The Honeymooners (TV Series) Young Man with a Horn (1956) User Reviews

Dreams

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 22 September 2017]

Ralph and Alice go through life in that terrible apartment. Day to day he comes home from driving the bus and asks for his dinner. She provides it on his meager income. During that time Ralph continues to dream, but his failings make it hard for him to fulfill those dreams. This episode is about lost youth and lost dreams. While it preaches that we should be happy with what we have, it's also sad that he works hard and never really realizes those dreams. Alice stays with him, of course, because she is the perfect mate, but she also never gets to see a little positive. A very good episode.

Serious tone

[stones78 · 27 August 2012]

The summary line is a pun intended, as Ralph accidentally discovers his old cornet, which Alice wants to get rid of, but he feels a special bond to the instrument which was given to him by his father many years ago. After convincing his wife to keep it around, he complains that he once was interested in becoming a serious musician before giving up on his dream, as he had other big dreams as well, but never pushed through with them, and is obviously unhappy with his current situation. A scene or 2 later, an elderly couple makes a surprising visit to the apartment, as their on a 40th wedding anniversary and they once lived at the same place; Ralph recognizes the man as a famous doughnut store owner, and he gives Ralph a few pointers on how he became successful. After hearing this news, Ralph tells Alice that he wants to be successful, and soon after takes a test for a promotion at the bus company where he works. A little later on, Norton comes over and Ralph tells his friend of his plans, and that he's becoming a more tolerant person overall, and all are happy for him. Ralph asks Norton to list his(Ralph's)bad points, and naturally, he lists several of them, much to Ralph's chagrin; then, he wants his good points listed, for which Norton writes just one sentence, which Ralph says something along the lines of it taking a half hour to list the bad points, but just a few seconds to write the good ones. As Ralph is still angry, he reads the what his friend wrote, and he's very pleased that Norton writes that Ralph is one of the sweetest guys in the world, and Ralph is clearly touched, in what is a nice moment. Norton was also influenced, and also took a test for a promotion himself, and although both men failed their tests and a chance at an upgrade, they should be commended for trying. I'll remember this episode mainly for the touching moment between Ralph and Ed, and how nicely comedy and drama were blended together.

Hitting the High Note

[MichaelMartinDeSapio · 10/10 · 28 December 2015]

This funny and touching episode shows up one of the distinctive themes of THE HONEYMOONERS: the determination to improve one's lot in life and rise above one's circumstances - something both the Kramdens and the Nortons tried constantly to do. Digging up an old cornet from the closet, Ralph bemoans his missed opportunities. He feels that he "never hit that high note." The cornet functions as a symbol of Ralph's hopes and dreams. Norton, too, has dreams: he wants to progress from being a sewer worker to the lofty post of sewer inspector, and decides to take a civil service exam in order to qualify for this new job. Ralph too resolves to take an exam, one that will allow him to become a bus supervisor.

Meanwhile, Ralph and Alice meet an elderly couple who used to live in the apartment years before. The husband, a successful businessman, says that Ralph should try to improve himself by listing his strengths and faults. Ralph follows the man's advice, and this leads to a hilarious bit between Ralph and Norton as the two try to compare notes. Unfortunately Ralph's and Norton's efforts to rise up in the world don't work this time around: both fail their exams. But Ralph's sincere efforts to improve himself have won Alice's admiration, and the episode has a heartwarming ending as the two remind each other how much they love each other. The episode has that perfectly calibrated mixture of comedy and sentiment that defined THE HONEYMOONERS.

The BEST Comedic writing!

[dzoppoli-58001 · 10/10 · 2 December 2021]

All 4 reviews are wonderful, but I am not going to describe the episode as everyone else already has. As we all know, Jackie Gleason and Art Carney are 2 of the most hilarious individuals ever-especially in the Honeymooner. Jackie is probably my favorite comedian of all time! The "funny" thing about this episode that has had me laughing and crying and coming close to having a heart attack isn't the duos' interactions in this episode, it's the list of bad points that is shown in this episode! I had to pause the show to read the list. I was laughing so hard that I was crying and very near a heart attack! Whoever had the idea to list that Ralph is too fat 3 or 4 times is amazing! Do yourself a favor. Watch this episode (and all of the other originals) over and over again. Your life will always have humor and laughter in it.

Ralph Tries Self-Imrovement

[dougdoepke · 13 September 2016]

Thanks to a nice elderly couple and Ralph's old cornet, he now dedicates himself to success in life. That means adding up his strong points and subtracting from the weak ones. But first that requires making a list. The half-hour's comedic high is he and Norton making up the list. Plus, our hero of the sewers gets to do his famous hand-acrobatics before starting, sending Ralph up the wall. In fact, the nutty Norton makes the whole effort hilarious. Then too, it's a sweetly appropriate wind-up with Alice. There's also a couple of "to the moon" as Ralph gets angry with Alice. But who's going to take these mock-ups seriously. Apparently some well-meaning folks do. Too bad. Nonetheless, it's another great script from the writers whose grasp of the characters is again spot on. However, be prepared for more non-comedic narrative spots than usual.