazz Singer".
