Young Man with a Horn

Plot Summary

Michael Curtiz (Casablanca) directed this moving drama based on the tragic life of legendary jazz trumpeter Bix Beiderbecke. Starring Kirk Douglas, Lauren Bacall, Doris Day, and Hoagy Carmichael, the film follows young trumpet player Rick Martin (Douglas), who is torn between an honest singer and a manipulative heiress. Enjoying his fame and fortune, Martin is one of the few white musicians to flourish in the black-dominated jazz scene of the 1920s. Chafing against the dullness of the "respectable" orchestras for whom he works, Martin finds at least two kindred spirits in the forms of torch singer Jo Jordan (Day) and pianist Smoke Willoughby (Carmichael). He rises to popularity with his own group but soon falls under the spell of wealthy jazz patron Amy North (Bacall). During his troubled marriage, he neglects music and turns to alcohol.