Editing The Jazz Singer (section)

===Concept and development===
On April 25, 1917, [[Samson Raphaelson]], a native of New York City's [[Lower East Side]] and a University of Illinois undergraduate, attended a performance of the musical ''Robinson Crusoe, Jr.'' in [[Champaign, Illinois]]. The star of the show was a thirty-year-old singer, [[Al Jolson]], a Lithuanian-born Jew who performed in blackface.<ref name=CE>Carringer (1979), p. 11; Eyman (1997), p. 129.</ref> In a 1927 interview, Raphaelson described the experience: "I shall never forget the first five minutes of Jolson—his velocity, the amazing fluidity with which he shifted from a tremendous absorption in his audience to a tremendous absorption in his song." He explained that he had seen emotional intensity like Jolson's only among synagogue cantors.<ref name=CE/>

A few years later, pursuing a professional literary career, Raphaelson wrote "The Day of Atonement", a short story about a young Jew named Jakie Rabinowitz, based on Jolson's real life. The story was published in January 1922 in ''[[Everybody's Magazine]]''.<ref>Carringer (1979), pp. 11–12.</ref> Raphaelson later adapted the story into a stage play, ''The Jazz Singer''. A straight drama, all the singing in Raphaelson's version takes place offstage.<ref>Carringer (1979), pp. 22, 23.</ref> With [[George Jessel (actor)|George Jessel]] in the lead role, the show premiered at the [[Mark Strand Theatre|Warner Theatre]] in [[Times Square]] in September 1925 and became a hit.<ref>Bloom (2004), p. 229.</ref> [[Warner Bros.]] acquired the movie rights to the play on June 4, 1926, and signed Jessel to a contract.<ref name=B6>Bradley (2004), p. 6.</ref> ''[[The Moving Picture World]]'' published a story in February 1927 announcing that production on the film would begin with Jessel on May 1.<ref name="C16">Carringer (1979), p. 16.</ref>[[File:Jolson-RobinsonCrusoe.jpg|right|thumb|250px|A blackfaced [[Al Jolson]] starring in ''Robinson Crusoe, Jr.''—the performance that inspired the story that led to the play that became the film ''The Jazz Singer'']]

But the plans to make the film with Jessel would fall through, for multiple reasons. Jessel's contract with Warner Bros. had not anticipated that the movie they had particularly signed him for would be made with sound (he'd made a modestly budgeted, silent comedy in the interim). When Warner had hits with two [[Vitaphone]], though dialogue-less, features in late 1926, ''The Jazz Singer'' production had been reconceived.<ref name=B6/> Jessel asked for a bonus or a new contract, but was rebuffed. According to Jessel's description in his autobiography, [[Harry Warner]] "was having a tough time with the financing of the company.... He talked about taking care of me if the picture was a success. I did not feel that was enough."<ref>Jessel (2006), p. 88.</ref> In fact, around the beginning of 1927, Harry Warner—the eldest of the brothers who ran the eponymous studio—had sold $4 million of his personal stock to keep the studio solvent.<ref name=B6/> Then came another major issue. According to Jessel, a first read of screenwriter [[Alfred A. Cohn]]'s adaptation "threw me into a fit. Instead of the boy's leaving the theatre and following the traditions of his father by singing in the synagogue, as in the play, the picture scenario had him return to the [[Winter Garden Theatre|Winter Garden]] as a blackface comedian, with his mother wildly applauding in the box. I raised hell. Money or no money, I would not do this."<ref>Jessel (2006), p. 88. See also Bradley (2004), p. 6; Carringer (1979), p. 17.</ref>

According to performer [[Eddie Cantor]], as negotiations between Warner Bros. and Jessel floundered, [[Jack L. Warner]] and the studio's production chief, [[Darryl Zanuck]], called to see if he was interested in the part. Cantor, a friend of Jessel's, responded that he was sure any differences with the actor could be worked out and offered his assistance.<ref>Cantor (1957), p. 91.</ref> Cantor was not invited to participate in the Jessel talks; instead, the role was then offered to Jolson, who had inspired it in the first place. Describing Jolson as the production's best choice for its star, film historian Donald Crafton wrote, "The entertainer, who sang jazzed-up minstrel numbers in blackface, was at the height of his phenomenal popularity. Anticipating the later stardom of crooners and rock stars, Jolson electrified audiences with the vitality and sex appeal of his songs and gestures, which owed much to black american sources."<ref>Crafton (1999), pp. 108–109.</ref> As described by film historian Robert L. Carringer, "Jessel was a [[vaudeville]] comedian and master of ceremonies with one successful play and one modestly successful film to his credit. Jolson was a superstar."<ref>Carringer (1979), p. 17.</ref> Jolson took the part, signing a $75,000 contract on May 26, 1927, for eight weeks of services beginning in July.<ref>Carringer (1979), p. 18.</ref> There have been several claims but no proof that Jolson invested some of his own money in the film.<ref>Carringer (1979), pp. 18–19; Bradley (2004), p. 7.</ref> Jessel and Jolson, also friends, did not speak for some time after—on the one hand, Jessel had been confiding his problems with the Warners to Jolson; on the other, Jolson had signed with them without telling Jessel of his plans. In his autobiography, Jessel wrote that, in the end, Jolson "must not be blamed, as the Warners had definitely decided that I was out."<ref>Jessel (2006), p. 88. See also Bradley (2004), p. 7.</ref>