Highly Overrated But Still Good

A-maz-ing

All that we are seeing on the screen is happening with real people, real action sequences in the background, forcing the eye to watch as if we were there.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

everything is cliché. soap opera style. i am the world strongest Tyrone power fan and although his acting was fine in this dull movie i wish he hadn't made it, the 2 leading ladies in my opinion are very so so looking especially that SHAW LADY not too gorgeous. James whitmore did a swell job but my favourite scene was with the native boy at the piano, he had just the right gestures and looks to make the scene credible, so far i think it is the worst movie Tyrone power ever made and I'm in awe of this actor. the make up artist did not help out his image either yet poor man he would die 2 years later, not an extremely bad film.....but a good soap opera

There's no way, even suspending reality to the Nth degree, that Tyrone Power is in any way, shape or form "believable" as a fresh faced graduate of the Massachusetts School of Pharmacy. The deep, unforgiving wrinkles around his eyes make him look more like the DEAN of the school! I know that Hollywood had a bad habit (still does) of casting people up to the age of forty as teens and young adults, but Tyrone doesn't look at all "young" in this role--he was just too doggone old.And like every picture made in the era, there's no accuracy when it comes to make-up or hairstyles, either. It's a shame, too, because the costumes aren't horrible, and good hair and make-up would have helped immeasurably. Kim Novak looks like she dropped in from the Technicolor fifties! Still and all, for a schlocky, sentimental, typical-of-the-era film, it's not awful--it'll pass the time if you're in an escapist mood.

In the 1920s, post-collegiate pianist Tyrone Power (as Eddy Duchin) arrives at New York City's "Central Park Casino" expecting to be employed by big band leader Leo Reisman. At first, the job doesn't pan out, but Mr. Power's "sweet" piano-playing style eventually takes Manhattan (and the world) by storm. He receives ample feminine support from beautiful blonde socialite Kim Novak (as Marjorie Oelrichs), who quickly becomes "Mrs. Duchin". But, on their wedding night, Ms. Novak has a nightmarish premonition of tragedy. And, if you know anything about how these biographical films go, you're already expecting a great tragedy… "The Eddy Duchin Story" is highly fictionalized. However, an Internet search for biographical information on the real Mr. Duchin shows not only his remarkable string of hit recordings, but also that the two tragedies occurring in this film really happened. It's like Mr. Duchin's life was tailor-made for one of these tear-jerking biography movies.Power, who is a little too old for the early years, nevertheless does an excellent job in the role. He begins to look vaguely like Duchin, obviously worked hard on his characterization, and really makes the story work. Playing like a pro, young son Rex Thompson (as Peter Duchin) is a chip off the old block. And, when Novak takes her bow, up-and-coming Victoria Shaw (as "Chiquita" Wynn) sexily fills the screen. Producer Jerry Wald, director George Sidney, and the "Columbia" team make it a beautiful-looking and sounding picture, with the cinematography and music positively hitting the senses on both cylinders.******** The Eddy Duchin Story (6/13/56) George Sidney ~ Tyrone Power, Rex Thompson, Kim Novak, Victoria Shaw

Before I get to the film itself, I want to stand on my soapbox for a moment. I have always hated it when Hollywood played fast and loose with facts in order to create a good story. In other words, when "true stories" turn out to be mostly schmaltz and fiction, the history teacher within me goes bananas! Some good examples are NIGHT AND DAY (which bears little semblance to the life of Cole Porter) and POCAHONTAS (which is so chock full of errors I don't even know where to start!). While the films are entertaining, they teach bad history and over-glamorize people--turning them into caricatures of themselves. Because THE EDDY DUCHIN STORY is essentially a work of fiction, I couldn't get that excited about the movie. It was sort of like the opposite of Joe Friday's old motto "The story you are about to see is true, only the names were changed to protect the innocent". Here, however, the names are the same but everything else, to a degree, has been changed. Sadly, when I searched the web for more information about the real life Duchin, I was usually referred to this film--though most sources also said that the film is a fictionalized account! Now, as a work of fiction, the film has its pluses and minuses. First let's talk about the good. I really liked the music--even though I generally don't care all that much for music of this era. Older big band songs were set to a style that were somewhat like subdued Liberace arrangements--but without THAT much improvisation. The acting was also very good and Power's performance had a bit more depth than usual plus he did a good job of pretending to play the piano well. Also, some of the schmaltz worked well--particularly at the end. Now for what was bad. The film all too often was filled with overly sentimental hooey. The death scene with his first wife (played by Kim Novak) was silly. The woman is supposed to be dying following giving birth, but she looks just fine. I am almost surprised that they didn't have the sky open up when she died--in a scene reminiscent of a Biblical epic. It was simply WAAAYY overdone. Also, all the foreshadowing leading up to it (with the silly talk about storms) was just silly and telegraphed the action way too much. Also, while I did like the music, I also thought that several of the songs could have been cut to speed up the action a bit.So, if you like schmaltzy tear-jerkers NOT based on reality, try watching the film...or THE SOUND OF MUSIC (which, I must admit, I still love despite its many, many liberties with the truth) or any one of a number of other very entertaining but historically silly films. As for me, I'd much rather see a film based on the real Duchin--that would have been much more satisfying in the end.