Humoresque (1920)

7/10

In the ghetto (And his momma doesn't cry )

dbdumonteil6 June 2007

Based on a Fannie Hurst book ,"Humoresque " tells the story of Jewish family .Mama had always thought that one of her sons (the other one is an imbecile)would become a great musician .Her faith was so strong she did believe that her prayers could do anything.

The version I saw -which oddly was partly in color- is totally silent and it's the main drawback: we need to hear Leon's violin when he "weeps his very blood" ,when he plays "Humoresque" this piece which laughs at life with a tear behind it,and in the final scenes when love brings Leon around.If you have had the chance to see "I will always you" (1946) you've probably noticed Borzage's wonderful use of music and the way the two heroes communicate through it.

The best scene is Leon's farewell before leaving for WW2.Borzage makes it last longer than the usual tear-jerker .These brief hours ,the characters have got to make the best of them,savor them .Borzage would take this kind of scene to its absolute peak with his sensational "street angel" (1927)when Janet Gaynor,about to be arrested ,spends an hour -which seems to last a thousand ones- with her husband Charles Farrell .

The beginning deals with childhood love which would inspire Henry Hathaway for " Peter Ibbetson " (1936).

No other director overwhelmed his characters with tenderness as Borzage did.Even if you are not a believer,even if you are down in the dumps ,after watching one of his works (there are plenty of them crying to be seen ;someone who has never seen a film by this great man might choose "the mortal storm" (1940)),you will smile,weren't it only for a little while.

Remade (but with a completely different screenplay) by Jean Negulesco.(1947)

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7/10

Wonderful performances by Gordon and Connelly

scsu197530 November 2022

In the Jewish ghetto of New York City, young Leon Kantor takes up the violin, much to his father's disapproval. Mama Kantor, however, encourages their son. Leon grows up to become a famous violinist, and falls in love with his childhood friend Gina Ginsberg. Just as Leon is offered a lucrative contract, he announces he has enlisted to fight in World War I. Mama Kantor is heartbroken. The family awaits his safe return from the front.

This movie was a pleasant surprise. I certainly expected some sentimentality and some tear-jerking (and the ending is a bit corny), but this film kept my interest, mainly because of the performances. However, it wasn't Gaston Glass and Alma Rubens who impressed me (although they give adequate performances). The standouts were Vera Gordon as Mama Kantor and Bobby Connelly as the young Leon. Their scenes together are filled with genuine warmth, and they are both so likable. Good performances are also turned in by Dore Davidson as the father, and Miriam Battista as the young Gina. In fact, Battista's portrayal of Gina is more interesting than Reubens' adult interpretation. It is odd that Reubens is given sole acting credit in the opening titles, since she doesn't have as much screen time as many of the others.

The direction is also first-rate. Most scenes are succinct, and not drawn out. This keeps the film moving at a good pace.

Contemporaneous reports mention that in the original ending to the film, Leon was to return from the war with an artificial hand. But this was changed to make the ending happier.

It has been some time since I've seen the 1946 version with John Garfield and Joan Crawford. Though that version is excellent, it has little in common with this version. I was unable to find the short story by Fannie Hurst on which both films are supposedly based. However, I would hazard a guess that the 1920 version is probably closer to the Hurst story than the later version.

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7/10

A sentimental tale of familial love

MissSimonetta10 May 2023

While the story is sentimental and a bit flat, the atmosphere of this 1920 drama is phenomenal. The first half is set in the New York Jewish ghetto of the 1900s, and the film does not shy away from the grubbiness and claustrophia of the setting, while also emphasizing the strong sense of community and intimacy between the characters. I find many films from the 1910s and early 1920s excelled at showing this side of life, which became scrubbed down during the height of the glamorous studio era between the late 1920s and 1950s.

As for the rest, HUMORESQUE is alright. The performances are sensitive and the story is a sweet tale of the power of familial love. The ending is rushed, though I suspect there's missing footage from the 70-minute print I watched on YouTube.

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4/10

God Always Hears a Mother's Prayers

richardchatten6 October 2017

Based on a story by Fannie Hurst, 'Humoresque' paved the way to later, far better films by director Frank Borzage.

To audiences fated to be forever trapped in the squalid tenements so vividly evoked by cameraman Gilbert Warrenton in the film's first third, while nursing family members with life-changing injuries suffered in the Great War, the release from such temporary set-backs experienced by the Kantor family would have provided much-needed - if temporary - solace, and 'Humoresque' in 1920 was a big hit.

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8/10

"Played as if his very blood were weeping"

kidboots17 April 2016

Warning: Spoilers

While the main story of "Humoresque" - a man, through the diligence and belief of his hard working mother, finds fame as a young concert violinist in the glittering world of European high society - found popularity as millions of ladies sobbed their way through the story, the most impressive parts were the earlier sequences. Taken from a 1919 book of short stories by Fannie Hurst which started her best sellership, in an interview she felt the script (ably adapted by Frances Marion) had taken a lot of liberties but she still enjoyed the movie.

Vera Gordon as Mamma Kantor gave the best performance in it (maybe the best of her career). Frank Borzage set a loving picture of growing up in the slums but always having a mother protection and guidance. Starting off with Leon's birthday, he has his heart set on a violin but his mean spirited father, whose job entails "turning new brass into Russian antiquities" tries to persuade him to buy a cheap musical toy. Mamma feels he is the one who is destined for musical greatness and of course he grows up to be a renowned concert violinist but always, with the picture of his imbecilic brother Mannie before him, he becomes increasingly despondent of the materialistic world he is forced to participate in.

It would have been nice to have a proper soundtrack but Borzage, who started off as a leading man in Thanhouser films, imbues the film with lots of emotion and by filming his concerts amidst the crowd, you feel like you are among the audience. And with titles like "played as if his very blood were weeping", I don't think the drama of the music could be caught any better. This was one of the first films made under William Randolph Hearst's Cosmopolitan company and he rolled out the red carpet for Frank Borzage. Hearst was a bit worried about the overtly Jewish story but he needn't have been as the film won the first Photoplay Magazine "Medal of Honor" award, at the time regarded as very prestigious.

Even though billed above the title the beautiful Alma Rubens, as Gina, his little sweetheart of the slums, didn't have much to do. By this time she was already a Paramount star having been noticed in a couple of Douglas Fairbanks movies but unfortunately, due to drug addiction, by the mid 1920s her career was just about over!!

Highly Recommended.

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