rickdumesnil-55203 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

ianlouisiana One of the "Beautiful People" of the 1930s,golden boy Eddy Duchin was no particular shakes as a pianist but he was handsome,agreeable and extremely marketable.Like his spiritual heir Liberace he could knock off a few flashy party pieces but was otherwise workmanlike rather than inspired.He became quite the thing for fashionable New York society but his personal life was certainly no bed of roses. This is the ground covered by George Sidney's splendidly rococo "The Eddy Duchin Story" with Mr Tyrone Power and Miss Kim Novak in the lead roles. This is what we wanted to see in the 1950s,good - looking stars,lashings of Brilliantine and Max Factor,glossy colour,nice music and a jolly good weep.I was personally delighted to see that New York was in fact exactly as I'd always dreamed it to be and Miss Novak as extraordinarily beautiful as her photos in "Picturegoer". If you like good old - fashioned Hollywood glitz you will find "The Eddy Duchin Story" exactly to your taste.Made by people who loved their craft in an age when movies had to be big to wrench people from their televisions,it is gloriously larger than life.

MARIO GAUCI A popular branch of the musical genre during the 1940s and 1950s was the biopic of composers (of both classical pieces and popular tunes), singers or musicians/bandleaders; this belongs to the latter category. I can't say I was familiar with Duchin's history or style and, in any case, despite numerous musical numbers (where star Tyrone Power's piano-playing is obviously dubbed by a professional), the film seems much more concerned with the man's turbulent and tragic life. Ironically, both the star and his subject would suffer an untimely death – for the record, when Power's passing was announced, the film under review was (belatedly) on general release locally! He does O.K. in eliciting both Duchin's wholesomeness (which endeared him to audiences) and his ambivalent feeling towards a son he blamed for the death of beloved first wife Kim Novak. Nudged by manager James Whitmore, however, Duchin's ready to make it up to the boy following his war service in the Pacific; here, he also meets, falls for and marries young war orphan Victoria Shaw (following some initial sparring when Duchin Jr. is seen preferring her company!). Just when it seems that his domestic problems could be surmounted comes a fatal blow: he's diagnosed with a neurological condition which even curtails his career. At the end of the day, THE EDDY DUCHIN STORY is far from a highlight of its subgenre or, for that matter, the filmography of its matinée idol star; nonetheless, it was deemed serviceable enough to garner 4 Oscar nominations (not to mention landing director Sidney a surprising DGA nod).

Nicholas Rhodes I only discovered this film fairly recently, rather surprisingly as I DO like music biopics and already possess the Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman stories ! Still, this DVD is unknown in Europe for some strange reason and has to be purchased from the USA.I am fond of Tyrone Power, having been impressed by his performance in "Witness for the Prosecution" and as for Kim Novak I was bowled over and full of emotion before here loving character as his wife, so different from the common ugly personage she portrays in "Of Human Bondage". Indeed I had watery eyes throughout the film, from shortly after the beginning right up until the end as the film distills so much emotion, happy and sad, throughout its whole length .... from his first meeting with Kim Novak, through the problems he has in communicating with his son and finally to his meeting with Chiquita. I cried even more on learning that the poor actress who played the part of Chiquita actually died very young !! The music of the film is fantastic both in its arrangements, choice of tunes and recording quality. I am most annoyed that this soundtrack seems to be available anywhere on a CD, as I would have thought it was an obvious choice for issue on CD. It should be noted that the soundtrack was played by Carmen Cavallaro and not Duchin himself, indeed, Cavallaro's playing is better than that of Duchin's and not quite the same style. After seeing the film, I bought a couple of CD's of Duchin to check out the music but CC is definitely better so on that score one could accuse the film of over-glorifying Duchin's musical prowess but there it is. If you like romance, tenderness, sweetness and good music then see this film, I can guarantee that you will NOT be disappointed !!!!