Robert J. Maxwell Lee J. Cobb is a gem as the disappointed Jewish father of two sons -- Sinatra and Bill -- who desert him and his wax fruit business to live the lives of shallow New Yorkers on the hedonistic treadmill. He's full of indignation and irony. When we first meet him, he's coming home from work. "Is that you, Harry?", cries his wife, Molly Picon, from the kitchen. "No, it's a BURGLAR coming in. At five in the afternoon. For dinner." He's a delight whenever he's on screen, grumbling about "da brudders" who are "bums" because they won't get married and give him grandchildren. Molly Picon is good as the mother, but in her one big scene she's recherché and a little silly -- not the actress' fault but the screenwriter's.Sinatra isn't too painful as the older son with a luxurious apartment that now would look in the neighborhood of $10,000 a month. He rarely shows up for work because he's too busy ploying the local ladies. How can he afford the place? He leases it from a woman who adores him. But that doesn't explain how he affords alpaca cardigans, a personal hair stylist, tuxedos, dinners are Sardi's and drinks at Toots Shore's. I once managed a dinner at The Russian Tea Room but it cost me three months worth of pizza pies.I have nothing against Tony Bill, the younger brudder, who begins to ape Sinatra's self-indulgent ways, but he almost ruins the picture. He looks the part of the twenty-one year old naif, but his voice is high and squeaky, and his notion of "nervousness" reaches for the stars. Bud Yorkin, the director, should have reined him in and introduced him to the concept of "underplaying." It all turns out right in the end, of course. Sinatra has several girls on the hook -- including the airhead Jill St. John and the bourgeois virgin Barbara Rush. Guess which one he marries.All in all, it reminded me a lot of "The Tender Trap," in which Sinatra again was pursued by a horde of marriage-hungry females and David Wayne was the visiting hick. The greatest hangover scene ever committed to celluloid.On the other hand, if it had been done as a drama it would have resembled "Hud," with a stern and principled father, a dissolute older son, and a younger one who wants to imitate his big brother.Some of the scenes had me laughing out loud. "MY TONGUE SHOULD FALL OUT!" And Molly Picon's first visit to Sinatra's suite, when she looks around this palatial spread and remarks about the dirt. It reminded me of an incident during the shooting of "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," a classic of the silver screen, in which I was an extra. I was standing next to quiet man (Hi, Luigi!) and his wife, a nice Jewish lady who disapproved of the set -- a slum street strewn with litter. She left the sidewalk and began picking up discarded shoes and other trash until a PA told her politely how much effort and expense had been put into importing all this garbage and seeing that it was properly strewn.

tforbes-2 "Come Blow Your Horn" is an interesting artifact from the early 1960s. While some aspects of the film strain for credibility, there also have been worse films produced.OK, Frank Sinatra was 47, and was only four years younger than Lee J. Cobb, who played his father. But he is fun to watch, and we get to see how time is catching up with this swinging single. And we can accept him playing the older of two sons in a Jewish family.One major plus for the movie is having Molly Picon and Mr. Cobb playing the parents; their own backgrounds add credibility to their roles. As for their surname being Baker, it was and is not unheard of Jewish families to change such names to something more "American." That happened not just in the entertainment industry, but across the board. And given that the older Mr. Baker was a businessman, it would stand to reason.I tuned into this because I am a fan of Jill St. John; she is not served terribly well in this production. Phyllis McGuire, Barbara Rush and Dan Blocker fare better here.It's entertaining fare, and a cool curio from an era 50 years ago, but hardly Oscar material. You could do worse.

elshikh4 Well, let me see. This is a comedy without any comedy. This is one of the worst movies had (Neil Simon)'s name on it ever. And this is the 1960s' most theatrical cinema I've seen.Come to think of it, the conversations are too long and not even droll or try to be. (Bud Yorkin)'s direction is anything but cinematic. Moreover, (Lee J. Cobb) was four years older than (Frank Sinatra), and he played his father !. Not to mention that (Sinatra) himself as the bachelor playboy was 48 years old while his brother, Tony Bill, was 23 (Yes, 25 years between them !). I believe that Jill St. John is fiery sexy, though here she was boring !. (Sinatra) does an imitation of President Kennedy, and Dean Martin appears in dull cameo; they seem like inside jokes for Sinatra so his fellows ! And the title? Sorry, but I have to suspect a double meaning where the other one is lewd; as it's harmonizing with the 1960s' free swinging spirit, and the era's boldness's limits. And even if, the movie as a whole fails on the level of being a sex comedy, or sexy, or comic ! This is a memory from what looks now as a far faraway galaxy. It was lovely age, but (Come Blow Your Horn) is not its best, or an example for its entertaining works. Seeing it in the 2000s is a history lesson more than a nostalgic installment. To assure how even at those classic days, there were weak movies and with big names. Yet at least they were making them that polished (the movie had nominated for the Oscar of the Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color). Anyway thanks to the TV that keeps transforming the "forgettable" into "unforgettable".So what's here to love? The title's song, it's clever and I loved it, so the music.

bkoganbing This Neil Simon comedy, debuted on Broadway two years earlier, minus the song and a few characters and starred Hal March, Warren Berlinger, Lou Jacobi, and Pert Kelton. It had a respectable run for about a year and Frank Sinatra must have recognized a property tailor made for him when he saw it.The eternal problem with filming plays is how to get them out of the theatrical confines and use the scope the movie camera offers. Primarily this is done with a Sinatra song with the movie title where he lectures kid brother Tony Bill that life ain't a dress rehearsal. Sammy Cahn, who put more words in Frank Sinatra's mouth than any other lyricist, put some of his best work into play here. It's a great Sinatra song and maybe it's inclusion qualifies Come Blow Your Horn to be a musical.Lee J. Cobb and Molly Picon are the quintessential Jewish parents and they are grand. Cobb was a very underrated actor and an unhappy man because of his experience with the House Un-American Activities Committee. Sinatra purportedly befriended him and helped him over a few rough patches. Molly Picon brought about 50 years of experience to her part as Frankie's mom. She was fresh from a Broadway triumph in Milk and Honey. She started out as a child in the Yiddish Theatre and was only now breaking out into a wider audience. She has a very funny scene alone in Sinatra's bachelor pad, trying to answer several phones looking for a pencil to take a message with disastrous consequences.The women here are an eyeful, Phyllis McGuire, Barbara Rush, and Jill St. John and Sinatra's involved with all of them. I won't tell you which one he ends up with, but I think you'd figure it out. I think most of Frankie's fans would settle for any one of them.Life imitates art and the real life Sinatra unlike his character Alan Baker didn't really settle down until fourth wife Barbara Marx married him.There's a lot of similarities with the earlier Sinatra comedy, The Tender Trap. It's ground gone over before, but it's good topsoil.A Quintessential Sinatra film, a must for fans of the Chairman of the Board.