Sunday, January 09, 2005

The Good Humor Man

For some reason I can't seem to post comments over at Thrilling Days of Yesteryear, so I'm going to say something here in response to today's post on Jack Carson, which happens to mention The Good Humor Man. When I was a kid, this was one of my favorite movies. I thought I was probably the only person in the world who remembered it, but I'm glad Ivan over at Thrilling Days does, too. Back in 1950 I saw it three times in two days (I sat through two showings back to back and returned to the theater the next day to see it again). When I saw a video of it several years ago, I nabbed it, and I've watched it several times since. It has everything a kid could want: slapstick comedy, a murder mystery, a secret club, Lola Albright, and Captain Marvel. How could I not love it? (George Reeves is in the movie, but he doesn't play Superman. Or Captain Marvel.) Others might find it a quickie, knocked out on the cheap, with a bad script (it's by Roy Huggins and Frank Tashlin) and unfunny humor. Not me. I think I'll watch it again soon.

3 comments:

Dave Zeltserman said...

My favorite movie with Jack Carson is The Strawberry Blonde. I've seen that movie maybe a dozen times and would have no problem seeing it a dozen more.

-Dave Z.

Anonymous said...

Hi Bill this is Ed Gorman. I can't figure out how else to use your blog. Have the same trouble with most of them.

Couple years back there was a little bit of interest in Jack Carson's career. Couple screen mags did retrospectives. He was always one of my favorites but the odd thing is that whnever I see him described as a comic actor, I think, that's not right. He's a dramatic actor. Such films as Falkner's The Tarnished Angels are what I remember about him. Or did. Thanks to TCM and the now lame AMC his comedies are viewable again. He played the best friend even better than Gig Young, both of them being of the rascal school. Hey, sure you're married, but what's the harm in seeing a strip show. She'll never know. Uh-huh. Carson also got to play with Dorothy Malone when she was very young and mostly wore bathing suits. Wow was she a babe. But then Lynn Meyers went and ruined that fantasy for me by telling me (I still want to see notarized proof of this) that she generally smelled so bad people didn't want to work with her--"a weird smell" as he put it. Thank you, Lynn. Let me know about some fantasy babe of yours. I'm sure I can come up with something (she had shingles eleven months of the year? and over most of her body? Oh my God!)

Wow, Good Humor Man--a script by our Roy Huggins and Frank Never-Met-A-Sight-Gag-I-Didn't-Like Tashlin. What a combination.

mybillcrider said...

Dave and Ed: I like STRAWBERRY BLONDE, too. And another movie I liked Jack Carson in (I may be the only one) is RALLY ROUND THE FLAG, BOYS. Of course the fact that Tuesday Weld is in the movie might have swayed my opinion.