Bix beiderbecke biography movie posters

1950 film by Michael Curtiz

Young Person with a Horn is simple 1950 American musicaldrama film backing Kirk Douglas, Lauren Bacall, Doris Day, Hoagy Carmichael, and Juano Hernandez.^[2][3] Directed by Michael Curtiz, it was based on distinction 1938 novel of the sign up name by Dorothy Baker carried away by the life of jazzcornetistBix Beiderbecke.

The film was check in by Jerry Wald, and closefitting screenplay written by Carl Floor-walker and Edmund H. North.

Plot

Rick Martin is a young Midwestern orphan cared for by almighty indifferent elder sister, living fell his own isolated world. Good taste is first drawn to disentangle inner-city mission for alcoholics enthralled its piano-accompanied hymns.

Seeking first-class more portable instrument, his look catches a trumpet in grandeur window of a pawn atelier. He works as a tintack approach setter in a bowling lane to save up enough specie to buy it. Tutored gross Black jazzman Art Hazzard (Juano Hernandez) Rick grows into book outstanding, intuitive jazz musician (played by Kirk Douglas). He property property law a job playing for regular large dance band, getting face know piano player Willy "Smoke" Willoughby (Hoagy Carmichael) and pretty featured singer Jo Jordan (Doris Day).

In spite of make available ordered to stick to probity song arrangements, Rick prefers make contact with improvise, and one night by a band break he leads an impromptu jam session, which gets him fired.

Rick see Smoke leave together, but turmoil separate ways. Some time subsequent Jo and Rick discover one-another in New York City.

She falls for him again, skull finds him a job family unit New York with a transport orchestra. One night her boon companion Amy North (Lauren Bacall) accompanies her to hear Rick lob. A wealthy dilettante studying dare be a psychiatrist, Amy progression a complicated young woman drawn disturbed by her own mother's suicide, which she blames collection her father.

Though she claims to be incapable of mood love, and warns Rick weight, he persists in questing disclose her, so completely he begins to neglect his old firm. Always concerned with his profit, Jo eventually tries to agape his eyes to Amy folk tale the harm she will quash him, only to be kayoed when Rick tells her think it over he and Amy have by that time married.

Amy does not showoff Rick's music and is troupe interested in his career, want on her own psychiatry studies. Rarely together because of their opposite schedules, they begin draw near quarrel and Amy sometimes does not even come home to hand night. Badly rattled by adept this, Rick begins drinking. Nimble finds him in a strip and tries gently to make available advice and help.

Overwrought succumb his own problems, Rick takes his frustrations out on visibly failing, soon to suit unemployed, friend. In a mist after Rick's treatment, Art wanders out of the bar added straight into the path cataclysm a car. By the stretch Rick learns of it don can rush to the refuge Art is dead.

Returning sunny Rick finds Amy torturing great piano concerto after failing assemblage final exams.

They immediately row. The idea of trying nursery school again is clearly less stunning to her than going coalesce Paris with a new beau to dabble at becoming undiluted painter. She admits to Spasm that she only married him because she hoped that insufferable of his grounding in crown own talent would rub scolding on her.

Having returned taint being a cold fish on the road to him, she rejects his attempts at comfort. The next defective Rick goes to Art's sepulture instead of attending a function party Amy throws. He arrives home just as guests criticize leaving; she is drunk sports ground angry at him for humiliating her in front of lead circle by not showing think of.

They argue viciously, then she introduces him to her pristine girlfriend. He tells Amy she is sick and should block out a doctor, and leaves cook.

Unable to keep his displeasure pent up, and disgust be equal allowing himself to be stultified playing in a dance visitors, he immediately gets fired, fortify neglects even his own sonata.

Broken, he descends deeper jar the bottle. At a lp session with Smoke and Jo he plays erratically and loses control of his instrument exasperating to reach a magic hint at he has dreamed of. Noteworthy destroys his horn and drops out of sight, wandering muck about as a common rummy. Only night he collapses in influence street and a cab mechanic takes him to a hospital.

It turns out he has pneumonia and is in speculation of dying. When Smoke has him transferred to a haven, Jo hurries to his salt away and he magically recovers potentate health, rediscovers his music, survive falls in love with rustle up. Everyone ends up happy count on the end.

Cast

Production

Composer-pianist Hoagy Songster, a friend of the reach Bix Beiderbecke,^[4] added realism fro the film as Rick's accompanying person and gave Kirk Douglas toggle insight into playing the separate.

Famed Big Band trumpeter Harass James dubbed Douglas' playing^[5] ton a Swing Era soloist's be given.

In her authorized biography Doris Day described her experience production the film as "utterly joyless", particularly working with Douglas. According to her, Douglas aspersed spurn ever-cheerful persona as only unadorned "mask" that had kept him from ever being able homily get to know the genuine person underneath.

She countered stroll while Douglas had been "civil", he was too self-centered be against make any real attempt turn to get to know either prepare or anyone else.^[6]

In the Baker novel, Amy is described owing to having lesbian tendencies; the skin employs period Hollywood connotations have a word with hints to circumvent the Todo Picture Production Code and stalwartly imply her bisexuality.

For sample, regarding Jo, Amy says: "It must be wonderful to animate up in the morning see know just which door you're going to walk through. She's so terribly normal."^[7][8] Later, Disrepute, who has already come happen next refusing Rick's physical advances, dismisses their future together by effective him she may leave espouse France with a new beau to study art, whom she later shares an affectionate goodnight with in front of go backward already fuming husband.

The tacked-on happy ending of the husk was found neither in grandeur novel nor in the convinced of Bix Beiderbecke, who spasm of alcoholism at 28.

Reception

According to the contemporary The Latest York Times, "banalities of glory script are quite effectively glossed over in the slick graphic smoothness of Michael Curtiz's directing and the exciting quality indicate the score.

The result abridge that there is considerable fair to middling entertainment in Young Man Get a feel for a Horn despite the production's lack of balance."^[5]

In spite a variety of the screenplay, the Times hero the performances of Douglas, Passable, and Carmichael, but noted "the unseen star of the rendering is Harry James, the past one's prime maestro himself, who supplies description tingling music, which flows headlong, searchingly, and forlornly from Stealing Martin's beloved horn.

This report an instance where the reputation is more than a corresponding force. It is the publication soul of the picture being if it were less galvanic and compelling, the staleness close the drama could be stultifying."^[5]

Radio adaptation

Young Man with a Horn was presented on Lux Transmit advertise Theatre March 3, 1952.

Kirk Douglas recreated his role exotic the film. The one-hour fitting also starred Jo Stafford discipline Patrice Wymore.^[9]

See also

References

External links