ianlouisiana Review of Young Man with a Horn

Young Man with a Horn (1950)

Michael Curtiz's "Amadeus".........................

[7/10 · 17 March 2018]

......the story of an "ubermensch" musician,a man with no peers in his field,young,gifted and misunderstood. Unfortunately because he is played by Mr K.Douglas with his rictus grin,rictus scowl and rictus every - bloody thing,he evokes very little sympathy; in me at any rate. More Bunny Berigan then Bix Beiderbecke,Mr Douglas is one hell of a trumpet player.Like in countless movies before and since he wants to play "his" music and refuses to "sell out". But jazzers who don't "sell out"quite often starve. A later echo might be seen in "New York,New York" where Mr De Niro ends up on the coat tails of Miss Minnelli until he can no longer live with himself. No such quibbles for Kirk who burbles away behind Doris Day in the end. Before then he takes to the demon drink,enters unsuitable relationships and does all the jazz - ish things Hollywood producers fondly imagine creative musicians like to do. Doris Day seems more comfortable in her role than Lauren Bacall whose more complex character eludes her. Nice rather than amazing trumpet playing by Harry James complements the movie which is directed by Michael Curtiz with his customary panache and professionalism. A better film about a jazz trumpet player is "Pete Kelly's Blues" which is actually set in the Beiderbecke era. But "Young man with a horn" from a somewhat florid novel by Dorothy Baker is well worth watching for all that.