A proletarian musical if there ever was one – or, if not, certainly an an­ti-capitalist film – told through songs and rhyming dialogue. Conceived as a vehicle for singer and actor Al Jolson, the film showcases one of his most in­delible screen performances. He plays Bumper, a homeless, carefree “mayor” of Central Park during the Great Depres­sion. Bumper lives among a dignified entourage of rough sleepers (including silent comedian Harry Langdon as a communist) and enjoys a cordial rela­tionship with New York’s real mayor (played by Frank Morgan). When Mor­gan’s girlfriend attempts suicide after a misunderstanding, Bumper saves her and, unaware of her true identity, falls for her. Amnesiac, she later regains her memory and, in a poignant reversal of City Lights, not only fails to recog­nise her saviour but finds him pathetic. Bumper then returns to the park to be a bum again.
The production of Hallelujah, I’m a Bum was troubled from the start. Di­rector Harry d’Abbadie d’Arrast began the project but left shortly after filming commenced. Chester Erskine took over but delivered a version so poorly re­ceived in previews that producer Joseph Schenck discarded it entirely. Schenck then brought in Lewis Milestone to start from scratch.
Milestone shot the film intensive­ly over three weeks, even as scripts and songs were being written and rehearsed. He enlisted the team of Rogers and Hart to write new songs that included You Are Too Beautiful, later a jazz stan­dard performed by the likes of Theloni­ous Monk and John Coltrane.
The result bears Milestone’s unmistak­able stamp in its circular mise-en-scène, exciting tracking shots into the centre of scene to denote cracking under responsi­bility, and humanising those living on the margins. Yet, it was a commercial failure and ended the film career of Jol­son who, angry and hurt, didn’t realise it was a small glory, a film that, remark­ably, interweaved elements of avant-gar­de cinema (and progressive politics) with the delightful traditions of early sound musicals.

Ehsan Khoshbakht