This is a riveting film about a poor but brilliant violinist portrayed by John Garfied as Paul Boray. Joan Crawford as a benefactress, falls for this man consumed by his music. Oscar Levant (who I love) plays his piano playing sidekick, Sid Jeffers. Joan's Helen falls for Paul and pulls him into her society. There are numerous triangles between Paul, Helen and his Mother, friend Joan and also a hinted relationship between Paul and Sid that might be more. On so many levels this is a perfect film, despite Joan Crawford's occasional overly melodramatic portral of Helen. It is so well filmed that I really thought Garfield might be a violin genius, but it is actually 2 other professional's playing the music (on either side of him) with Isaac Stern actually playing the haunting violin. Joan's performance as Helen is wonderful, as I actually have a love/hate 'relationship' with her and her film performances. Oscar Levant, pianist, composer, actor, is a real treat adding his brilliant piano to this film as well as his wise-cracking remarks that add a bit of humor to this well-written, acted and directed tale. I was slow to warm up to Garfield as brilliant violinist Boray, because I love him as a bad boy, in such films as 'The Postman Always Rings Twice' as a perfect example. But as I got sucked into the music and story in this classic tale I felt he did a perfect job after all. The music though is the film. A recent viewing left me aching for more of this music, especially the Tristan and Isolde Fantasie (Wagner), Dvorak's Humoresque and Franz Waxman's artful music arrangement. So I found a soundtrack; but not the original one, as I'm not sure that was ever cut and if it was it is not in print anymore; Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg plays the music as principle violinist in "Humoresque" (and for those familiar with film will recognize it has a picture of Sid's nightstand, with a tribute of Nadja's own, on the front cover). It was produced in 1998 and it is wonderfully produced, her violin work is stunning, and a real tribute to this fine, fine movie. One of Helen's lines as she drinks alone, near the end of the film sums up much of the theme for her character so nicely "and here's to the time when we were little girls, and no one asked us to marry..." So if you're a classic movie lover, where to me, lie many of the best films ever produced ~ here's to an amazing film!Read full review
If you are a Joan Crawford fan (I'm not), this is one of her best performances along with "Mildred Pierce" and "Possessed." "Humoresque" is the story of a poor violinist Paul Boray (John Garfield) who is introduced to a rich married woman Helen Wright (Joan Crawford). She makes him famous by introducing him to the right people and in return wants romance with him. He somewhat falls for her but is mainly interested in his music. That is a quick synopsis of this story. But during the movie we are thoroughly entertained with classical music including the title piece. There are also pieces from "Carmen" and "Tristan & Isolde." Not only do we get to hear almost all of these classical pieces in full, we learn in the featurette that John Garfield did not play any of the pieces but stood with his arms to his sides while Isaac Stern did the fingering on the violin and another vituoso did the bow work. Based on the novel by Fannie Hurst, "Humoresque" is mainly the story of Helen's frustrated love for this determined violinist. We figure out eventually that Paul's true love is his violin. We also get to see Robert Blake (the future "Baretta") as Paul Boray when he was a child and first was interested in violin music. Oscar Levant plays the piano throughout the movie and provides most of the comic relief as Sid. Mostly, however, the movie is full of sharp dialog and qualifies as film noir.Read full review
Joan is a complicated mess. Still, as is the case with many of her Warner movies, a one can't help but have compassion for or even empathize with Joan as a star and person. I think Joan puts a lot of her real self into her movies, for better and worse. That said "Humoresque" is another Joan movie that captivates. My only complaint is...too much music. Wasn't sure if I was watching a Joan movie or a concert. Still, a must see for Joan fans.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Joan Crawford’s 2nd picture for Warner Bros is excellent. DVD looks great and extra features are interesting.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
One of my favorite movies. The violin score is played by Issac Stern
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
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