The Good Humor Man

"Good Humor" ice cream truck driver Jack Carson (as Biff Jones) finds himself accused of murder when he tries to help a sexy gangster's moll. This cartoon-like slapstick comedy is notable for blatant product placement and an interesting cast. The third of Mr. Carson's wives plays his girlfriend Lola Albright (as Margie Bellew), and future "Superman" George Reeves (as Stuart Nagle) is the rival for her affections. The film unashamedly promotes "Good Humor" ice cream and "Captain Marvel" comic books.

At the time, the Fawcett comic book star outsold "Superman", and it's interesting to speculate on whether Mr. Reeves would have played "The Adventures of Captain Marvel" on television if the "Superman" publishers had not superseded the "Shazam!" star; Reeves sure looks the part. "Captain Marvel and the Good Humor Man" was a superior special edition comic book, which tied everything together. Young Peter Miles (as Johnny) and the "Captain Marvel Club" kids wear Marvelous clothing.

***** The Good Humor Man (3/24/50) Lloyd Bacon ~ Jack Carson, Lola Albright, George Reeves, Peter Miles

I went into this film a little skeptical, but was intrigued by the title. This must be one of the first films with product placement. Good Humor is featured for about the first three quarters of this film. Jack Carson is his usual self in this farce about a Good Humor man whose set up by a gang of criminals. This material seemed to be written for his talent for comedy. And it's nice to have a film like this with two very attractive women in it. The film is loaded with several character actors from this era; Frank Ferguson, Arthur Space, and Pat Flaherty just to mention a few. The story and the action aren't very realistic; but the comedy is great. And there's a chase that must run ten to twelve minutes that crams in every element of a comedic chase ever seen; pies, fire extinguishers spraying, musical instruments used in a fight; and lots more. It's old but gives lots of laughs all through the story, with the big chase at the end.

The versatile, eternal second banana Jack Carson finally gets to be lead in Good Humor Man. Biff wants to get hitched to Margie (Lola Albright) but gets caught up in some zany adventure with Bonnie (Jean Wallace). This one is kind of silly, and probably aimed at a younger audience. Biff just gets deeper and deeper in a case of mistaken identity. Good thing he has Johnny (Peter Miles) helping to clear his name. A whole lot of silly slapstick humor. moves pretty slowly. more slapstick humor. and then some slapstick humor. Directed by LLoyd Bacon. had worked with Bogart and Bette Davis. It's okay. was hoping for a more serious bit from Jack Carson, but not in this one. he was so great in Mildred Pierce. and so many others.

If you don't love Captain Marvel and Good Humor bars, you won't understand this film. It's that simple. Carson with his ex, Albright, is a lovable ice cream salesman who belongs to a local Captain Marvel club. Carson excelled in these lunk-head roles as the good guy with a heart of gold who might not be a Nobel Laurate in Nuclear Physics but is basically a kid at heart. But, even though I was in the transition from kid to teenager when I saw this film the year it came out, I knew then, as I know now, I'd always be a kid at heart. We can't make movies like this anymore. Simple people like ice cream salesman are hardly attractive role models for our present-day youngsters. We have to have martial arts superheroes, slick Wall Street Masters of the Universe, dopers or people on the edge thrust up as those worthy of interest. Catching a bunch of crooks with a Captain Marvel fan club as back-up with no sex and little violence would never make it to the screen these days. But, sports fans, it did back then and I'm very glad it did. I LOVE THIS FILM! UP WITH CARSON! UP WITH CAPTAIN MARVEL! AND, UP WITH ICE CREAM BARS!!

I love it when human Popsicle Jack Carson goes floating down the gutter into a storm drain, only to be rescued at the last moment. The gags fly fast and furious in this cockamamie send-up of the friendly neighborhood ice-cream man. I guess some such is to be expected from scripter Frank Tashlin, who never gave up his love affair with cartoons or the comic book. The gags are nothing if not inventive, from the opening sound effect to the closing school house free-for-all. Just count how many times Carson gets to mug-up the outrageous happenings-- I doubt if there's a number big enough.

This is a Carson showcase. Too bad this wonderfully versatile performer never received the recognition his prodigious talent deserved. Here, his man-boy good-humor man never annoys, unlike, say, a Jerry Lewis, who whined his way through a number of similar roles for Tashlin. I hope Carson got extra pay for all the physical contortions Tashlin and director Bacon put him through. Speaking of stunts, the luscious Lola Albright (the real Mrs. Carson) does her share, a decade before smouldering across the TV screen as Peter Gunn's torch-singing lady love.

Note the clever touch with the plug-ugly newlyweds, a subject usually sentimentalized to a nauseating degree by Hollywood. None of that here. The bride may be a groom's nightmare, but she's an optometrist's dream. Here the screenplay had to tread lightly around the comedic potential of a near-sighted bride, still the edgy humor shines through. Still and all, I wonder how the same potential would be treated by today's no-holds-barred cinema.

There were a number of these occupation-based slapsticks produced around this time-- Fuller Brush Man (Red Skelton), Fuller Brush Girl (Lucille Ball), Kill the Umpire (Bill Bendix) et al. None, however, are any funnier than this. My one complaint-- the schoolhouse slapstick goes on too long. It's as if Tashlin can't turn off the inventive engine once its started. But knowing when to stop can be as important as knowing how to start. Nonetheless, this remains a lively and chuckle-filled 80 minutes, and a lasting tribute to that under-rated performer Jack Carson, along with the wonderfully inventive Frank Tashlin.