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Humoresque (1946)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
25 December 1946 (USA)
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Tagline:
TWO WHO MET AND KISSED AND NEVER SHOULD HAVE MET AGAIN! (original poster - all caps) more
Plot:
A classical musician from the slums is sidetracked by his love for a wealthy, neurotic socialite. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Cuckold
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Violin
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Beach
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Based On Novel
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar.
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User Comments:
Splendid performances and music
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Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only) | Joan Crawford | ... | Mrs. Helen Wright |
 | John Garfield | ... | Paul Boray |
| Oscar Levant | ... | Sid Jeffers |
| J. Carrol Naish | ... | Papa Rudy Boray |
| Joan Chandler | ... | Gina Romney |
| Tom D'Andrea | ... | Phil Boray |
| Peggy Knudsen | ... | Florence Boray |
| Ruth Nelson | ... | Mama Esther Boray |
| Craig Stevens | ... | Monte Loeffler |
| Paul Cavanagh | ... | Mr. Victor Wright |
| Richard Gaines | ... | Bauer - Paul's 1st producer |
| John Abbott | ... | Rozner - conducts Nat.Inst.Orch. |
 | Robert Blake | ... | Paul Boray - child (as Bobby Blake) |
| Tommy Cook | ... | Phil Boray - child |
| Don McGuire | ... | Teddy #2 - Prop. of Teddy's Bar |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
125 min | West Germany:115 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound System)
Certification:
Germany:12 (DVD rating) |
Australia:PG |
Australia:G (TV rating) |
USA:Approved (certificate #11490) |
West Germany:16 |
Finland:S
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
John Garfield's violin "performances" are actually played by two professional violinists standing on either side of him, one to bow and one to finger. The actual music was performed by Isaac Stern.
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Goofs:
Continuity: Outside the beach house owned by Helen Wright (Joan Crawford), there is an ornate lantern on top of a post by the stairs leading from the house's terrace to the beach. In early sequences, the lantern has no glass and a bare light bulb is visible. Later sequences show the lantern with its glass installed, concealing the bulb.
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Quotes:
Paul Boray:
All my life I wanted to do the right thing but it never worked out. I'm outside always looking in. Feeling all the time I'm far away from home and where home is I don't know. I can't get back to the simple happy kid I used to be.
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Movie Connections:
Featured in The Music of 'Humoresque' (2005) (V)
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Soundtrack:
What Is This Thing Called Love?
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FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (43 total)
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| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| IMDb Drama section | IMDb USA section | Add this title to MyMovies |
It's fun sometimes to watch a movie, and mentally juxtapose it in your mind with another you've seen. In "Humoresque," for example, watch the part where Paul (John Garfield) is delivering his major violin performance, while his wealthy, possessive patron, Helen (Joan Crawford), sits in her expensive box (his mother and "girlfriend" are in the cheaper seats) in a sensuous, almost orgasmic state as she watches him. This scene is depicted as graphically as the constrictions imposed on films in the mid-40's would allow - narrow boundaries compared with even daytime television today. Now visualize Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone from "Basic Instinct." Instead of being a detective and author/murder suspect, respectively, Michael is on-stage like Paul, playing his heart out, and Sharon is the wealthy patron in the audience. Now imagine what Sharon might do, and the camera show, in "her" sensuous reaction to his performance: not a bad vision, eh?
This film IS an outstanding example of the "noir" qualities which were a hallmark of the 30's to the early 50's - from the earlier stages of talking pictures, through the depression and post-WW II years. Joan Crawford was one of the two best (along with Bette Davis) at portraying this type of cold, possessive, and thoroughly selfish, powerful female presence. From later revelations about her real life, it was probably due less to her acting prowess than one imagined at that time. And Garfield played the tough, yet easily-manipulated, handsome male "pawn" to perfection - as the fore-mentioned Michael Douglas has done in the present.
Watch this movie for the outstanding performances of two icons of the film's era. It also represents, in my opinion, one of the three best films for the lead characters' music, presented within 10 years after WW II - each with characters meeting unhappy ends. There is, of course, the great Isaac Stern's music here. Ten years later, another matinée idol, Tyrone Power, starred as the title character in "The Eddy Duchin Story," with the gorgeous Kim Novak, and Carmen Cavallero's talented piano offerings. In about the mid-point between these two movies, in 1950, Kirk Douglas was Rick Martin in "Young Man With a Horn," based largely of the meteoric, talented career of the great trumpet player, Bix Biederbecke, whose life ended at age 28 - but who was so talented he is well-remembered nearly 75 years later; Harry James' playing in this film is comparable to Stern's and Cavallero's in the other two, and Lauren Bacall and Doris Day are there as Kirk's love interests, the naughty girl and good girl, respectively. Watch these three movies in the order made; you'll be exposed to great music, and three all-time great performers providing music via their respective instruments - as well as some of the great stars in cinema history. And the musical finale from the Duchin movie will bring a tear to virtually anyone's eyes.