“The Horn Blows at Midnight” (1945) / Z-View

The Horn Blows at Midnight (1945)

Director:  Raoul Walsh

Screenplay:  Sam Hellman, James V. Kern based on an idea by Aubrey Wisberg

Starring:  Jack Benny, Alexis Smith, Dolores Moran, John Alexander, Margaret Dumont, Robert Blake and Mike Mazurki

Tagline: Benny’s from Heaven and the laughs are out of this world!!!

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Athanael (Benny), plays third trumpet in the orchestra of a live late night radio show.  During a commercial break, Athanael falls asleep.  And dreams…

Athanael dreams he’s an angel trumpet player in heaven’s orchestra.  He’s given the job to go to Earth and signal it’s destruction by blowing his trumpet at midnight.  A woman who wants to commit suicide and two fallen angels are determined to stop Athanael from blowing his horn.  Will Athanel sound his trumpet and destroy the earth?  Will he fail and become a fallen angel?  Do we really care since this is all a dream?

And that is one of the problems with The Horn Blows at Midnight.  It’s all a dream.  Whatever happens doesn’t matter.

It. Is. A. Dream.

There are some humorous moments when Athanael and several cast members are hanging off a building or when Athanael ends up in and clinging to a gigantic cup of coffee (again high up on a building).

I’m a Jack Benny fan and love his standup comedy and  television show.  Benny joked for years about how bad The Horn Blows at Midnight is.  After seeing it, I realize Benny wasn’t joking..

The Horn Blows at Midnight rates 2 of 5 stars.