Young Man With a Horn

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Audience Member Ricky Martin looks so different in this movie, although I really liked it Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/03/23 Full Review Ken R This Warner Bros bio-pic is certainly a cut above the average of its type and year. Dorothy Bakers searing novel is adapted for the screen by Carl Forman (High Noon) and Edmund H. North (Patton). Versatile Kirk Douglas again confirms his tour de force range of emotions as a young Trumpet player (Rick Martin) on the way up and also on the skids. He's also in love with the wrong woman! Sultry Lauren Bacall is perfect as the wrong ‘female' - a slinky rich psychiatry student and destructive gender confused type - who dabbles in everything and is generally unsuccessful at them all. Doris Day giving a semi-dramatic turn does very well as the dance band singer who warms to the ‘lost' trumpeter. Douglas brings pathos, and power to his character (loosely based on the life of Bix Beiderbecke) especially during the breakdown scenes – but he's perhaps a tad overconfident a performer to fully convince as a clumsy, low self-esteem type (this could also be partly due to Curtiz's direction) Juano Hernandez gives a standout performance as the sympathetic jazz muso who takes the young orphan under his wing – freely giving him vital tuition that guarantees the naturally talented, but disadvantaged lad - a priceless introduction to a career in the field of professional music. Michael Curtiz delivers his usual confident directorial professionalism but perhaps the real power is found in the dazzling look of this film. Superb director of photography Ted McCord fills every scene with his strong stylised visuals – injecting a moody power into every situation, also making the grand cast look especially magnificent. Best of all, is his stunning use of outdoor locations, featuring richly dramatic shots of parts of N.Y. that has since passed into memory. Not enough can be said of the power this combination of McCord and Curtiz bring to this un-miss-able 1950 picture! Striking musical direction and score by Ray Heindorf, with a shamefully uncredited additional score by the great Max Steiner - featuring the playing of trumpet virtuoso's Harry James and Jimmy Zito, make for an unforgettable dramatic musical treat. Great production values, art direction, sets, editing, wrap together an eye-popping, ear candy experience for lovers of the era. The upbeat ending could have been dropped but is not as bad as some may say within a ‘loosely' based bio. Hoagy Carmichael is unforgettable as piano player/narrator ‘Smoke' ~ with young Orley Lindgren (under My Skin ‘50, Alias Nick Beal'49) most impressive playing Rick as a boy (whatever happened to Orley?) The W.B. DVD offers good images and that special W.B. sound Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 10/07/19 Full Review Audience Member Gritty Warner Bros. drama with music traces the rise of a young trumpet player (Kirk Douglas, dubbed by Harry James); Doris Day and Lauren Bacall play the good/bad girls in his life. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review s r Good music helps tell the story of what it means to be an artist in the Jazz world. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Esta es una película obligada para todos los amantes de la música. Michael Curtiz ("Casablanca") nos presenta la historia de Rick Martin, un trompetista de Jazz basado en la vida del gran Bix Beiderbecke, que solo vive para su música, hasta que el desengaño amoroso, y la incomprensión de la gente que lo rodea lo hace tocar fondo. Kirk Douglas es perfecto en el papel del trompetista y Doris Day y Lauren Bacall son las actrices ideales para interpretar a las mujeres en la vida de Rick. Una película perfecta con una fotografía que nos hace vivir a la Nueva York de los inicios del Jazz. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Audience Member Esta es una película obligada para todos los amantes de la música. Michael Curtiz ("Casablanca") nos presenta la historia de Rick Martin, un trompetista de Jazz basado en la vida del gran Bix Beiderbecke, que solo vive para su música, hasta que el desengaño amoroso, y la incomprensión de la gente que lo rodea lo hace tocar fondo. Kirk Douglas es perfecto en el papel del trompetista y Doris Day y Lauren Bacall son las actrices ideales para interpretar a las mujeres en la vida de Rick. Una película perfecta con una fotografía que nos hace vivir a la Nueva York de los inicios del Jazz. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/24/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Young Man With a Horn

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