Humoresque

Humoresque
1946 - Warner Brothers
Directed By Jean Negulesco



SYNOPSIS

A driven young man, Paul Boray (John Garfield,) grows up to become a virtuoso violinist. His big break comes at a party hosted by a wealthy socialite (Joan Crawford.) The two fall in love despite the fact she is married. But she finds out the hard way he is married too... to his music.



MY THOUGHTS

I've always been a fan of movies that were heavily music-centered but not considered 'musicals.' Films like The Blues Brothers, this site's namesake Blues In The Night or even concert films have music play a central role but doesn't feature the typical singing and dance numbers associated with a musical. Humoresque certainly fits this label.

The plot is an oft-traveled one, and the film doesn't add much to it, but it features great actors doing what they do best.

John Garfield delivers a complex, strong and realistic performance as Boray. Boray's tough and outspoken yet has the passion to be a great musician.
Though largely forgotten today, Garfield was a powerhouse actor, one of the first 'method' actors in Hollywood. He sadly saw his career (and ultimately his life) destroyed by the House Un-American Activities Committee.



Joan Crawford's character is a weak point for me in the story. We never really understand her motivations as a character apart from her love for someone that she won't be able to have and control.
She has a serious drinking habit that is never truly explained. Is it because of her marriage or boredom? It doesn't get worse through the film. It starts out bad and stays there.
I also don't get Garfield's attraction to her. He doesn't seem interested in money... so it must be looks. But by this time Crawford had begun to go from a beautiful woman into starting to look like a drag queen.

Oscar Levant's role as Boray's pianist/ friend is essentially the same role that he played just a few years later in An American In Paris. That's not a bad thing.

By far the standout performance is by Franz Waxman. He arranged, conducted and put together the musical selections for the film. The classical compositions are stellar and work both as concert pieces and are also woven into the narrative, much like Dvorak's piece that named the film.
Waxman also hied future legendary violinist Isaac Stern to play Garfield's violin. It's actually Stern's hand fingering the violin for Garfield, while another musician's hand was moving the bow... yet it looks like Garfield playing the whole time. That's movie magic if I ever heard of it!

The film does have some magic to it... and is recommended to classical music fans and those who like a music-centered film.