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.
Review of The Good Humor Man
