Synopsis
Legendary trumpeter Art Hazzard teaches young Rick Martin everything he knows about playing, so Rick becomes a star musician, but a troubled marriage and the desire to play pure jazz instead of commercial swing songs cause him problems.
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Cast
- Kirk DouglasRick Martin
- Lauren BacallAmy North
- Doris DayJo Jordan
- Hoagy CarmichaelWillie 'Smoke' Willoughby
- Juano HernándezArt Hazzard
- Jerome CowanPhil Morrison
- Mary Beth HughesMarge Martin
- Nestor PaivaLouis Galba
- Orley LindgrenYoung Rick
- Walter ReedJack Chandler
Recommendations
- 83
Entertainment Weekly
(Doris Day) is quietly touching in Young Man With a Horn as a singer pining for Kirk Douglas’ tortured trumpeter. - 80
TV Guide Magazine
Young Man With A Horn suffers from excessive melodrama, but boasts several fine performances and plenty of enjoyable jazz. - 80
Variety
For the jazz devotee this is nearly two hours of top trumpet notes. For the regular filmgoer, it is good drama. - 75
San Francisco Chronicle
As played by Douglas, he is a man with a free flow from his spirit through the instrument. It's instinctive. He becomes involved with two women, and this is where the movie could become hokey, but it doesn't. [12 Jun 2005] - 70
The New York Times
If you have a sneaking affection for 1950-ish, made-to-measure movies, there are pleasures to be found in Young Man With a Horn. - 60
Time Out
The sound-track bops along nicely with jazz-tinged standards. - 50
Slant Magazine
The non-musical performances are shallow: Douglas is forceful but one-note, Day is as square and wholesome as a glass of milk, and Bacall purrs along in the same faux-bad girl performance she’s given for the past 60 years. But I suppose that’s fitting for a morality play this black and white, where wild jazz, liquor, and loose women cause the downfall of man. - 50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
There's one, and only one, good reason to rent this movie - the music. [08 Sep 1990]
