Young Man with a Horn (1950)

Director:

Michael Curtiz

Writers:

Dorothy Baker (novel)
Carl Foreman (writer) ...

Release Date:

9 February 1950 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Music | Romance

Plot:

Aimless youth Rick Martin learns he has a gift for music and falls in love with the trumpet. Legendary...

Plot Keywords:

Jazz | Trumpet | Alcoholism | Beautiful Woman | Nightclub

Cast

Kirk Douglas	...	Rick Martin
Lauren Bacall	...	Amy North
Doris Day	...	Jo Jordan
Hoagy Carmichael	...	Willie 'Smoke' Willoughby
Juano Hernandez	...	Art Hazzard
Jerome Cowan	...	Phil Morrison
Mary Beth Hughes	...	Marge Martin
Nestor Paiva	...	Louis Galba
Orley Lindgren	...	Rick as a boy
Walter Reed	...	Jack Chandler

Also Known As:

Young Man of Music (UK)
Young Man with a Trumpet (Australia)

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | UK:PG (video rating) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Doris Day wrote that she was unhappy making this film, which brought back stressful memories of her early career as a band singer, and also because Kirk Douglas and Lauren Bacall (having dated at one time in real life) seemed to intentionally shut her out, making her feel unwelcome.

Quotes:

Rick Martin: I'm not going to be tied down to anybody or anything. From now on, I'm playing it my way.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Honeymooners: Young Man with a Horn (#1.26)" (1956)

Soundtrack:

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot

A very good film that after a while seemed to go on too long.

Kirk Douglas played a very eager musician who just adored music--particularly when he was able to cut loose from convention and just put his heart into the music. Throughout much of the film, his one abiding love was his trumpet and only towards the end of the film is this love shaken.

I really enjoyed this film, as it was quite a departure for Kirk Douglas to play a jazz-loving trumpet player. The supporting performances were very good (particularly the performances by Hoagy Charmichael and Juano Hernandez) I also found myself enjoying the music quite a bit even though I have never liked jazz.

Yet despite my liking this movie very much, there was a problem with the film and that was that the film lasted a bit too long. The last 2 minutes of the film could easily been condensed, as the long "I'm depressed and feel sorry for myself" routine just seemed to drag and was so atypical of the rest of the film.

By the way, for 1950 this was an amazing film in the way it handles race. Unlike other films of the time, Whites and Blacks interact more or less as equals and there is friendship between Douglas and Hernandez--something you take for granted in films nowadays, but for 1950 it was a amazing and very much appreciated.

By the way, though it often goes by without mention, but the cinematography in this black & white film was amazing--very, very artistic and just beautiful. It reminded me a lot of Film Noir combined with the sensibilities of Ansel Adams.