The era of silent movies heard its death knell on October 6, 1927 when Warner Brothers Studio premiered “The Jazz Singer” in New York City. While the movie had little or nothing to do with jazz beyond the word being used in the title, it certainly represented a milestone in entertainment history.
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Starring the hugely popular Al Jolson, the story is adapted from a 1922 Samson Raphaelson short story called “Day of Atonement” about conflict in a Jewish family. The story had been adapted for the stage in 1925 using the title “The Jazz Singer.” In the movie, Jolson plays Jakie Rabinowitz who runs away from home after being scolded by his father for singing pop tunes in a beer garden. Years later the estranged Jakie has become a successful jazz singer who performs in blackface and uses the pseudonym Jack Robin. The story revolves around how Jack’s professional life continues to create conflict with his family and his religious beliefs.

Although often referred to as the first “talkie,” there were numerous movies made during the 1920s that featured sound prior to "The Jazz Singer," but they were always short subjects and featured sequences of synchronized speaking and other sounds. “The Jazz Singer” was a full-length picture that included a synchronized musical score, sound effects, a few synchronized speaking scenes and six lip-synched singing sequences featuring Jolson. The movie used the Vitaphone sound-on-disc system and is more or less a hybrid between a silent and sound film.

Here is a link to 1920s superstar Al Jolson performing one of his hits from the movie “The Jazz Singer” that premiered 99 years ago today:

"DIRTY HANDS, DIRTY FACE"