The Jazz Singer Page #18

TITLE 160:
"The unfortunate accident to our chief

comedian, Mr. Jack Robin, occurred too late to

fill his place. We hope that you will

pardon ..."

He continues the announcement, finishes, then bows and makes his exit.

391.FULL SHOT THEATER FROM STAGE

The people in the theater are getting up and leaving.

FADE OUT:

FADE IN:

392.FULL SHOT CANTOR'S BEDROOM

The doctor is at the bedside of the dying man. At the other side sits

Sara, while the nurse is busy at a nearby table. Sara realizes that the

end is near, and she is holding the hand of the old man as she weeps

quietly.

393.CLOSE-UP BED

The cantor is lying on his back with eyes closed. Just the outline of

Sara is visible. (Vitaphone of singing starts very dimly as though from

the synagogue next door. As the sound increases in volume, the voice of

his son comes into the wailing higher notes of "Kol Nidre.") The old

man's eyes open slowly. The misty look slowly clears and, as he

recognizes the voice, he looks about him rather wildly. Slowly

realization comes to him that his last earthly wish has been granted.

With a glorified smile on his face, he mutters: "It's my Jakie." He

starts to raise himself slowly. He looks toward the window.

394.FULL SHOT ROOM

As the cantor slowly raises his shattered body, the doctor, anticipating

his wish, goes quickly to the window and raises it. (Music of singing

becomes much louder.)

395.CLOSE-UP CANTOR

He is raising himself until he is almost sitting up in bed, Sara's arm

behind him, helping him. He lifts his eyes to heaven and his lips move

in a prayer. Then his eyes close and he falls slowly back to the pillow.

The end has come, and Sara throws herself across his body in a paroxysm

of grief.

396.FULL SHOT SYNAGOGUE

With the camera in back of place, Jack, with prayer shawl and skullcap

on, can be seen with back to congregation. The choir boys are lined up

on either side of him, facing the center. His voice is now loud and

clear.

397.CLOSE-UP JACK

He is singing, with eyes half closed, one of the wailing passages from

the "Kol Nidre."

398.INT. LIVING ROOM MED. SHOT

Mary and Lee stand listening. In the background the doctor and nurse

come quietly out of the bedroom door. The nurse goes to the back of the

house. The doctor pauses and looks at the two listeners, then quietly

goes to the front door.

399.CLOSE-UP MARY AND LEE

They are still listening as though spellbound. As the volume increases,

they look from one to the other wonderingly. Lee says in an awe-stricken

voice:

TITLE 161:
"You are listening to the stage's greatest

blackface comedian singing to his God."

He looks to Mary for a solution of his problem. Her face lights up as

Lee shrugs his shoulders in a gesture of resignation, and she says:

TITLE 162:
"Listen. Don't you understand? It's his last

time in there. He has to come back to us."

Lee looks at her in a puzzled manner, then nods.

400.INT. SYNAGOGUE CLOSE-UP JACK

He is singing an exceptionally sorrowful passage of the "Kol Nidre."

401.MED. SHOT JACK

As he comes to the closing notes of the song, the figure of the old

cantor in his synagogue robes appears on the side of the screen very

faint and shadowy. The misty form slowly comes to the side of the

singer. It pauses. There is a smile on the face of the old cantor as he

slowly raises his hand in a blessing. The shadowy figure becomes fainter

and fainter, finally disappearing, leaving Jack standing alone. The

music and his figure slowly

FADE OUT:

THE END:

Screenplay by Alfred A. Cohn

========================BONUS ITEM==========================

Dialogue transcript of scene 224 from the finished film:

After an emotional reunion with his mother, Jack tells her about his big

break and sings and plays for her Irving Berlin's "Blue Skies," the song

he's going to do in the show. After one chorus, Jack turns from the piano

and speaks to his mother. Throughout this exchange her replies and

protestations are heard very faintly and indistinctly.

JACK:

Did you like that, Mama?

MOTHER:

Yes.

JACK:

I'm glad of it. I'd rather please you than

anybody I know of. Oh, darlin', will you give

me something?

MOTHER:

What?

JACK:

You'll never guess. Shut your eyes, Mama. Shut

'em for little Jakie. Ha. I'm gonna steal

something.

(Kisses her. She titters.)

Ha, ha, ha, ha. I'll give it back to you some

day, too, you see if I don't. Mama, darlin',

if I'm a success in this show, well, we're

gonna move from here. Oh yes, we're gonna move

up in the Bronx. A lot of nice green grass up

there and a whole lot of people you know.

There's the Ginsbergs, the Guttenbergs, and the

Goldbergs. Oh, a whole lotta Bergs; I don't

know 'em all. And I'm gonna buy you a nice

black silk dress, Mama. You see Mrs. Friedman,

the butcher's wife, she'll be jealous of you.

MOTHER:

Oh no--

JACK:

Yes, she will. You see if she isn't. And I'm

gonna get you a nice pink dress that'll go

with your brown eyes.

MOTHER:

No, Jakie, no. I-I-I-

JACK:

What? Whatta you mean, no? Who is -- who is

telling you? Whatta you mean, no? Yes, you'll

wear pink or else. Or else you'll wear pink.

(He laughs.)

And, darlin', oh, I'm gonna take you to Coney

Island.

MOTHER:

Yeah?

JACK:

Yes, I'm gonna ride on the Shoot-the-Chutes.

An' you know in the Dark Mill? Ever been in

the Dark Mill?

MOTHER:

Oh, no. I wouldn't go ...

JACK:

Well, with me, it's all right. I'll kiss you

and hug you. You see if I don't.

(Mother starts blushing.)

Now Mama, Mama, stop now. You're gettin'

kittenish. Mama, listen, I'm gonna sing this

like I will if I go on the stage. You know,

with this show. I'm gonna sing it jazzy. Now

get this ...

Jack launches into a few more lines of the song. He bangs at the

keyboard with his right hand and turns to his mother.

JACK:

Do you like that slappin' business?

As he is singing the next part, his father enters in the background and

cries out:

FATHER:

Stop!

And the music (and the dialogue) stops ...

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