FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Console best movie i've ever seen.

Matrixiole Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

TheLittleSongbird 'Mammy' did have at least three things going for it.There is the presence of Al Jolson, a great entertainer with a terrific voice. It has music penned by one of the greatest song-writers of all time Irving Berlin. And it was directed by Michael Curtiz, who directed favourites such as 'Casablanca', 'The Adventures of Robin Hood' and 'White Christmas'.It is interesting to watch now, and is certainly not a bad film. However it is very easy to see why people will have, and have had, issues with it. Things work very well, but there are parts that have aged badly and make modern viewers cringe while still somewhat appreciating what the film tries to do.Best things about it are Jolson and especially Berlin's music. Jolson is restrained but still electrifying, he also sounds great and puts his all into the songs. While not among his best ever song scores, the songs are still terrific, with a lot of energy and emotion, clever lyrics and they are gorgeously melodious too so Berlin's talent as a composer/song-writer is more than evident here. Most of the musical numbers are well staged, Jolson's musical scenes work very well and while the minstrel scenes don't work on the whole "Yes I Have No Bananas" is quite fun.With that being said, the supporting cast are also competent, with an entertaining Lowell Sherman, Hobart Bosworth and a restrained, dignified and sympathetic Louise Dresser coming out on top. Lois Moran has a thankless and underwritten role but brings some charm to it. 'Mammy' still looks good, with lovely 2 strip Technicolor in two scenes and the black and white for the rest of the film looking remarkably crisp. Much of the film has a good deal of energy, and there are a few amusing parts.Other things don't come off so well. Some of the story is silly and drags in spots, while the mother and son relationship sees Jolson and Dresser behave in a way that is much more suited to a pair of lovers than mother and son and it just doesn't feel right and most of the comedy falls flat because of being overly corny, very of the time and flat in timing.As for the minstrel scenes, they were acceptable back in 1930 but while historically interesting somewhat they don't hold up very well now. They do go on too long, are not for the easily offended and how most of them are written and staged will make a lot of people cringe and reach for the fast forward button (personally was tempted). Curtiz's direction is not as inspired as in the best of his films and like his heart wasn't completely in it.Concluding this review, an interesting film that is worth watching for Jolson's performance and Berlin's music but it's a wildly uneven film where some parts just don't hold up very well. 6/10 Bethany Cox

cynthiahost Aren't you glad the Disney Corpcatters don't own ,"Mammy? If they did we would never see it.They are political correct hypocrites. They are hiding there own racism by not reissuing ,"Song of the South.Time Warner is Moderately politically correct.Cartoon network had began to censor all the classic cartoons to appease Communist family values, that are a threat to our constitution. Then they had them removed, Warner home video D.V.D.took advantage of this . They saw cartoon network ridiculous, Thank goodness for them. T.C.M. does not promote censorship against the past, that is what they already got and shown. But they promote censorship against introducing any more classic propaganda film classic of the third Reich than what they already shown. They are greedy. Warner home video was even thinking of releasing in this country,the restore version , which is not completed yet , of Viedt Harlan's Opfergang, but they chicken out do to his infamous Jude SuS. I am oppose to political correctness . It isn't liberalism. It's a part of the communist manifesto. In Russia the government would send people to Siberia if they criticize the government or express negative views against their comrades.I don't get offended at the black face sequences cause it's history and it's parody based on past attitudes.The minstrel show is a fact of the past. It needs to be excepted.Any negative thing of the past can't offend me. It's too old. Hitler is dead.Al Jolson did black face because in white show biz when a performer was shy he try to cover up his shyness by parody, the black folk. Eddie Cantor did this too. Non of them were racist. Black Vaudeville did the same parodies too.In fact you had black Americans who also did minstrel shows too.Bojangles did .Movies like this are for classic film fans and fans of film history. Political correctness is anti past, prejudice or not.I was sure glad that Warner's did not add a third color to the sequences. The black face cross dressers dress were pure green. They could of filled in the gaps with artificially restoring the red and green through taking the image in a computer and splitting it adding red and green tones to each image and super imposing it together and put it back on new film stock. It would of looked as if it was fully complete. My guess it was probably too expensive and would of taken too long to complete. But it's possible and the restorers wanted to keep the original condition they found it in any how. Since having to fix the color was expensive enough. I did not know that Irving Berlin wrote Pretty Baby. the song.But the numbers are good. The story is good too.About a very bad minstrel show troupe. The struggle that they have to put on to survive. It's a dying art in 1930. Their lead singer is Al. Headed by Lowell Sherman. who is engaged to the daughter of who runs the show. Lois Moran.But Lowell is flirting around and she doesn't like it.Al Fuller is in love with her. Traditionally when you have a color sequence in a black and white movie the actress is more dolled up. Well Miss Moran remains none doll up in the color sequence . No rough . That's more real. The final,of the first show,"Yes we have no bananas," was taken from a broad way show, starring Grace Moore. It was a parody of The Nibelung by Richard Wagner . Moore was dress as Broom Hilde. This is based on a Broad way book I checked out in the library years ago. Instead of hi-ya HiYa hi- YA! they sang Yes we have no bananas. This movie is worth a collection by the casual and serious fan. Available at Warner shop dot com and amazon. 06/25/11 Made a mistake Lois Moran is dolled up at the finale

bkoganbing If Mammy is remembered for anything it is for providing Al Jolson with one of his biggest song hits, definitely the biggest song hit he had written especially for the screen. Irving Berlin wrote this number for Jolson and he does it three times in his usual bravura style and on two of those occasions without black-face.Al Jolson got his start in minstrel shows which were still popular at the turn of the 20th century. He's Al Fuller in this show, lead singer in this troupe and a man with a case of unrequited love for the owner of the show. From there springs the plot.It's unfortunate for Jolson's current reputation that he did not abandon the black-face which was a carryover from his minstrel days. It's considered offensive now and rightly so. But listen to him sing Let Me Sing and I'm Happy and the rest of the score and you're hearing one of the great song stylists ever.Irving Berlin wrote some original material for this film which was interpolated with some other standards. It is also good to hear Jolson do two of his comedy numbers, Who Paid the Rent for Mrs. Rip Van Winkle and Why Do They All Take the Night Boat to Albany. It's his ballads that he's remembered for today, but these numbers give you an idea of more of the kind of material he did on stage.A lot of people will be rightly offended in seeing Mammy now, but like Bing Crosby's Dixie, it's an interesting piece of cinema history.

lugonian MAMMY (Warner Brothers, 1930), directed by Michael Curtiz, became Al Jolson's fourth feature, following earlier screen efforts as "The Jazz Singer" (1927), "The Singing Fool" (1928) and "Say It With Songs" (1929). Although not one of the best in the Jolson series, the movie somewhat hits home to Jolson's early years as a minstrel man. With the songs by Irving Berlin, he is also credited with its story idea titled "Mr. Bones." Al Jolson stars as Al Fuller, the lead singer of a minstrel show. He is hopelessly in love with Nora Meadows (Lois Moran), the daughter of the minstrel manager (Hobart Bosworth), but her real interest is in Billy West (Lowell Sherman), the interlocutor who ignores her so he can keep his eyes on other women. One night during a comedy act, Al, who is to "shoot" Westy at the close of the skit, finds Westly on the floor unconscious, and soon realizes that someone had placed real bullets in his gun. Following the performance, Al is arrested for attempted murder. When the police wagon that's carrying Al turns over, Al escapes. Bumming around in freight trains and eluding the law, he decides to pay his mother (Louise Dresser) her long-awaited visit. Knowing that something is wrong with her son, Mrs. Fuller doesn't let on, but she does gives Al her motherly advice in saying, "If anyone says anything against you, son, always MAKE THEM PROVE IT." Knowing that he is innocent of the shooting, Al decides to take her advice and go back to face the music, but when he does, he finds a different tune awaiting him.Music and lyrics by Irving Berlin include: "Let Me Sing and I'm Happy," "Here We Are," "Who Paid the Rent for Mrs. Rip Van Winkle?" "The Knights of the Road," "Yes, We Have No Bananas" (by Frank Silver and Irving Cohn); Guiseppi Verdi's "Miserere" from Il TROVATORE; "Looking At You Across the Breakfast Table," "Here We Are" (reprise); "In the Morning," "Why Do We Take the Night Boat to Albany?" "Swanee River" (by Stephen Foster); "Let Me Sing and I'm Happy" (reprise); "To My Mammy" (sung by Jolson to Louise Dresser); and "Let Me Sing and I'm Happy" (closing number). Of all the songs presented here, "Let Me Sing and I'm Happy" comes off best, sung three times by Jolson, each in a different style.Originally filmed in early Technicolor, existing prints today are shown in black and white. Storyline is passable, but does have its slow points, one in which Jolson's purposely stutters to a visiting sheriff (Jack Curtis) so to give the theater troupe time to take off on a train, only to learn that the sheriff isn't there to arrest anybody, but to join the company; and another when Jolson gets drunk, a scene that appears longer than what it is. Jolson's acting hasn't improved much dramatically but succeeds in perking up the plot with his energetic singing. Also featured in the cast are Tully Marshall as Slats, Al's tag-along hobo he befriends in a freight car during his escape from the law; Stanley Fields and Mitchell Lewis, among others.Due to the controversy of the movie, mainly because of it lengthy minstrel show routines, "Mammy" is a rarity on TV, or anywhere for that matter. Currently available on video cassette, it can also be seen sporadically on late night cable television's Turner Classic Movies.(**)