Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin (1950)

'YOUNG MAN WITH A HORN1 MUSICAL DRAMA FOR JAZZ DEVOTEES Rates • • • — generally Warner Bros. Ill minutes Kirk Douglas, Lauren Bacall, Doris Day, Hoagy Carmichael, Juano Hernandez, Jerome Cowan, Mary Beth Hughes, Nestor Palva, Orley Lindgren, Walter Reed. Directed by Michael Curtiz. The full-toned utterings of the obsessed jazz trumpetman in "Young Man with A Horn" is the gimmick that makes an otherwise ordinary film enjoyable entertainment. Only those who can resist the plaintiff, brassy wailing of the horn, expertly played off-screen by Harry James while the visible Kirk Douglas goes through the motions so persuasively, will fail to find this Jerry Wald production for Warner release pleasurable. Of course, "Young Man" is right up the alley of the jazz devotees, for students of such music will be moved by Douglas' passion for his horn and they will love seeing and hearing how small combos perform in the wee sma' hours for their own pleasure. That youthful segment of the moviegoing public may well regard this picture as a saga of America's jazz age; others, however, may find it rather dull, for the story is ordinary and badly contrived outside of the musical sequences. Grosses figure to be mixed, from good down to average, best in the big city naborhoods, weakest in the rural areas. The credible mock trumpeting of Kirk Douglas in the title role is the highlight of the film. He makes you believe in his devotion to that horn. What emits therefrom is the kind of Harry James music that "sends" juke box addicts. Lauren Bacall has some poorly written sequences in v ^ieh she unceasingly mouths her neurotic frustrations. Songbird Doris Day turns in a topnotch performance as the gal who carries a torch for Douglas and she does wonders with such old-time favorites s s "Too Marvelous for Words" and "The Very Thought of You." As Smoke, the vagabond pianist, Hoagy Carmichael effeetivelv narrates the tale and tickles the keys at after-hours jam sessions, while Juano Hernandez (of "Intruder in the Dust") delivers a fine portrayal as Douglas' mentor. Michael Curtiz gets the most out of the inconsequential screenplay by Carl Foreman and Edmund North. STORY: As one of the few people who knew expert trumpeter Kirk Douglas, Hoagy Carmichael relates the details of the player's life from childhood until the blaring finale. While just an orphaned youngster, Douglas feels the love for music and decides he wants to be a trumpetman. He attracts the attention of Juano Hernandez, one of the great jazz artists of the era, who teaches the lad all there is to know about the instrument. Douglas emerges as a name player, obsessed by his love for his horn, who finds a pair of good friends in Carmichael and Doris Day, a singer who picks up and carries a torch for Douglas throughout the film. Where his musician-friends fail to separate him from his unnatural obsession, Lauren Bacall, a neurotic playgirl, succeeds. Douglas marries her and drifts away from his old pals and their haunts, playing only with a dance band, and then, strictly for a living. The accidental death of Hernandez brings Douglas to his senses. He sees Miss Bacall in her true light, leaves her, loses his ability to play his beloved horn and, mentally disturbed, hits the downward path to depravation. He is found in an alcoholic ward, stricken with pneumonia, is rehabilitated and, with the aid of Carmichael and Miss Day, starts thp long trek back to the top again. TAYLOR. •THE YELLOW CAB MAN' RIOT OF FUN WILL TOP 'FULLER BRUSH' Rates • • • except for action spots; tops MOM 85 Minutes Bed Skelton. Gloria DeHaven, Edward Arnold, Walter Slezak, James Gleason, Jay C. Flinpen. Polly Moran. Directed by Jack Donohue. The phenomenal popularity of "The Fuller Brush Man," particularly in the hinterlands, is sure to be duplicated and probably surpassed — by this new Red Skelton starrer from MGM. Tailored to the comedian's talents like a wardrob? for Anthony Eden, "The Yellow Cab Man" is a hilarity-crammed, slapstickladen, gag-infested film that is sure to make the masses howl and the sophisticates break into giggles no matter how hard they try to resist the broad hi-jinks. Highly reminiscent of the Harold Lloyd comedies of yesteryear, "The Yellow Cab Man" pictures Skelton as a naive inventive genius troubled by what psychologists term an "accident prone" person for small towns and family houses ality — even his undershirts are boldly labeled: "In case of accident, notify Dr. etc " When he becomes a driver for the Yellow Cab Co., some of the weirdest things ever to be recorded on film happen. As an example, in one trip around the block, the havoc he creates brings out a fleet of police cars, the fire department, bomb disposal units, a^ balances, and virtually every other vehicle connected with any type of mishap; he is accused of kidnapping, demolishes his cab with a bride and groom as passengers, and generally launches his own private catastrophe — all in that one trip around the block. The entire film is a breathless succession of fantastic comic situations and gags, most of them right off the corn stalk, many full of whimsy, some genuinely clever, but all certain to make this Metro offering a high grosser generally and a top attraction for the family houses. Skelton, as the thoroughly sympathetic schleinazel, is at his zany best. He is aided by a thoroughly competent supporting cast in the persons of Gloria DeHaven, object of his affections; Edward Arnold as an unscrupulous, ambulance-chasing lawyer; Walter Slezak as a phoney psychiatrist; James Gleason as a cab-driver and his patron saint, and J. C. Flippen as a strong-arm man. Richard Goldstone's production and Jack Donohue's direction extract every ounce of hilarity from the packed script by Devery Freeman and Albert Beich. STORY: The story has Skelton as an inventor, who, despite outlandish precautions, is always having accidents. When he is hit by a cab driven by James Gleason, a chain of complications begins which lands him a job with the Yellow Cab Co.; gets him involved with shyster Edward Arnold, and pseudo-psychiatrist Walter Slezak, who try to make him divulge his formula for non-breakableplastic; and a series of physical mishaps which could happen only to Skelton. BARN. 'CAPTAIN CAREY, U. S. A.' CONTRIVED VEHICLE FOR ALAN LADD Rates • • + generally; more in action houses Paramount 83 minutes Alan Ladd, Wanda Hendrix, Francis Lederer, Joseph Calleia, Celia Lovsky, Richard Avonde, Frank Puglia, Luis Alberni, Angela Clarke, Roland Winters, Paul Lees, Directed by Mitchell Leisen. Alan Ladd fans will probably accept this confused, but actionful, little story of postwar Italian intrigue and black market activities, which, in spite of its shortcomings, should prove a satisfactory grosser in most action situations. However, more discerning patrons will probably turn thumbs down on the contrived melodramatics tossed into "Captain Carey, U.S.A." to create added suspense and mystery. There is considerable interest in Robert Thooren's script, based on a novel by Martha Albrand, which tells of an American OSS officer who returns to Italy after the war to avenge a treacherous act committed by an unknown native. However, only youngsters will be fooled by the suspicious actions of countless characters skulking about the landscape, for there is no question as to the identity of the real culprit, whose guilt is obvious from the very beginning. Mitchell Leisen's direction maintains a fast pace and gives an atmosphere of authenticity to the proceedings. Ladd has a typical role, absorbing the usual quota of punishment before he finally triumphs over the evil forces, a performance which will sit well with his many followers. In her role of the Italian girl, Wanda Hendrix brightens the scenery with her beauty, but is still no great shakes as an actress. Francis Lederer capably handles the heavy assignment, while Joseph Calleia, Frank Puglia and Roland Winters portray native Italians who drift in and out of the plot. STORY: Back in the States after the war, Alan Ladd spots a painting in an art gallery which he last saw in a concealed room in an Italian palace while he was working with the underground as an OSS officer. He returns to Italy, hoping to find the person who sold the painting, and thus turn up the traitor who exposed him and his friends to the Germans. He finds the girl whom he had believed killed by the treacherous act, Wanda Hendrix, very much alive and married to Francis Lederer, an Italian politician. When he discovers that Miss Hendrix's family is under suspicion of causing the "reprisals" death of twenty-seven townspeople, Ladd sets out to find out who the guilty person is. A couple of murders later, Miss Hendrix confesses to Ladd, and as he is about to leave, he discovers evidence which proves Lederer, a black marketeer, engineered the killings to further his political career, and also turns up Wanda's grandmother and brother as the real traitors. Ladd kills Lederer and his stooge, George Lewis, after a knock-down-drag-out brawl, clearing the air of mystery and the path to his eventual marriage to Miss Hendrix. JACKSON. 12 FILM BULLETIN