Humoresque (1946)

60% of critics liked it
(5 reviews)
71% of users liked it
(1,172 ratings)

Fannie Hurst's novel Humoresque is the lachrymose tale of a famed Jewish-American violinist who forgets all about his friends and family in his rise to fame. Screenwriters Clifford Odets and Zachary Gold refashioned this timeworn material into a first-class, big-budget soap opera, completely… More Fannie Hurst's novel Humoresque is the lachrymose tale of a famed Jewish-American violinist who forgets all about his friends and family in his rise to fame. Screenwriters Clifford Odets and Zachary Gold refashioned this timeworn material into a first-class, big-budget soap opera, completely dominated by the high-octane talents of Joan Crawford and John Garfield. A gifted musician, Garfield rises from the slums to the upper echelons of society, thanks to the patronage of wealthy, alcoholic Crawford. Virtually ignored by her husband Paul Cavanaugh, Crawford adopts Garfield as her lover as well as her protégé. He is only mildly offended by the setup; she, on the other hand, becomes jealous and possessive. It is not a woman who comes between Crawford and Garfield: it the intensity of his talent, not to mention the spectre of the great composers whose works he interprets so brilliantly. Garfield's virago of a mother (Ruth Nelson) feeds upon Crawford's jealousy, planting the seeds of guilt for (allegedly) holding her son back. The ultrastylish suffering of Joan Crawford and the street-punk insouciance of John Garfield (who looks like a "Dead End Kid" even while wearing a tux) is counterpointed by the phlegmatic comedy relief of Oscar Levant. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 2 hr. 3 min.
Directed By: Jean Negulesco
Written By: Clifford Odets, Zachary Gold
Genres: Drama, Classics

In Theaters: Dec 25, 1946 Wide
On DVD: Jun 14, 2005

Critic Reviews

Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
This well acted noirish melodrama, especially by John Garfield, boasting great Oscar nominated score, holds up quite well.
Bob Bloom, Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)
pot-boiler with Crawford chewing up the scenery; Garfield does his best to retain his dignity.
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com
remembered largely for its sublime ability to make Garfield look like a virtuoso violinist
Dan Callahan, Slant Magazine
A fine woman's picture with an iconic Joan Crawford performance.
Dan Callahan, Slant Magazine
Crawford and Haller make it into a dreamy wallow in velvety masochism.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Now a days regarded as camp, Jean Negulesco's melodramatic exploration of desire features Joan Crawford at her limited best, but the music played by Isaac Stern and lush score by Franz Waxman offer pleasure, and so do Garfield, the decor and costumes.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
A turgid affair with John Garfield having to choose either socialite Joan Crawford or his bow strings.

Read all 7 critic reviews

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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

Lafe F

A well-done classic film. Joan Crawford is great as an unstable and empty rich wife, threatening the success of a talented violinist. The acting performances are top notch all around. Notable was the mother of the violinist. The orchestra performances are a spectacle. High quality… More
A well-done classic film. Joan Crawford is great as an unstable and empty rich wife, threatening the success of a talented violinist. The acting performances are top notch all around. Notable was the mother of the violinist. The orchestra performances are a spectacle. High quality production and direction too. I remember SCTV doing a skit based on this. The scenes on the beach on the end are well conceived. This movie caught my interest all the way through.
Nicki M

Goes on a little with the musical bits, (although some would probably see that as a positive thing). It also felt to me like this movie took a very long time to get going. About half way through it really does pick up and though I had gathered it probably wouldn't end well, the… More
Goes on a little with the musical bits, (although some would probably see that as a positive thing). It also felt to me like this movie took a very long time to get going. About half way through it really does pick up and though I had gathered it probably wouldn't end well, the end was a shock. Joan Crawford, as usual, plays a strong woman, although with vulnerability you don't see straight away. I had sympathy for her, though I am not sure she was intended to be that way. A must see for fans of older films.
Mason W

Joan Crawford is in top form in another gem; Humoresque. This film is about a socialite (Crawford) whom falls in love with a musician (John Carfield). Many tragedies ensure in this very dramatic and a very good film.
Veronique K

there is one saying about joan crawford "you could love her or hate her, but you just can't ignore her!" maybe "humoresque" could be rendered as the self-clarified justification of crawford herself. once again adrain endorses crawford's resolute glamour… More
there is one saying about joan crawford "you could love her or hate her, but you just can't ignore her!" maybe "humoresque" could be rendered as the self-clarified justification of crawford herself. once again adrain endorses crawford's resolute glamour with her vixen-alike shoulder paddings which affirms her woman power as the iconic signature of joan crawford. this is a love story of two backboned individuals with disparate social levels as blocks between them as well as their homogenous egoism against each other. a more than ripe john garfield plays paul boray who is a debutante fresh young musician with enormous talent but hindered by his gutter upbringing. crawford is helen wright, an alcoholic socialite who sponsors this unknown talent wholeheartedly. helen conceals her solitude behind her derisive facade which arouses paul to unveil her outward hardshell. helen's lovestriken by paul for his raw untamed masculinity which could be a smack right upon her untouchable pride. then paul's overbearingly uptight mother interferes with this affair as bad omen, then the issue of the artist's complete involvement in his art comes across them as a fatality to catalyze helen's doom: she cannot live as a second choice next to paul's music. the music score is by franz waxman with all the classic violin tunes as background. at times, a few scenes at the nightclub accompanied by the piano sound and a husky female singer peg la centra are particularly enjoyable, especially when she utters the famous "embrace me", crawford even partakes in it as the theme song of a neglected woman suffering from the want of love. oscar levant as the paul's pianist sideman is harmonious with all his wisecrackers as footnotes from scene to scene. and only garfield who makes his fame in "postman always rings twice" could compete the lofty joan crawford without fading from the spotlight. garfield has character eminent enough to upstage crawford without being effeminated by her brittle mannerism. as a matter of fact, he even demystifies her to expose her underneath fragility as love conquest. before the campy period of 50s, joan crawford still maintains a glittering grace in her without the later misogynistic uglification on her personal image. she remains acceptibly pleasant to a slight degree with some unique allure of her own. "humoresque" is a piece to manifest her feminine fraility as if it's a self-dubbed confession, also like a dirge to reminiscent her withered glow of romance.
jay n

great music wonderful cinematography and powerful movie star performances from the two leads

Cast

            John Abbott as Rozner

            Joan Crawford as Helen Wright

            John Garfield as Paul Boray

            Paul Cavanagh as Victor Wright

            Oscar Levant as Sid Jeffers

            J. Carrol Naish as Rudy Boray

            Tommy Cook as Phil Boray as a Child

            Joan Chandler as Gina

            Tom D'Andrea as Phil Boray

            Peggy Knudsen as Florence

            Peg La Centra as Nightclub Singer

            Fritz Leiber as Hagerstrom

            Don McGuire as Eddie

            Ruth Nelson as Esther Boray

            Nestor Paiva as Orchestra Leader

            Craig Stevens as Monte Loeffler

            Richard Walsh as Teddy

            Patricia Barry as Fritzie the Telephone Operator

            Monte Blue as Furniture Moving Man

            Richard Gaines as Bauer

            Creighton Hale as Professor

            Don Turner as Man with Dog

            Robert Blake as Paul Boray (younger)

            Ann Lawrence as Florence as a Girl

            Sylvia Arslan as Gina as a Girl
See full cast