Humoresque

Humoresque is a drama about Paul Boray, a gifted violinist from a poor family who has fought hard for his training. At a society party he meets Helen Wright, a wealthy, restless woman who supports young artists and is married to an older man. She is drawn to him and, after he first keeps his distance, she opens doors for him in the music world, and his career takes off. They become lovers, but Helen comes to understand that the violin holds first place in his life, and the relationship has to survive her jealousy, his family's opposition and his own ambition.

Jean Negulesco directed the film, the earliest of the eight titles listed for him, from a screenplay by Zachary Gold and Clifford Odets. Jerry Wald produced it for Warner Bros. Joan Crawford and John Garfield lead the cast as Helen and Paul, with Oscar Levant, J. Carrol Naish, Joan Chandler and Tom D'Andrea among the 58 credited performers. It runs 125 minutes.

Made on a budget of two million dollars, the film took in roughly the same amount worldwide. On IMDb it holds 7.3 out of 10 from about 5,300 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 7 out of 10 from 73 votes, so the larger audience sample is more favourable than the smaller one.