--- description: It's one of the most important movies ever, but you wouldn't know from coverage at the time title: Why Contemporary Commentators Missed the Point With 'The Jazz Singer' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0e39be00dfb1c6a7/6986a6c8e53aba4bd54d4c03/jazz-singer.jpeg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [History](/section/history/) ## History Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Why Contemporary Commentators Missed the Point With _The Jazz Singer_  by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Oct 6, 2014 11:00 AM CUT  Eugenie Besserer and Al Jolson speaking in a scene from the film 'The Jazz Singer', 1927. Eugenie Besserer and Al Jolson speaking in a scene from the film 'The Jazz Singer', 1927.Warner Bros. / Getty Images  by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Oct 6, 2014 11:00 AM CUT This day in 1927, Oct. 6, made TIME’s list of “80 Days That Changed the World,” and with good reason: that evening marked the premiere of _The Jazz Singer_, the “talkie” that sits at the transition point between silent movies and a Hollywood where sound is as important as sight. _The Jazz Singer_ was the first feature-length movie with spoken dialogue and — though it was neither the first sound on film nor the first film with talking throughout, and its minstrel-show plot doesn’t exactly stand up to modern scrutiny — it was one of the most important movies ever made. As Richard Corliss wrote, explaining the date’s presence on the list: --- > “” --- Apparently, however, hind-hearing is the aural equivalent of 20/20. In 1927, TIME was less than impressed by _The Jazz Singer_. What was important about it, the review in the Oct. 17, 1927, issue stated, was that it was Al Jolson’s first movie, and that it was noteworthy that his singing voice could be preserved. “The Vitaphone permits him to talk and sing his way through the sentimental mazes of the movie adaptation,” the reviewer noted. No mention whatsoever of the real historic value of the movie. But 1920s cinemaphiles could be forgiven for missing the point. As a matter of fact, most of them would have missed the sound entirely. Within just a few years, it was eminently clear that the movie was more important than its star — but there had been a serious technical hindrance to moviegoers realizing as much when it first came out. As TIME’s 1933 review of the Jolson picture _Hallelujah, I’m a Bum_ explained: --- > “” --- The reason _The Jazz Singer_ didn’t impress when it was first released was that most people were seeing a different, silent version of the movie — a version which, TIME’s critic in 1927 intuited, wasn’t very interesting. **_Read Richard Corliss’ full explanation for why Oct. 6, 1927, was so important:_** [Now Hear This!](http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1977881%5F1977883%5F1977937,00.html "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3457278/the-jazz-singer/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3457278/the-jazz-singer/"},"headline":"Why Contemporary Commentators Missed the Point With The Jazz Singer","datePublished":"2014-10-06T11:00:57.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T10:33:31.922Z","description":"It's one of the most important movies ever, but you wouldn't know from coverage at the time","url":"https://time.com/3457278/the-jazz-singer/","keywords":["movies"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0e39be00dfb1c6a7/6986a6c8e53aba4bd54d4c03/jazz-singer.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lily Rothman","jobTitle":"Rothman is managing editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0e39be00dfb1c6a7/6986a6c8e53aba4bd54d4c03/jazz-singer.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Eugenie Besserer And Al Jolson In 'The Jazz Singer'","caption":"Eugenie Besserer And Al Jolson In 'The Jazz Singer'","creditText":"Warner Bros. / Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/history/","name":"History"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3457278/the-jazz-singer/","name":"Why Contemporary Commentators Missed the Point With The Jazz Singer"}}]}] ```