Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

chaswe-28402 Very loosely based on the life of Red Nichols whose career blossomed in the 1920s but faltered in about 1932. The music is OK, if not great, but the family saga is depressing. It's poorly paced, and not well written nor well directed. The photography seems flat. The narrative starts reasonably, but declines from about the mid-point and towards the end. Kaye's scene persuading his little daughter to go to sleep goes on far too long. In a sense the whole movie is predicated on the failure of the parents to look after their daughter properly. The final scene tries to be upbeat, but isn't. Louis Armstrong makes a powerful impression, as always. Barbara Bel Geddes is appealing, but Danny Kaye just seems miscast. The male supporting cast of characters make no impression at all, and are interchangeable. The young girls playing the Nichols daughter are adequate. How did this receive four Oscar nominations ? Brooklyn and Ogden, Utah, have connotations which amuse Americans, but which don't travel.

Eric Skeen I first watched this movie as a youngster of about 10 years of age, and even at that tender age it filled me with great pleasure. I subsequently bought the LP and played it often enough - enough to start wearing out my favourite tracks. Every so often I used to browse various movie catalogues, and suddenly I froze: The movie would be released in DVD format mid-December 2005! I "pre-ordered" my copy, patiently waited for it to arrive, and then Viola! My movie arrived, I watched it, wiped away a tear or two, enjoyed some foot-stomping music and watched true human drama being enacted. This movie is a must, especially for fans of Danny Kaye and Louis Armstrong. The cornet is played by the "real" Red Nichols, and is absolutely brilliant! This movie will be enjoyed by all ages and is good, clean wholesome fun, something which is so lacking in most of today's movies. Add it to your collection, you cannot afford to miss this one!

PWNYCNY Danny Kaye is known for his comic roles; for his laughter, his singing, his dancing, his light-hearted humor. But this movie presents a different Danny Kaye - serious, brooding, consumed with guilt, confronted by really serious problems - and here Danny Kaye shines. This movie is proof that if he had to, Danny Kaye could have been one of the greatest dramatic actors in the history of motion pictures. There is no question about that. In this movie, Kaye puts aside the clowning to play a subdued, moody and introspective character who nevertheless is still likable and worthy of attention. And it works! In the movie he wins over the audience, he wins over his family, he wins over his friends. And who can ever forget the scene with Louis Armstrong? Kaye's character overcomes all obstacles to triumph and to be loved. Only a highly skilled and sensitive actor could have done the job, and in this movie Danny Kaye proved that he had the requisite qualities to transform what could have been little more than a sudsy soap opera into a powerful statement about a man who, along with his family, not only survives but sets an example for others. For this reason, this movie is a powerful and compelling work of art.

MikeB-9 This is the sentimental biography of the life of Ernest Loring (Red) Nichols, a trumpeter/band leader during the 1930's. Danny Kaye does a great job playing Red and Barbara Belgeddes plays his wife, Bobbie. Tuesday Weld plays his daughter, Dorothy. The movie follows Red through his career as a great jazz trumpeter who gives up music for family. A must see for Danny Kaye and Big Band fans. Some of the members of Red's "Five Pennies", as his band was known, were Glenn Miller and Jimmy Dorsey. Louis Armstrong puts on a stellar musical performance as himself. Red Nichols does the trumpet solos. Great music, good family viewing.