Wonder Bar

The picture is Jolson's and the scenes without him might almost as well have been scrapped in the first place.

I found this movie to be a bid off-putting. The plot line of the woman crazed with love for her gigolo boyfriend while two potential paramours waited in the wings was fairly standard. However, Jolson's portrayal of Al Wonder, nightclub owner who not only covers up the murder of Inez's partner but seems impervious to the news that his driver has also been killed in an auto accident, makes his character appear psychopathic instead of compassionate. Many of today's viewers will be upset with the grand finale, which has Jolson and backup singers and dancers in blackface. This is obviously a scene that is meant to showcase Al Jolson. The number actually seems contrived and out of place in the movie, and is a bit of a distraction from the story line. In the end, Dick Powell's character wins Inez's heart, leaving Wonder to live with the knowledge that he helped a murderess get away and got nothing for his efforts. But his last line, "There's nothing more for me to do but go home" reinforces the idea that empathy or a conscience are lacking.

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