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, All Movie Guide
Review
One of the best jazz films Hollywood has made, Young Man With a Horn indulges in many of the clichés associated with such films, but it treats the clichés with respect, giving even the most familiar moments an undeniable power. Much of the credit goes to Michael Curtiz, who seems to feel a real affinity for the loneliness and yearning infused in the story. Curtiz does an excellent job of capturing the sometimes stifling solitude that is found in the city, as well as the frenetic joy and release that music can bring. He also helps Kirk Douglas to give a savagely intense, muscular performance. His Rick Martin is an explosion waiting to happen, and Douglas pulls the viewer in from the outset and rarely lets him go. Lauren Bacall doesn't find enough variety in her performance, but she's effective. Doris Day does better; her part is as one-note in its way as Bacall's, but she manages to flesh it out -- and has the added benefit of being in tip-top vocal shape. Harry James' dubbing of Douglas' horn is another major asset. Young Man bogs down in a few places, but not for long, and it gives Douglas a chance to shine. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Jerome Cowan - Phil Morrison; Mary Beth Hughes - Margo Martin; Nestor Paiva - Louis Galba; Orley Lindgren - Rick, as a boy; Walter Reed - Jack Chandler; Alex Gerry - Dr. Weaver; Paul E. Burns; Frank Cady - Hotel Clerk; Hugh Charles; Dick Cogan - Intern; Paul Dubov - Maxie; Everett Glass - Man Leading Song; James Griffith - Walt; Helene Heigh - Tweedy Woman; Jack Kruschen - Cab Driver; Murray Leonard - Bartender; Keye Luke - Ramundo; Hugh Murray - Doctor; Robert O'Neill - Bum; Dan Seymour - Mike; Burk Symon - Pawnbroker; Bill Walker - Black Minister; Dean Riesner - Joe; Jack Shea - Male Nurse; Julius Wechter - Boy Drummer; Larry Rio - Owner; Sid Kane - Man
Credit
Edward Carrere - Art Director, Milo Anderson - Costume Designer, Michael Curtiz - Director, Alan Crosland, Jr. - Editor, Alex North - Composer (Music Score), Ray Heindorf - Musical Direction/Supervision, Perc Westmore - Makeup, Ted D. McCord - Cinematographer, Jerry Wald - Producer, William Wallace - Set Designer, Everett A. Brown - Sound/Sound Designer, Edmund H. North - Screenwriter, Carl Foreman - Screenwriter, Dorothy Baker - Book Author
Young Man with a Horn is a 1950drama film based on a biographical novel of the same name about the life of Bix Beiderbecke. The film is considered to be the first contemporary big-budget jazz film, a genre that became common not soon after the release of the movie, as well as one of the first major Hollywood productions to deal with lesbianism.
Douglas plays the lead character, Rick Martin, likely based on Beiderbecke. Bacall performs the second lead, Martin's mixed up love interest named Amy North. This was one of the few scripts accepted by Bacall, who was famous for her habit of turning down projects she wasn't interested in. It has become one of her defining roles, even though she stated in her autobiography that she didn't think highly of the part.
The film is regarded as one of the first major Hollywood productions to present a woman with strongly implied lesbian tendencies.[1][2] This is suggested by Bacall's occasionally frigid character's unaccounted overnight absence from her husband at the same time she is talking of moving to Europe with a female artist. The artist, Miss Carson, is later present, and Amy gushes to her: "I'm dying to see the rest of your sketches."
Because of this controversial subject matter, the film was banned in many countries until it was re-released worldwide in 1962. The US movie industry, while conforming to the Production Code, showed the movie when it was released in 1950.
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