Watch Young Man with a Horn For Free

A lot of fun.

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Blistering performances.

Michael Curtiz was a genius director, don't you agree? Masterpieces like "Casablanca" "The Adventures Of Robin Hood" "The Charge Of The Light Brigade" "Mildred Pierce" and over 150 other titles including the musical "Romance on the High Seas" which introduced Doris Day to the world. In "Young Man with a Horn" Doris Day is the luminous center, the ideal. She is photographed and framed like a reachable dream. Kirk Douglas plays the trumpet player in love with the wrong woman and Lauren Bacall here is the personification of the wrong woman, she knows it, she tells him but he goes for it like a lamb to the slaughter. "Young Man with a Horn" has some extra pluses, Hoagy Carmichel for instance and Juano Hernandez but what the film reminded me of was, Michael Curtiz's brilliance and that Doris Day was, is and always will be one of the great film actresses of all time. Regardless of the film she appeared in, she displayed an extraordinary talent to be, to be totally and if you think I'm just waxing lyrical, "Young Man with a Horn" presents indisputable evidence of her extraordinary talent.

With such blazing source material, a great director like Michael Curtiz (whose 'Casablanca' and 'The Adventures of Robin Hood' are two of my favourite films) and talent like Kirk Douglas, Lauren Bacall and Doris Day, as well as being based on an interesting man and life, 'Young Man with a Horn' had so much going for it.On the most part too, 'Young Man with a Horn' lives up to its vast potential. The only glaring fault is the ending, which felt rushed, far too syrupy and tacked on, considering the sordid and sleazy nature of the rest of the film it really jarred and quite badly. Some may be disappointed at the biographical sections being fictional (then again biopics are rarely accurate) and that the tone of the source material is softened.'Young Man with a Horn' does more right than it does wrong. It looks wonderful, with a stylish visual look with inspired film noir-ish touches. Curtiz allows atmosphere and emotional power to come through, and come through they do. The music is one of 'Young Man with a Horn's' best assets, being a singer and cellist this component has always been important to me and is always mentioned in my reviews. Not just the superb playing of Harry James, but some great songs sung by Doris Day that are also beautifully staged. "The Very Thought of You", "Too Marvellous for Words", "I May be Wrong" and "With a Song in my Heart", all terrific, as are the arrangements of "The Man I Love" and "Get Happy".The film is intelligently scripted without getting over-heated and never feels bland. The story is absorbing and enough of the sordid and sleazy nature comes through as well as the emotional power.Kirk Douglas is outstanding in the lead role, particularly in the tormented scenes. Lauren Bacall also excels as does a cast against type Doris Day. Hoagy Carmichael is smooth and warm-hearted and Juano Hernandez gives his role great dignity.All in all, very powerful even when softened in comparison to what it's based on. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Rick Martin is a young boy who finds the love for music after his mother dies. The trumpet becomes his instrument, and he learns to play it from an old master called Art Hazzard. Young Man with a Horn from 1950 is directed by Michael Curtiz. Rick Martin is first played by Orley Lindgren, then by Kirk Douglas. Lauren Bacall plays his troubled wife Amy North. Doris Day is the singer friend Jo Jordan. Hoagy Carmichael is the pianist friend Willie 'Smoke' Willoughby. Juano Hernandez portrays Art Hazzard. The cast is quite superb. Douglas does excellent job in the lead. Especially when Rick starts having problems with the alcohol, then Kirk really has to act. And that he does really well! I think the movie becomes more interesting when it portrays all those problems this young man starts having. Problems with marriage, drinking. When it's not just about music and how good he is at it. Bacall's performance is very film noir, which works fairly good in this movie. Day is very touching in the caring she has for her friend. And she can really sing, which we all knew! If you're a fan of the main trio, if you like good music, if you like drama you should see this movie.

This is largely a fun, yet serious, musical film noir, one of my favorite films. The screenplay centers on Rick Martin: a virtuoso jazz pianist and trumpet player. He has a natural ear for music and spends all day and all night on his music. He is rebellious, loving to improvise rather than sticking to the sheet music sometimes provided. Besides, he doesn't read music very well. "I don't play for people. I play for myself". This attitude almost ends his musical career, until he finds an accommodating band, and goes on to become famous among musicians. Music composer and pianist Hoagy Carmichael opens the film with an explanatory narration. This is followed by a characterization of Rich as a boy, played by Orley Lindgren, floundering as a virtual orphan and street urchin, until he discovers he has a natural ear for music. Kirk Douglas plays Rick as an adult and is excellent.The characterization of Rick is loosely based on the novel of the same title, which is loosely based on the life of Bix Beiderbecke: storied, but doomed, jazz pianist and trumpet player of the 1920s, dying at age 28, apparently of alcohol poisoning. The film provides an apparently happy ending, presumably guessing that this is what most audiences would prefer. This also provides hope that addictions to drugs and all consuming passions can often be cured by sufficient insight and motivation.Hoagy knew the real Bix and provided some pointers to Douglas how to play him. He also serves as one of Rick's few consistent friends, as Smokes, appearing occasionally throughout the film, usually as a piano player or narrator. Another good friend is African American Art Hazzard, who much helped him get started playing the trumpet and appears periodically until he is hit by an auto, in a seemingly suicidal incident. Rich plays his trumpet at his funeral....Famous Harry James apparently did all the trumpet playing for Douglas, although he receives virtually no credit. Doris Day is present as Jo, a friend and sometimes girlfriend to Rick. Her acting clearly is not as polished as that of fellow stars Douglas and Lauren Bacall, but she brings a calming and upbeat presence with her singing and motherly attention to Rick. Unfortunately, she's not willing to go further, saying she doesn't get too involved with married men, meaning Rick's devotion to his trumpet. She calls him "a crazy young man with a horn". In being a big band singer, Doris is playing herself from 1939-47, singing several standards, among other songs.The other woman who pops into Rick's romantic life is Amy, well played by Lauren Bacall. Amy is introduced to Rick by friend Jo. By Amy's admission, she and Rick are polar opposites in most important ways. Yet, Rick soon develops a romantic interest in her, despite several warnings by her that she will be poison in a marriage. She quips "Don't fall in love with me. Only people who respect themselves are capable of real love. I don't happen to respect myself". She envies both Jo and Rick for their superb musical talents and commercial success. However,she dismisses jazz as "a cheap narcotic". In contrast to Rick, she has tried out various jobs, but hasn't found anything sufficiently interesting to hold her passion, or that she is good enough at to rise professionally. Currently, she hopes to become a psychiatrist, but soon flunks out. She's still 'a little girl lost'. She is frank about herself in many ways, but doesn't reveal that she has lesbian tendencies. The film censor board wouldn't allow direct references to lesbians. Thus,we are only given indirect hints. Jo says she's a strange girl and is all mixed up inside. Rick later tells her she is sick and needs to see a psychiatrist. During their brief marriage, she decides to take a trip to Europe with a girlfriend. During their marriage, they were mostly on different shifts, thus didn't see much of each other awake. He says he married her because he thought she was an intelligent classy girl, but found out otherwise. She says she married him because she thought some of his focus and drive would rub off on her. Opposites sometimes attract, and sometimes this works out, but this marriage was doomed from the beginning.There is a curious incident toward the end. While drunk, Rick wanders into a music store and buys a beat up second hand trumpet. I think he is making an analogy between that trumpet and himself. If you have seen "Lust for Life", released a few years after this film, you will see that Douglas portrays a similar insecurity and intensity to both unbalanced men, whose art or music was their all consuming passion. It drove each man mad that they couldn't fully convey their passion in their work. They were pathological perfectionists.