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Columbia had scored a significant financial and critical success with The Jolson Story in 1946 featuring actor Larry Parks miming successfully to Al Jolson's singing voice, the ageing entertainer re-recording all his great hits for the film.
Then as now thoughts of a sequel were forthcoming but the story of Jolson's career had essentially been told in its entirety.
This can be seen in the struggle the screenwriters had in creating a compelling narrative for the second film.
The key plot points are fairly anaemic, including the end of one marriage, the gestation of another, a temporary retirement for Jolson and his re-discovery entertaining the troops in World War II. The final third of the film, in almost an act of desperati...