Sorveteiro em Apuros

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.

I wholeheartedly endorse the previous reviewer's comments (q.v.), having seen "The Good Humor Man" at about the same time and at the same age. One interesting aspect has to do with the Captain Marvel "product placement." (The kids, customers of Carson's character who help him in the denouement, are members of the CM fan club). Shortly after the film was released, the Captain Marvel comics and other products disappeared when the copyright holders finally succumbed to a suit brought by DC Comics alleging too many resemblances between Captain M and that sissy Superman! That may be the reason that no video of this movie seems to be available through normal commercial sources.

"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

If you enjoyed the Stooges, you will get a hoot out of the last 20 minutes or so of this film, as every possible projectile, from musical instruments, to table saws, to baseball bats and the eventual pie fight, all come into play. It is what we paid 25 cents to see way back when. Carson and Albright have great chemistry, in fact, I would say that her role was so proactive as to almost claim her as an early women's libber! The film is dotted with character actors (yes, even George Reeves, our eventual 50's Superman), which only adds to the delight. A fun, nostalgic film, which reminded me of how I spent my Saturday afternoons once upon a time!

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!!