Young Man with a Horn

"Put down your trumpet, jazzman. I'm in the mood for love!"

1950 1h 52m EN

😐

6.4

MID

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.2

IMDB

★6.4TMDB · 59●69Metacritic★7.2IMDB · 3,984

DramaMusicRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Taken in by the musical world as a young orphan, Rick Martin grows up with a desire to play pure jazz instead of the commercial gigs he lands, whilst also coping with the problems caused by his tempestuous marriage to an aloof heiress.

“Put down your trumpet, jazzman. I'm in the mood for love!”

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Where to watch · US

Cast

Kirk Douglas
Rick Martin
Lauren Bacall
Amy North
Doris Day
Jo Jordan
Hoagy Carmichael
Willie 'Smoke' Willoughby
Juano Hernández
Art Hazzard
Jerome Cowan
Phil Morrison
Mary Beth Hughes
Marge Martin
Nestor Paiva
Louis Galba

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Michael Curtiz
Writers: Edmund H. North, Carl Foreman
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

76 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Michael Curtiz, shot by Ted D. McCord. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Alan Crosland, Jr. shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Kirk Douglas and Lauren Bacall and Doris Day carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Put down your trumpet, jazzman. I'm in the mood for love!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0043153 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

Only 59 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Michael Curtiz directs. Ted D. McCord behind the camera. Alan Crosland, Jr. cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

176 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Directed by Michael Curtiz, shot by Ted D. McCord. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Editor Alan Crosland, Jr. shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
4Kirk Douglas and Lauren Bacall and Doris Day carry the top of the cast.
5Marketing tagline: "Put down your trumpet, jazzman. I'm in the mood for love!".
6IMDB entry: tt0043153 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
7Only 59 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
8Released under 11 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Ted D. McCord
Editing: Alan Crosland, Jr.
Makeup / hair: Betty Delmont
Runtime: 112 min · 1h 52m
Status: Released
Box office: $1,500,000
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Young Man with a Horn (1950)
Metacritic: 69/100
IMDB rating: 7.2/10 · 3,984 votes
MPAA: Approved

Also by

Michael Curtiz

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2019-01-21
★ 8/10
This trumpet is part of me, the best part! Young Man With A Horn is inspired by the sad life of jazz musician Bix Beiderbecke, a sad life because Bix would succumb to alcoholism and pass away at the age of 28. Rick Martin (Kirk Douglas) is the fictional character of the piece, the film is told in flashbacks of Martin's life through the nostalgic reminiscence of pianist Smoke Willoughby (Hoagy Carmichael). Young Man With A Horn is very much a film of three parts, the first half firmly establishes Rick's love of music from an early age, his tutelage under mentor Art Hazzard (Juan Hernandez) is fully formed and completely fleshes out Rick's character. We are then privy to the middle part of his life as he forms a bond with Smoke and band singer Jo Jordon (an ebullient and charming Doris Day), Rick is happy, his love of music taking priority over outside interests, but then Amy North (a swishing Lauren Bacall) enters his life, and here the film switches firmly into a melodramatic piece, it's a switch that pays off as the end credit looms large. The directing from Michael Curtiz is as you would expect very tight to the drama, and the photography from Ted McCord captures the smoke filled nature of jazz clubs perfectly. The acting from the cast principals is never less than above average. Some may find it hard to accept Kirk Douglas in the leading role, and certainly at first glance he looks oddly out of place with a trumpet at his lips, but he studied under trumpeter Larry Sullivan and convinces as a viable trumpet player (the actual music is dubbed by Harry James). The music of course is excellent, and as long as one is prepared for the melodramatic turn of events, this is a very rewarding piece. The proviso though is that you remember that this is far from being a true biographical story of the tragic Bix Beiderbecke. 8/10

Production companies