The Good Humor Man

Many people associate Jack Carson's movie character with that of a stereotypical used-car salesman: loud, pushy, not averse to bending the truth a bit when it suits his purpose--in other words, pretty much of an obnoxious boor (and a role he actually played--to perfection--in a memorable "Twilight Zone" episode). What they forget is that Carson was a skilled and vastly underrated actor, capable of far more than what was usually expected of him, and this film is a case in point. Here Carson plays a role at which he really excelled--the big, good-hearted galoot, not quite the brightest bulb in the room but with an innate decency and guilelessness that more than made up for any of his other shortcomings. Carson had the same kind of persona that Lou Costello did--a somewhat rambunctious little kid trapped in a grown-up's body--and in this film he pulls it off as effortlessly as did Costello. He plays a Good Humor driver who not only brings ice cream to the local kids, but is pretty much one of them--among other things, he belongs to their chapter of the Captain Marvel fan club. Lola Albright (whom Carson married a few years later) plays his girlfriend. The plot has Carson getting mixed up with some local gangsters, finding himself in danger of losing his job and his girl, and eventually getting his buddies in the Captain Marvel club to help save the day. The sure hand of director Lloyd Bacon, an old pro at this sort of picture, keeps things moving swiftly, and there's a bang-up finale. Carson and Albright--and, more importantly, Carson and the kids--work well together, and it's an enjoyable, and often extremely funny, example of the kind of comedy of which Jack Carson was capable. If it pops up on TV check it out, or if you see it on the video-store shelf, rent it. You won't be disappointed.

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.

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.

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 saw this movie several times on broadcast television during the 1960's. The opening scene of the stuck bells remains a truly classic moment, as are the references to the comic book fan club. There is a finely crafted mystery in the film. Carson's character is boyish and charming and appropriately dim-witted but lovable. The jackass adds a wonderful measure of fun.

This film really needs to be printed on DVD for it is a great film, funnier than anything Abbott and Costello ever did. They just don't make good clean films like this anymore.

By the way.. Good Times Video did release a VHS version of this classic film. apparently, fairly highly sought after as the lowest priced via Amazon.Com was $51.00 as of 2-6-07

David Wilson