Le marchand de bonne humeur

I went into this film a little skeptical, but was intrigued by the title. This must be one of the first films with product placement. Good Humor is featured for about the first three quarters of this film. Jack Carson is his usual self in this farce about a Good Humor man whose set up by a gang of criminals. This material seemed to be written for his talent for comedy. And it's nice to have a film like this with two very attractive women in it. The film is loaded with several character actors from this era; Frank Ferguson, Arthur Space, and Pat Flaherty just to mention a few. The story and the action aren't very realistic; but the comedy is great. And there's a chase that must run ten to twelve minutes that crams in every element of a comedic chase ever seen; pies, fire extinguishers spraying, musical instruments used in a fight; and lots more. It's old but gives lots of laughs all through the story, with the big chase at the end.

"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 Reeves would have played "The Adventures of Captain Marvel" on television if the "Superman" publishers had not superseded the "Shazam!"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

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.

Jack Carson at his best and Lola Albright thrown in for the femm fatel. I saw the movie in 1950 with my Dad. I was 8 at the time and remembered it well. I purchased a mint 16mm original 25 years ago, but have since sold it. I have never seen it on tv once nor do I have a VHS copy! What a shame when TCM and AMC could easily have it and show it on ocasion. Even Showtime dug up the old Boston Blackie Movies w/ Chester Morris, so I know this film exists in someones vault. Until then, we old film buffs will have to sit thru the same old fims on tv!

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.