JohnHowardReid Copyright 1956 by Universal-International. New York opening at the Capitol: 21 February 1956. U.S. release: February 1956. U.K. release: 20 February 1956. Australian release: 23 February 1956. Sydney opening at the Lyric. 10,458 feet. 116 minutes.NOTES: Despite its long running time, Universal sold this film as a "B" in many overseas locations, including Australia and New Zealand. The reason: Aside from Donna Reed, absolutely no star power. COMMENT: The script is mediocre and distorts the truth in a dull way. The musical numbers are tied together with a feeble romance that wastes the only interesting player in the cast, Donna Reed. Still, if you like swing — and whose feet don't start tapping to such numbers as "Stompin' at the Savoy" and "One O'Clock Jump"? — this film is a must-see, despite its tired plot by Valentine Davies and its equally tired direction by the same gentleman. Mr. Davies wrote the screenplay for "The Glenn Miller Story", but he obviously had more dramatic material to work with there. Furthermore, Miller was not in a position to sue the film's producers if the story they came up with was not to his liking; whereas Benny Goodman is still very much alive. This could account for his life story emerging as a very bland and inoffensive vehicle, especially as Goodman himself recorded this film's soundtrack. The film is a joy to hear but a bore to watch. OTHER VIEWS: The bland story is the usual tale of the slum kid who makes good. At least it's inoffensive, though the script is remarkably coy as to why Mrs. Goodman doesn't want her Benny to marry a non- Jewish girl. Still, Miss Reed wears a new gown in every scene and looks absolutely stunning. I suppose that's reason enough. Aside from the jazzy start, Davies the director is wearisomely over-indulgent to Davies the scriptwriter, the pace sluggish, the delivery slow so that not a word of silver dialogue be lost. Luckily, it's the sound track that matters and it's in good hands!

thinker1691 Writer, director Valantine Davies took on this musical challenge as a testimony to the legendary impresario Benny Goodman and what was then called 'Swing' music.' The film itself is called " The Benny Goodman Story " and it features the late great comic Steve Allen. The movie does a good job of incorporating the early life of the famed musician and the life-struggles he encountered. Striving from an early age to learn his instrument and then later to adapt it to create what he called a 'special' type of music for the era of Early Swing and later Jazz age. The movie does not lend itself any of Goodman's foibles or controversies as there were little in his life. Still it does take a few liberties with his personal history, but nothing which detracts from the established music which he help to initiate. Indeed, his ability to play his clarinet and entrance his audiences is what makes this movie and then the cast which includes Donna Reed, Berta Gersted and Barry Truex as Benny Goodman (at 16), is what marks this Bio-pic as a musical Classic and the late great Gene Cruppa on drums. In addition for any who love the legendary sounds of the Big Bands in the age which started them all, you can do no better than sit and enjoy this musical rendition which is a tribute to that era. Easily recommended. Well done.

writers_reign Having cleaned up with The Glenn Miller Story (a bio-pic of a trombone playing band leader) the previous year, Universal decided to cash in on what they hoped might develop into a trend with a second musical bio-pic but this time centred around a clarinet playing band leader. Accordingly they tapped the writer of the Glenn Miller Story, Valentine Davies to write the follow-up and even allowed him to direct what turned out to be his only movie. Alas, he opted for the wrong clarinet playing leader and gave us Benny Goodman instead of the far superior Artie Shaw, thus losing out on non-musical color (Shaw was a serial husband, urbane, and a polished writer whilst Goodman was a bad nowhere to a blancmange without a clarinet in his hand). Even as a musician Goodman lagged far behind Shaw, so what we are left with is one or two well-known tunes - One O'Clock Jump, Stompin' At The Savoy, Avalon, Don't Be That Way - and appearances by musicians long past their sell-by date such as Kid Ory, Harry James, Gene Krupa, Teddy Wilson, Lionel Hampton and the ubiquitous Ben Pollack who'd probably been sleeping in a dark corner of the Sound Stage since The Glenn Miller Story was wrapped a few months earlier. On the other hand it could and did get worse, Drum Crazy (The Gene Krupa Story) anyone? See if for the music.

randy_lejeune Although in general, Jazz is one of my most unfavourite types of music, I was captivated by the story. I couldn't get up once I had started watching it. Donna Reed and Steve Allen really brought the story (partly fictional by the way) of Benny Goodman out and intrigued me enough to want to learn more about his life and the sort of music he played. The musical numbers in the film are among Goodman's best, and really liven the film up. A great film.