''The Horn Blows at Midnight'' is a 1945 comedy fantasy film directed by

Raoul Walsh Raoul Walsh (born Albert Edward Walsh; March 11, 1887December 31, 1980) was an American film director, actor, founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), and the brother of silent screen actor George Walsh. He wa ...

, and starring

Jack Benny Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky, February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success playing violin on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century wit ...

. Following its poor box-office, Benny often exploited the film's failure for laughs over the next 20 years in his radio and television comedy series ''

The Jack Benny Program ''The Jack Benny Program'', starring Jack Benny, is a radio-TV comedy series that ran for more than three decades and is generally regarded as a high-water mark in 20th century American comedy. He played one role throughout his radio and televis ...

'', making the film a known entity to his audience, even if they had never seen it. ''The Horn Blows at Midnight'' was Benny's last feature film as a lead, although he would continue to do cameo appearances in films for many years. ''The Horn Blows At Midnight'' had the misfortune to be released only eight days after the death of U.S. President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

. This may have contributed to its poor reception, although the film's negative reviews might have also impacted it, as the classic

Rodgers and Hammerstein Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their popular ...

musical '' Carousel'', also dealing with the afterlife, opened on Broadway at roughly the same time and became a hit.

Plot

Athanael (Jack Benny), the third

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

player in the orchestra of a late night radio show sponsored by Paradise Coffee (motto: "It's Heavenly"), falls asleep listening to the announcer, who is doing his best to prove it is "the coffee that makes you sleep". Athanael dreams he is an angel (junior grade) and a trumpeter in the orchestra of Heaven. Due to the praise of his girlfriend Elizabeth ( Alexis Smith), the assistant of the deputy chief of the department of small planet management (

Guy Kibbee Guy Bridges Kibbee (March 6, 1882 – May 24, 1956) was an American stage and film actor. Early years Kibbee was born in El Paso, Texas. His father was editor of the ''El Paso Herald-Post'' newspaper, and Kibbee learned how to set type at age ...

), he is given the mission of destroying planet 339001 (Earth) and its troublesome inhabitants by blowing the "Last Trumpet" at exactly midnight, signaling the end of the world. When he is deposited at the Hotel Universe via the building's elevator, he accidentally foils a robbery attempt by suave guest Archie Dexter (

Reginald Gardiner William Reginald Gardiner (27 February 1903 – 7 July 1980) was an English actor on the stage, in films and on television. Early years Gardiner was born in Wimbledon, England, and he was a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.Katz, ...

) and his girlfriend accomplice, Fran Blackstone (

Dolores Moran Dolores Jean Moran (January 27, 1926 – February 5, 1982) was an American film actress and model. Early years Moran was born in Stockton, California, and attended elementary and secondary schools there. She won the Northern California O ...

). Dexter blames Fran and breaks off their relationship. When Athanael prevents her attempt at suicide from the hotel's roof, he misses the deadline. Elizabeth persuades her boss to give him a second chance, and travels to Earth to inform him. Complications arise when two

fallen angel In the Abrahamic religions, fallen angels are angels who were expelled from heaven. The literal term "fallen angel" never appears in any Abrahamic religious texts, but is used to describe angels cast out of heaven"Mehdi Azaiez, Gabriel Said ...

s named Osidro ( Allyn Joslyn) and Doremus ( John Alexander), also guests at the hotel, recognize Athanael and learn of his assignment. They want to continue their pleasantly hedonistic life. While Athanael encounters trouble holding onto his trumpet by his inexperience with Earthly life, Osidro and Doremus hire Dexter to steal the instrument. Learning that Fran was rescued by Athanael, Dexter reconciles with her. Then, while she distracts the angel, Dexter's henchman Humphrey (

Mike Mazurki Mike Mazurki (December 25, 1907 – December 9, 1990) was a Ukrainian-American actor and professional wrestler who appeared in more than 142 films. His 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) presence and face had him typecast as often brainless athletes ...

), steals the trumpet. Athanael, Elizabeth and her boss track the thieves to the roof. During a struggle, Athanael falls off the building, only to wake up from his dream.

Cast

Many of the actors play dual roles, in Heaven and on Earth. *

as Athanael * Alexis Smith as Elizabeth *

as Violinist / Fran Blackstone * Allyn Joslyn as Second Trumpeter / Osidro *

as Composer / Archie Dexter *

as Radio Director / The Chief * John Alexander as First Trumpeter / Doremus *

Franklin Pangborn Franklin Pangborn (January 23, 1889 – July 20, 1958) was an American comedic character actor famous for playing small but memorable roles with comic flair. He appeared in many Preston Sturges movies as well as the W. C. Fields films '' Interna ...

as Radio Engineer / Sloan *

Margaret Dumont Margaret Dumont (born Daisy Juliette Baker; October 20, 1882 – March 6, 1965) was an American stage and film actress. She is best remembered as the comic foil to the Marx Brothers in seven of their films; Groucho Marx called her "practically ...

as Mme. Traviata / Miss Rodholder *

Robert Blake Robert Blake may refer to: Sportspeople * Bob Blake (American football) (1885–1962), American football player * Robbie Blake (born 1976), English footballer * Bob Blake (ice hockey) (1914–2008), American ice hockey player * Rob Blake (born 196 ...

as Junior Pulplinsky (as Bobby Blake) *

Ethel Griffies Ethel Griffies (born Ethel Woods; 26 April 1878 – 9 September 1975) was an English actress of stage, screen, and television. She is remembered for portraying the ornithologist Mrs. Bundy in Alfred Hitchcock's classic '' The Birds'' (1963). Sh ...

as Lady Stover, a hotel guest annoyed at the frequent disappearance of the elevator *

Paul Harvey Paul Harvey Aurandt (September 4, 1918 – February 28, 2009) was an American radio broadcaster for ABC News Radio. He broadcast ''News and Comment'' on mornings and mid-days on weekdays and at noon on Saturdays and also his famous '' The Rest ...

as Hotel Manager Thompson *

as Bass Player / Humphrey Rafferty * Truman Bradley as Radio Announcer *

Jack Mower Jack Mower (September 5, 1890 – January 6, 1965) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 520 films between 1914 and 1965. He was born in Honolulu and died in Hollywood. After studying at Punahou College, in Honolulu, Mower moved ...

as Head Hotel Clerk (uncredited) *

Larry Steers Lawrence Wells Steers (February 14, 1888 – February 15, 1951) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 550 films between 1917 and 1951. He was born in Indiana, and died in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles. Partial filmography * ...

as Hotel Guest (uncredited)

Box office

According to Warner Bros. records, the film earned $895,000 domestically and $75,000 foreign.

Reception

The ''New York Sun''’s review was lukewarm: “The film is…usually mildly amusing. It never, in spite of every one’s best intentions, gets much funnier than that….It is a pleasant change for Mr. Benny, something far from his wisecracking radio self….The picture, never getting anywhere near the hilarious, is at its pleasantest when it caricatures a broadcast or pictures heaven as a stately bureaucracy.” The ''New York Post'' was ambivalent as well: “It takes a bold group of people to rush in on the territory covered so beautifully in ‘Green Pastures.’ The wisdom of this is questionable from several points of view, but the failure is never due to lack of trying….There is violence and slapstick, there are the wiles of Reginald Gardner and the temptations of Dolores Moran, and there are wild teeterings at the top of tall buildings. But somehow the comic fantasy doesn’t come off as planned. The big build-up remains an architectural and overworked effort.””Winsten, Archer. “Movie Talk: ‘The Horn Blows at Midnight’ and All Day at the Strand.” New York Post, 21 April 1945.

Adaptation in other media

The script was re-worked into an episode of radio's '' Ford Theater'', broadcast March 4, 1949. Jack Benny reprised his character of Athanael, with Claude Rains now playing the Chief. This time the story was told in a straightforward fashion, with Benny actually playing an angel sent to Earth to blow the horn, as opposed to the dream scenario of the film. The radio story focuses on Athaniel's moral dilemma about whether or not the people of Earth, just suffering World War II, deserved to be extinguished with the Earth or given another chance. A

live television Live television is a television production broadcast in real-time, as events happen, in the present. In a secondary meaning, it may refer to streaming television over the Internet when content or programming is played continuously (not on deman ...

adaptation of the radio script was presented as a segment of '' Omnibus'' on November 29, 1953, with Benny again playing Athaniel, and

Dorothy Malone Dorothy Malone (born Mary Dorothy Maloney; January 29, 1924 – January 19, 2018) was an American actress. Her film career began in 1943, and in her early years, she played small roles, mainly in B-movies, with the exception of a supporting role ...

as Elizabeth. In 2013, this version was issued on an exclusive DVD available to those who purchased ''

: The Lost Episodes'' from distributor

Shout Factory Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...

's website. The 1945 movie itself was released on DVD by Warner Archives in November 2013.

Legacy

In addition to Benny's jokes on the film, composer

Franz Waxman Franz Waxman (né Wachsmann; December 24, 1906February 24, 1967) was a German-born composer and conductor of Jewish descent, known primarily for his work in the film music genre. His film scores include ''Bride of Frankenstein'', ''Rebecca'', ' ...

reworked some of his music for the film in a comic Overture for Orchestra that he performed on occasion. Possibly Benny's most memorable gag involving the film occurred in the 1957 episode of his TV show, ''Jack's Life Story'', in which Benny drives to

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

to discuss a movie based on his life. At the front gate, he casually asks the guard ( Mel Blanc) if he saw the movie. "Saw it?", yelled Blanc. "I DIRECTED IT!!!"

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Horn Blows At Midnight, The 1945 films 1945 comedy films 1940s fantasy comedy films American fantasy comedy films American black-and-white films 1940s English-language films Films directed by Raoul Walsh Films scored by Franz Waxman Warner Bros. films Films with screenplays by Aubrey Wisberg Apocalyptic films Films about angels Films about dreams Films about music and musicians 1940s American films