The Horn Blows at Midnight

If you have to watch one Jack Benny movie, this one would probably be the one to watch. As other reviewers have noted, this movie bombed at the box office after its release and Benny joked about this fact often in his monologues. Even though it was poorly received at the time it came out, its stands up better now. Its best when watched not just as a comedy but as a parable that has timeless themes, that are not just relevant to the 1940's.

Good versus evil, greed versus generosity, heaven versus life on earth. The "fish out of water" sequences where Jack Benny, as an angel, struggles to adjust to the realities of life on earth, are also very funny and timeless. All that and Jack Benny's warm and funny screen presence make this an appealing picture.

Jack Benny and a magnificent supporting cast help keep your interest in this lightweight, yet highly imaginative, fanciful comedy about an angel in charge of destroying the Earth. Lots of great sight gags and double entendres keep things going. Additionally, the script if rife with sadistic ironies reminiscent of O'Henry and Mark Twain. If you've never seen it, pull up the ottoman and enjoy.

I saw this one New Year's night on TV when I was about eleven. The second time I saw it was last night when it was on cable. It was true to my memory. Jack Benny WAS stuck in a giant coffee cup and it WAS an extremely funny movie. The coffee cup gag is one of the most surreal things I've ever seen in a movie from Hollywood's golden age. Imagine a Tex Avery cartoon done in live action and you'll get an idea of the visual. Jack Benny really does look as if he's being filmed in a mechanized coffee cup/coffee pot/coffee spoon structure. It's incredible. Harold Lloyd would have been hard-pressed to match this scene. This scene itself makes this movie well worth watching. The mood of the movie is happy and bouncy as only movies made between 1945 and 1949 are. There must have been some optimism informing Hollywood's imagination as the Second World War wound down. Movies between then and the beginning of the Korean War practically burst with a sense of victory. THE HORN BLOWS AT MIDNIGHT works as a testimony to a time when America felt itself riding on top of the world. There are other sight gags taking advantage of vertiginous views. People dangle from the ledge of buildings throughout. This is directed by the man who directed HIGH SIERRA, THE ROARING TWENTIES and a few other classics. The dialogue is very much like radio comedy. Jack Benny was, of course, a radio comic. The scene in the diner would have played quite well, if not even a bit better, on radio. I find it significant that a few years after this movie came out, Benny performed in a radio version of it. Others have commented on the fact that he turned this movie's relative box-office failure into a running joke which lasted the rest of his career. Benny's shtick demanded that he exaggerate negative qualities: He deliberately played violin off-key to highlight his radio persona's vanity; He pretended to feud with Fred Allen, when in reality there was no hostility between them. Both comedians boosted their ratings with their supposed feud. He was only playing his part by making people think THE HORN BLOWS AT MIDNIGHT was the cinematic equivalent of his violin-playing. Not only was it up to Hollywood's standard comedic levels of that time, it surpassed them. Perhaps my familiarity with old-time radio makes me more partial to this movie than the average viewer. I am surprised, nevertheless, that many people find THE HORN BLOWS AT MIDNIGHT a little pointless. The visuals are amazing, the dialogue is snappy and the music is great. You'll hear a tune which sounds a bit like the Looney Tunes theme. There's a reason for this. Carl Stalling was one of the people who worked on the music, and he worked on many Warner Brothers cartoons. If you like comedy you'll enjoy this movie.

A funny and friendly fantasy from the forties; it shows Jack Benny at his comedic best. The writing is witty and the supporting cast is wonderful. The scene which shows the cast dangling precariously, and hilariously, above Times Square is worth the price of a ticket.

Jack Benny was a fabulous comedian who was very successful in radio and television, and made a few films. This one, "The Horn Blows at Midnight," was one that apparently wasn't a big hit - one hears everything from it bombed to did okay but no smash. Benny, however, made a lot of jokes about how it died at the box office.

Maybe the film works better today than it did toward the end of World War II, but it's fun to watch. Benny plays a trumpet player stuck on a harpist (Alexis Smith). She helps him get a radio job playing during the "Paradise Coffee Program." The coffee, instead of keeping you awake, however, advertises that it helps one sleep and have pleasant dreams. During a broadcast, Benny falls asleep and dreams he's an angel dispatched to earth to blow a trumpet and start the world's end. Being Jack Benny, he has a few problems.

The film has some very funny sections, including Ethanael (Benny) in a huge cup of coffee, nearly drowning. Elevators are used to transport the angels (and there's a shortage of them in heaven, by the way), and when the angels land on earth, they're in the lobby of a New York hotel.

Benny and Smith costar with Franklin Pangborn, Margaret Dumont and Guy Kibbee, all extremely talented at comedy. The script, unfortunately, doesn't support them as much as it should, so the overall effect is spotty.

Nevertheless, this is a very entertaining movie for the most part with some good ideas and good direction. If only the script had been a little stronger - it would have been a classic.