SnoopyStyle Paul Boray (John Garfield) is a world class violin player. He chose the violin as a young boy despite his father's objections. They're a poor working class family struggling in the Great Depression. He can't get ahead on his talents alone. Cellist Gina Romany (Joan Chandler) is sweet and in love with Paul. He starts playing in a radio broadcast band to pay his share and befriends pianist Sid Jeffers who brings him along to play at a party. He meets Helen (Joan Crawford) and Victor Wright. Helen starts pursuing him and becomes his benefactress. He starts to have success as Helen pushes Gina aside.I love that a party guest asks if Boray's a prize fighter. Garfield looks like a prize fighter. He walks like one and acts like one. He seems stiff and unlike any violin player around. There is also a bit too much of him playing the violin. It's not as if he's actually playing. The music interludes takes up too much time and drains away some of the tension. Joan Crawford plays what would be popularly considered today to be a cougar. She's a master at it as she coolly prowls the movie screen.

Michael_Elliott Humoresque (1946) *** 1/2 (out of 4)Paul Boray (John Garfield) dreams of being able to play his violin for a living but he just doesn't have the right connections to make it. This changes when he meets a rich married woman (Joan Crawford) who takes a liking to his talent but soon the two fall in love as Paul's career takes off. Many people have compared this to GOLDEN BOY only with music and I think that's a fair thing to say. There's no question that this here is going to be very entertaining to film buffs due to a number of reasons but of course when you've got heavyweights like Garfield and Crawford you know you're in for a treat. Crawford was coming off her Oscar-winning role in MILDRED PIERCE and she followed that role up with another terrific character. Even though she's given top-billing she's mainly just a supporting player here but she delivers a remarkable performance. For someone who always played tough characters, the actress does a fantastic job at playing someone very fragile and weak. This is certainly the type of role that fans hadn't seen from Crawford and she is wonderful in it. Garfield is also someone fit with the tough guy roles and seeing him play a violin isn't what you expect from him but he's very much believable in the role. I thought he did a fantastic job showing the character's love for music and why a woman would be second. Oscar Levant is very strong as the piano player, Ruth Nelson is great in the role of the mother and the always dependable J. Carrol Naish. A young Robert Blake plays the kid Garfield. The music is certainly another highlight as it's constantly playing throughout the film and helps explain the 125-minute running time. Isaac Stern dubbed Garfield in the music and he certainly did a fantastic job. There's been much written about the ending, which I won't spoil here but it's certainly a wonderful sequence that is perfectly put together. The way it mixes the music with the actions of Crawford was very impressive.

Claudio Carvalho In New York, the performance of the virtuoso violinist Paul Boray (John Garfield) is cancelled. In his apartment, Paul recalls when he was a boy and chooses a violin as a birthday gift from his working class parents. Paul dedicates his youth playing violin studying in the National Institute Orchestra with Professor Rozner and dreams on becoming a concert violinist. During the Great Depression, Paul overhears a conversation of his father and his older brother about his dedication to the violin and seeks out his best friend Sidney Jeffers (Oscar Levant) asking for a job.Sid introduces Paul to the wealthy Helen Wright (Joan Crawford) and her husband Victor Wright (Paul Cavanagh) in a party. Helen is an unhappy alcoholic woman that sees that Paul is a talented violinist and brings him to work with the influent agent Bauer (Richard Gaines). His career starts to take off and Paul becomes her protégée. Sooner they have a love affair and they fall in love with each other. But Helen is jealous of the love of Paul for his violin and her insecurity ends in a tragedy."Humoresque" is a timeless romance for cinema and music lovers. The screenplay has awesome dialogs with unforgettable lines. When Helen gives a note in the theater to Paul, he is playing Carmen of Bizet and she feels like Don José and learns that she would never have the exclusive love of Paul since he is in love with his violin (and music). In the end, he is playing the tragic Tristan and Iseult of Wagner. Therefore, the film has many layers associated to the classical music. My vote is nine.Title (Brazil): "Acordes do Coração" ("Chords of the Heart")

Bugs Wisely I would really like to see this movie made again using the same script.The acting is as good as it gets from that time period so even though the delivery is stiff; I don't believe you will find any better. To the editing i say the same. Choppy in places. Phony scenes depicting the actors riding horses and in cars. Again the same you would expect from that time period - The absolute worst in history was Mickey Rooney in 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' But I'm strained by the depth and brilliance of the script. Hardcore. Bites to the bone good. Someday we all come full circle and make the connections necessary to appreciate writing that to me exceeds anything today.