Young Man With a Horn (1950)
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64% of users liked it
(1,198 ratings)
The life of tragic jazz great Bix Beiderbecke is given the "a clef" treatment in Warner Bros. Young Man With a Horn. Kirk Douglas plays the Beiderbecke character, here named Rick Martin. An ace trumpter player, Martin is one of the few white musicians to flourish in the black-dominated… More The life of tragic jazz great Bix Beiderbecke is given the "a clef" treatment in Warner Bros. Young Man With a Horn. Kirk Douglas plays the Beiderbecke character, here named Rick Martin. An ace trumpter player, Martin is one of the few white musicians to flourish in the black-dominated jazz scene of the 1920s. Chafing against the dullness of the "respectable" orchestras for whom he works, Martin finds at least two kindred spirits in the forms of torch singer Jo Jordan (Doris Day) and piano player Smoke Willoughby (Hoagy Carmichael). He rises to popularity with his own group, and along the way falls under the spell of wealthy jazz patroness Lauren Bacall. After marrying Bacall, Martin begins neglecting his music and turns more and more to alcohol. When he skips one of her fancy parties to attend the funeral of his mentor Juano Hernandez, Bacall angrily smashes all his jazz records, effectively ending what was never a very solid relationship. Crawling into a bottle, Martin loses his touch with the trumpet-a heartbreaking sequence, in which he goes to pieces in the middle of the pop standard "With a Song in My Heart". Unlike the real Beiderbecke, who died of alcoholism at the age of 28, Rick Martin is rescued by his faithful friends Day and Carmichael. Kirk Douglas' trumpeteering in Young Man with a Horn was effectively dubbed by Harry James, while jazz pianists Buddy Cole and Jimmy Zito make uncredited soundtrack contributions. The film was adapted by Carl Foreman and Edmund H. North from a novel by Dorothy Baker. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Michael Curtiz
- Written By
- Carl Foreman, Edmund H. North
- Genres
- Drama, Romance, Musical & Performing Arts, Classics
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Feb 9, 1950 Wide
Critic Reviews
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Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com
Fine Kirk Douglas character study directed by Curtiz.
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Jeremiah Kipp, Slant Magazine
Young Man With a Horn casts Kirk Douglas as a selfish artist who gets his comeuppance, but it's a theme that smacks of bull****.
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Jeremiah Kipp, Slant Magazine
Dramatically contrived and thematically feeble.
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Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com
a fair example of a somewhat overworked genre.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
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Cast
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Kirk Douglas
as Rick Martin
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Lauren Bacall
as Amy North
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Doris Day
as Jo Jordan
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Hoagy Carmichael
as Smoke Willoughby
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Juano Hernandez
as Art Hazard
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Jerome Cowan
as Phil Morrison
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Mary Beth Hughes
as Margo Martin
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Nestor Paiva
as Louis Galba
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Orley Lindgren
as Rick as a boy
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Walter Reed
as Jack Chandler
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Alex Gerry
as Dr. Weaver
- Paul E. Burns
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Frank Cady
as Hotel Clerk
- Hugh Charles
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Dick Cogan
as Intern
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Paul Dubov
as Maxie
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Everett Glass
as Man Leading Song
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James Griffith
as Walt
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Helene Heigh
as Tweedy Woman
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Jack Kruschen
as Cab Driver
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Murray Leonard
as Bartender
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Keye Luke
as Ramundo
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Hugh Murray
as Doctor
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Robert O'Neill
as Bum
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Dan Seymour
as Mike
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Burk Symon
as Pawnbroker
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Bill Walker
as Black Minister
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Dean Riesner
as Joe
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Jack Shea
as Male Nurse
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Julius Wechter
as Boy Drummer
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Larry Rio
as Owner
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Sid Kane
as Man
