LUCKY BOY (1929) and THE GOLF SPECIALIST (1930)

LUCKY BOY starring George Jessel and Margaret Quimby. In 1927, Georgie Jessel made what he himself referred to as the biggest professional mistake of his life. When he was offered the starring role in THE JAZZ SINGER, he passed. Unable to come to a satisfactory financial arrangement with Warner Brothers, he walked away from the project thereby setting the stage for Al Jolson's smashing success! Made two years later, LUCK BOY is Jessel's JAZZ SINGER. The two films share a lot of similarities in that they are both part-talkies and contain many of the same basic plot elements. Jessel portrays a young Jewish jeweler who works in the shop of his strict father. He hates the jewelry business. What he really wants to do is sing and entertain on stage. After pawning his beloved mother's earrings, he rents a theater in hopes of putting on his own show and proving to his father that he can become a stage success. Unfortunately, Georgie's spendthrift ways prevent him from making his final payment to the theater owner and the show is canceled minutes before it's opening night debut! Distraught, Georgie runs away to California to prove himself once and for all. This film is packed with entertainment and has a solid plot with moments of comedy and drama. Jessel does a wonderful job and belts out some great songs along the way, including "My Mother's Eyes", his signature theme. This title is very rare and while the transfer to DVD is excellent, there is some evidence of some wear and decomposition from the original film. THE GOLF SPECIALIST starring W.C. Fields, produced by Mack Sennett. This is Fields' first sound motion picture. For the first time audiences were treated to the voice and verbal bits of business that made Fields famous on stage and in his later films. Fields portrays a deadbeat guest at a posh Florida resort. He is joined by other nutty characters including an angry fishing boat captain, a jealous hotel detective and the detective's overly flirtatious young wife. Fields, accompanied by the flirt, goes out on the links to perform his famous golf routine but he also takes the time to abuse a young child, a (stuffed) dog and his hapless caddie!