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best movie i've ever seen.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Jack Benny's role is almost the sole reason to give this movie five stars, let alone any rating at all. And, although he doesn't have as much witty dialog as he has in other films, his lines and persona seem just right in "The Horn Blows at Midnight." He is an innocent, naïve, faithful angel (in his dream), who knows nothing about the customs of life on earth. He plays Athanael very well. But, the screenplay just isn't very good. The dialog is weak, the film editing seems choppy, and the direction is poor. Some reviewers like the "concept" of heaven, but I could see little comedy there. There could have had been some laughs or chuckles there, but a lame screenplay missed good opportunities for humor. I'm reluctant to put down all the rest of the cast, because of the poor script. But, no one else acted very well in their respective roles. Alexis Smith, as Elizabeth, seemed to be trying to remember her lines – her focus was far off at times. Dolores Moran was so-so as a temptress, but weak as the cigarette girl. Franklin Pangborn's comedy wasn't milked enough, and Guy Kibbee's comedy talents were wasted in his role as The Chief. Most of the other roles seemed wooden.The film added some Harold Lloyd antics toward the end. That turned out to be too long a scene so that it lost its humor quickly. Any "fright" value it might have had quickly waned. That type of comedy had a fright value that could be sustained in the silent and black and white films of the early 20th century. But, by mid-century, it was old stuff that wore out quickly. Jack Benny was a fine comic actor who made some very good comedy films and had one of the longest running radio shows in history (23 plus years from 1932 to 1955). He then all but "retired" from films in favor of TV in the mid-1950s. His own highly popular TV show aired for more than 15 years (1950-1965). Three of his films are among my favorite comedies: "Charley's Aunt" of 1941, and "To Be or Not to Be" and "George Washington Slept Here" – both of 1942.

Even though I cannot for the life of me wrap my mind around the concept of a coffee that puts you to sleep Jack Benny's The Horn Blows At Midnight is not as bad as the reputation it has. A reputation by the way that Benny himself gave the film. It was a running gag on his radio and television show that Benny forsook movie making because of the bad reviews the film received.Seeing it today it's not as bad as all that, in fact it has a few funny moments. Benny is a trumpeter in a radio studio orchestra and he falls asleep during the announcer's commercial for Paradise Coffee, the coffee that makes you sleep. In his dream Benny becomes an angel playing trumpet in a heavenly orchestra, larger than anything Leonard Bernstein ever directed. He gets an assignment from one of the bosses Guy Kibbee to blow his heavenly trumpet at midnight to signal the utter destruction of a minor planet the natives call Earth.Needless to say Benny bungles the job and the film is his effort to complete his assignment. Kibbee's not pleased and he sends Alexis Smith down from heaven to babysit Jack. Later on Kibbee himself shows up. There are a couple of fallen angels played by Allyn Joslyn and John Alexander who like the life they've got on earth now. And there's Reginald Gardiner who's a musician and a society burglar with his assistant Dolores Moran who Benny interrupts mid crime and a host of other familiar movie faces which in itself is reason enough to watch The Horn Blows At Midnight.Jack plays some tribute to Harold Lloyd with some stunts at the climax involving some great height. There's a gag involving a human pendulum that was later used with other familiar faces in It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World. Jack also becomes rocket man at one point, clearly copying Bob Hope being shot out of a cannon in The Road To Zanzibar.Don't believe the hype about The Horn Blows At Midnight, you might actually like it.

A trumpeter (Jack Benny) dreams he's an angel sent to Earth to blow his trumpet at midnight to signal the end of the world. Two other angels already living on Earth try to stop him because they like Earth just the way it is. Jack Benny is a treat to watch. While "To Be or Not to Be" is the better film, this is arguably a better showcase for Benny's comedic talents. This is also one of Alexis Smith's best roles. She was a lesser leading lady in the '40s and, for my taste, a bit on the stiff side. She loosens up here, though. Fun support from Guy Kibbee, Allyn Joslyn, Franklin Pangborn, John Alexander, and Reginald Garner. Oh, and lovely Dolores Moran -- have mercy! Well directed by Raoul Walsh with some particularly impressive Heaven scenes. A notorious flop at the box office, Jack Benny frequently made fun of the failure of this movie on his radio show. Back when my job required me to travel a lot, I listened to old episodes of Benny's show on satellite radio. It was a great show and his mentions of this movie made me anxious to see if it's really as bad as claimed. Surprisingly, it isn't bad at all. It's actually very funny and creative. The screwball climax is perfect.

Angels were an all-too-familiar sight on movie screens during World War II and perhaps audiences had had enough of it by the time this film came along; this is the only valid reason I can think of to explain its resounding box office failure (that resulted in Benny's premature bowing out of the movies) because, otherwise, it's one of his most enjoyable outings. In fact, it's quite an original and delightful comedy-fantasy about Benny (playing a second-grade angel and trumpet player) securing an important assignment (being sent to blow up sinful Planet Earth with his horn at the stroke of midnight) through the machinations of his girlfriend (Alexis Smith) who's secretary to the Chief (Guy Kibbee). Needless to say, he bungles the job when he decides to play Good Samaritan and save a fetching would-be suicide (Dolores Moran) from jumping off the roof of a hotel wherein reside an assortment of colorful characters: smooth-talking crook Reginald Gardiner and his dim-witted bodyguard Mike Mazurki, carousing fallen angels Allyn Joslyn and John Alexander (hilariously suffering an hourly "twinge" for defecting to Earth!) and flustered hotel detective Franklin Pangborn – most of whom, as the appointed hour draws near, end up dangling from the hotel rooftop in the film's wacky climax. Benny spent the rest of his radio and TV career making fun of this movie but, as I said, its maligned reputation is highly undeserved if you ask me!