Main Cast: Al Jolson, Madge Evans, Frank Morgan, Harry Langdon, Chester Conklin
Release Year: 1933
Country: US/UK
Run Time: 83 minutes
Plot
Al Jolson's "comeback" picture Hallelujah, I'm a Bum is an offbeat Depression-era concoction with script by Ben Hecht and S.N. Behrmann and music and lyrics by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. Jolson plays a genial hobo who wanders happily around Central Park, neither seeking nor accepting honest employment. He is imbued with a sense of responsibility when he rescues pretty Madge Evans from committing suicide. Evans, suffering from amnesia, falls in love with Jolson, completely forgetting her "regular" beau, mayor Frank Morgan. When she regains her memory she heads back to Morgan, leaving Jolson sadder but wiser, and prompting him back to his carefree existence. Much of the dialogue is spoken in rhyme, in the manner of an operetta--though there's nothing Romberg-like about such lyrical phrases as "Hoover's Cossacks." Former silent-film comedy star Harry Langdon has some choice moments as Egghead, a communist streetcleaner, while composers Rodgers and Hartshow up in unbilled cameos. Because the word "Bum" has different connotations in different lands, this film was released in England as Hallelujah, I'm a Tramp. The reissue version, titled Heart of a Tramp, has been severely re-edited, doing considerable damage to the carefully interwoven rhyming dialogue. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Underrated at the time of its release and unfortunately neglected in the intervening years, Hallelujah, I'm a Bum is one of the most interesting musical films to come out of the 1930s. While some may disagree with the film's pro-socialist stance or find that the story glosses over some of the social problems it depicts, the snappy dialogue and sharp, clear characterizations should win them over. The film is especially notable for its extensive use of rhyming dialogue, most effectively in the scene in which Bumper discovers a small fortune. The integration of song and speech reached a new high point here, to the extent that the melodies of some numbers (such as "I'd Do It Again") are hard to absorb on first viewing. The entire Rodgers and Hart score is first rate, with "I Gotta Get Back to New York," "You Are Too Beautiful" and the title song standouts. Al Jolson turns in a fine, relatively restrained performance, and gets excellent support from Harry Langdon. Director Lewis Milestone guides the film with a firm hand, keeping the pace nice and fast but finding time for very effective montages and a great tracking sequence in the bank. He and the other creators also don't shy away from the sad ending -- and also refrain from milking it for melodramatic effect. Bum was not the big commercial success Jolson needed to re-establish himself as a box office draw, but it did afford him one of his finest screen performances. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
The film stars Al Jolson as Bumper, a popular New York tramp, and both romanticizes and satirizes the hobo lifsetyle that many people were forced into by the economic conditions of the time. It is often noted for its heavy Leftist overtones and freewheeling style. Amongst its supporting cast were Frank Morgan, silent comedian Harry Langdon and Keystone KopChester Conklin.
