Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

The Hollywood back catalog contains its share of musician and Bandleader Bios, with both Benny Goodman (Steve Allen) and Glenn Miller (Jimmy Stewart) both getting the tepid Tinsel-town treatment. In “Young Man With a Horn”, Kirk Douglas goes the fictional route with his rise and fall portrayal of Rick Martin, orphaned loner and musical savant.

The film breaks with convention right out of the gate, with piano man Willie “Smoke” Willoughby (Hoagy Carmichael) breaking the fourth wall to establish plot foundation. Although I find this overall technique ineffective and distracting, here Carmichael sells it with a folksy sincerity. A smooth transition to the grade-school Martin (Orley Lindgren) shows an undisciplined kid being raised by a well-intentioned but disinterested sister, who cares more for her current boyfriend than for Rick.

Ducking-out of school, his around-town wanderings find him fascinated with the piano player at a local mission. His incessant practice in the unused hall sets the bench-sleeping transients on edge, but not before he masters the piano sufficient to understand his calling. A local pawn shop has on display the only instrument lighter than a piano that he can afford. His job as pin-setter at a local bowling alley eventually nets him the nine dollars necessary to purchase the used trumpet.

Across the street from his job sits a local jazz dive that one evening draws Rick with the sweet strains of an unadulterated sound that fascinates. Ace trumpeter Art Hazzard (Juano Hernandez) catches sight of Rick with his face pressed against the window, and the die is cast for the creation of a life-long friendship. The two live for their mutual obsession in a world with a language all its own, and a goal of hitting that mythological elusive note of legend.

Under Hazzard’s tutelage, Rick’s natural talent makes him the best of the best, and soon a real-world string of dance-band gigs led by no-talent band-leaders cramps his style. This ordinary world offers little room for extraordinary talent; though the current band’s lead singer Jo Jordan (Doris Day) becomes the bright spot amidst the routine.

Aside from the music, the most interesting and enjoyable aspect of “Young Man with a Horn” is the relationship between Douglas, Day and Lauren Bacall, as the sophisticated and monied Amy North. Where Douglas’ Rick Martin is accomplished in the development of a single talent, Bacall’s Amy is unsuccessful at several. Juxtaposing a smooth yet constipated complexity with sociopathic charm, Amy demonstrates an attitude and personality so high-maintenance as to be toxic to anyone within her sphere of influence.

Nevertheless, Rick finds Amy fascinating; much to the dismay of Jo, whose casual introduction of the two becomes her Homer Simpson moment in the film. Bacall has many terrific lines of dialogue, such as the one that sums-up Day’s character to perfection: “She’s so terribly normal. It must be nice to wake up every morning knowing exactly which door you will walk through”. Though Amy’s histrionics stretch the bounds of credibility at times, Bacall is endowed with the beauty, timing and richness of role to carry-it-off with style. Even the suggested lesbian liaison with her new-found confidante “Miss Carson” (Katharine Kurasch) walks a fine and compelling line for a film released in 1950.

Although this is Doris Day’s fourth film appearance, her girl-next-door gig would became a career, and here it positions Amy’s bizarre behavior beautifully, by contrast. Day has technically superior vocal talents, but many of the arrangements she’s saddled with are downright anesthetic at times.

This film is three years away from the popular music revolution heralded by the genius of Nelson Riddle; though unlike Sinatra, Doris Day appears to have missed that memo. Standards by Gershwin (S Wonderful, The Man I Love), Cole Porter (What Is This Thing Called Love?), the Rogers and Hart classic With A Song In My Heart and several others make single and sometimes multiple appearances. To counter the dance-band drivel, traditional jazz numbers are peppered throughout the production, making this film one of the best musician-based dramas ever produced.

Douglas was an actor whose star was on the rise in 1950. His trademark screen intensity fueled imitation and parody through comedians for decades; though his greatest talent was the ability to deliver an ambiguous line to multiple meaning. Here, he appears to ape a mean trumpet (with the legendary Harry James providing an inspired performance). A trumpet player may find fault with his stance and fingering, but most viewers will be watching Hoagy Carmichael - his art is the piano and his performance is consistently mesmerizing. Carmichael was under-appreciated as a supporting actor - he has such a natural rhythm and charm on-screen, and all his performances (and his songs) come highly recommended.

Not enough can be said about the contribution of director Michael Curtiz. From western to historical drama to Elvis (King Creole), the Oscar winner (Casablanca) gives unique quality of composition to each scene of the film. The rich high-life of sophisticated nightclubs gives way to a noir-ish shadowy glare when smoky jazz-dives take center stage. “Young Man with a Horn” is an A picture in concept, assembly and execution. A case where a random Database Dive in search of the wacky results in something wonderful.

Young Man with a Horn (1950)
Producer: Jerry Wald
Screenplay: Carl Forman, Edmund H. North
From the novel by Dorothy Baker
Director: Michael Curtiz
A Warner Bros - First National Picture
VHS: Warner Home Video (1990)
DVD: Warner Home Video (2005)


Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older