The Horn Blows at Midnight (1945)

Director:

Raoul Walsh

Writers:

Sam Hellman (writer)
James V. Kern (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

28 April 1945 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | Comedy

Plot:

Falling asleep during the Paradise Coffee ("The Coffee that Makes You Sleep") Program, the band's third trumpeter dreams he's Athanael...

Plot Keywords:

Heaven | Advertisement | Angel On Earth | Coffee | Dream Sequence

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Jack Benny	...	Athanael
Alexis Smith	...	Elizabeth
Dolores Moran	...	Violinist / Fran Blackstone
Allyn Joslyn	...	Second Trumpeter / Osidro
Reginald Gardiner	...	Composer / Archie Dexter
Guy Kibbee	...	Radio Director / The Chief
John Alexander	...	First trumpeter / Doremus
Franklin Pangborn	...	Radio Engineer / Sloan
Margaret Dumont	...	Mme. Traviata / Miss Rodholder
Robert Blake	...	Junior Pulplinsky (as Bobby Blake)
Ethel Griffies	...	Lady Stover
Paul Harvey	...	Hotel Manager Thompson
Mike Mazurki	...	Bass Player / Humphrey Rafferty
Truman Bradley	...	Radio Announcer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Betty Alexander	...	Angel (uncredited)
Murray Alper	...	Tony, the Hotel Bell Captain (uncredited)
John Alvin	...	Angel (uncredited)
Jimmy Ames	...	Rocket Man (uncredited)
Joy Barlow	...	Angel (uncredited)
Oliver Blake	...	Heavenly photographer (uncredited)
Monte Blue	...	The Chef (uncredited)
John Brown	...	Lew Pulplinski, Waiter (uncredited)
Tom Brown	...	Boy (uncredited)
James Burke	...	Cliffside Park Policeman (uncredited)
Frank Craven	...	Narrator (uncredited)
Cecil Cunningham	...	Judge Cavendish (uncredited)
Dudley Dickerson	...	Porter (uncredited)
Johnny Duncan	...	Jitterbug Dancer (uncredited)
Richard Erdman	...	Joe Smith (uncredited)
Jack J. Ford	...	Orchestra Leader (uncredited)
Jack George	...	Trumpet Player (uncredited)
Carl Harbaugh	...	Tipsy Gent (uncredited)
Marjorie Henshaw	...	Telephone Operator (uncredited)
Joe Herrera	...	Doorman (uncredited)
Earle Hodgins	...	Barker (uncredited)
Pat Hogan	...	Girl in Concession (uncredited)
Gene Holland	...	Kid (uncredited)
Sondra Johnson	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Charles Jordan	...	Dirty Angel (uncredited)
Fred Kelsey	...	Bailiff (uncredited)
Richard Lane	...	Radio Announcer (uncredited)
Jimmy Luke	...	Tubby (uncredited)
Sidney Miller	...	Trumpet Player (uncredited)
Jack Mower	...	Head Hotel Clerk (uncredited)
Jack Norton	...	Drunk in Hotel Room (uncredited)
Patrick O'Moore	...	Hotel Clerk (uncredited)
Tommy O'Neill	...	Messenger (uncredited)
Virginia Patton	...	Party Girl (uncredited)
Francis Pierlot	...	Heavenly personnel manager Mercurius (uncredited)
Larry Rio	...	Slippy (uncredited)
Harry Rosenthal	...	Sherman Starr (uncredited)
Harry Seymour	...	Ticket Taker (uncredited)
Eddie Small	...	Skinny (uncredited)
Red Stanley	...	Trombonist in Swing Band (uncredited)
Mark Stevens	...	Angel (uncredited)
Buddy Swan	...	Kid (uncredited)
Dink Trout	...	Trumpet Player (uncredited)
Sailor Vincent	...	Clerk (uncredited)
Joan Winfield	...	Party Girl (uncredited)

Directed by
Raoul Walsh

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Sam Hellman		writer
James V. Kern		writer
Aubrey Wisberg		story

Produced by
Mark Hellinger	....	producer
Jack L. Warner	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Franz Waxman
William Lava		(uncredited)
Carl W. Stalling		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Sidney Hickox		(as Sid Hickox)

Film Editing by
Irene Morra

Art Direction by
Hugh Reticker

Set Decoration by
Clarence Steensen

Costume Design by
Milo Anderson		(gowns)

Makeup Department
Perc Westmore	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
James McMahon	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Gerald W. Alexander	....	sound
Charles David Forrest	....	sound
Stanley Jones	....	sound (as Stanley S. Jones)
Robert G. Wayne	....	sound

Special Effects by
Robert Burks	....	special effects
Lawrence W. Butler	....	special effects (as Lawrence Butler)
Paul Detlefsen	....	matte paintings
Hans F. Koenekamp	....	miniatures
Warren Lynch	....	special effects
William C. McGann	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Chesley Bonestell	....	matte artist (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Michael P. Joyce	....	second camera operator

Music Department
Leo F. Forbstein	....	musical director
Leonid Raab	....	orchestrator

Other crew
Hugh Cummings	....	dialogue director

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1945) (USA) (theatrical)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (VHS)
• Teakwood Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)

Runtime:

78 min | 80 min (original cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Unrated

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Adapted as a one-hour radio play for "The Ford Theater".

Quotes:

Athanael: What are they supposed to be doing?
Maitre d': I wouldn't know, sir; they call it dancing.
Athanael: I must tell St. Vitus about this.

Movie Connections:

References Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)

Soundtrack:

Symphony No. 4

Just What Do They Put In That Paradise Coffee, Anyway?

In his long running radio and television show, Jack Benny often built jokes around THE HORN BLOWS AT MIDNIGHT--a movie described as so awful that it put an end to his movie career. These jokes always got a laugh, but rumors of the film's failure were really only comic exaggeration; true, it had not been a major hit, but neither was it a major failure. And if Benny's film appearances were few and far between after 1945, this was more a matter of his incredibly popular radio and television series than with a lack of offers.

THE HORN BLOWS AT MIDNIGHT is not a great film, but it is a very interesting one and quite often a very entertaining one. The story concerns a trumpet player (Benny) in love with a harpist (Alexis Smith)--who gets him a radio job on the "Paradise Coffee Program," which advertises a coffee that promises a gentle sleep and sweet dreams. And dream he does, but one would not call it sweet: he dreams he is an angel sent to earth to blow the trumpet that will destroy the world.

Although the script is a bit weak, it has some really great concepts. Heaven is a bureaucracy beset by an endless orchestra and a shortage of angel-power. Elevators take angels to earth, right to the lobby of a New York hotel--and tie up elevator traffic, much to the annoyance of guests. And fallen angels lie in wait to trip Ethanael up! The art direction is extremely fine, dribbling comic surrealism with tremendous flair. In perhaps the film's most memorable scene, Ethanael finds himself drowning in a gigantic cup of coffee. Paradise Coffee, no doubt! Benny, co-star Alexis Smith, and such memorable characters as Franklin Pangborn, Margaret Dumont, and Guy Kibbe perform the show with as much energy as they can muster, and at it's best the movie is hilariously over-the-top. The script lets them down once too often for comfort, but even so the whole thing makes for an entertaining show. Recommended as imaginative, often extremely clever fluff.

Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer