The Eddy Duchin Story

Eddy Duchin's music was so beautiful. He had a magic touch at the piano. Unfortunately, his real life was so tragic.

Tyrone Power shines as Duchin. From his beginnings to success, Power evoked the right temperament in portraying this musician brilliantly.

Kim Novak, just off an awful performance in the acclaimed "Picnic," the year before, gives a wonderful supporting performance as Duchin's ill-fated first wife. Who can forget her fear of rain and thunder? Who can forget that thunder scene in the hospital as her life ends?

Victoria Shaw, as Eddy's second wife, is also quite good. She brings Eddy back so that life is worth living for him and is able to reconcile him with his young son, whose birth Duchin blamed for the death of his first wife.

We are fortunate to have had such a picture made and the legacy that Duchin left-his playing as well as his son, musician Peter Duchin.

The "Eddy Duchin Story" was one of the nicest movies to ever come out of Hollywood. I remember my father taking my mother to see it at least half dozen times. Reason? The music.

For a number of years we had the old soundtrack LP around and if anyone knows where I can get a copy of this on either CD or cassette, I would be eternally grateful for the information.

If I were a critic (and I have yet to have anyone adequately tell me how one goes about becoming one), I would not be so cavalier in dispatching this movie as a contrivance. If you do, you miss the point - the music.

Lights!

I saw this movie when I was 11 years old in 1959. Although, over the years, I was hooked by the songs in the movie and bought the record and tape to listen to in my adult life, I saw the the movie again last month and it brought a real new meaning of the life of Eddie Duchin. I was seeing the movie as an adult, not as a kid. Tyrone Power, who I have admired for years, play the part of Duchin real well. His portrayal as a father trying to reach to his son was touching and realistic. Kim Novack was very good in her part as his wife. The songs especially Chopin's E flat major and Manhattan were very well played by Carmen Cavallaro. Cavallaro is a favorite artiste of mine. He plays superbly and brings out the flavor of the songs. This movie is a classic and should be highly recommended.

There is a back narrative about Tyrone Power and his involvement in The Eddy Duchin Story (TEDS) that is quite interesting and worth sharing. In 1955, Power had just completed the film Untamed for Henry King/Twentieth Century-Fox and was winding down his long contractual association with that studio. Power was increasingly disillusioned with his recent film assignments, and yearned to go back on the stage. He had just concluded theatrical assignments in Stephen Vincent Benet's John Brown's Body (1952-1953) and Christopher Fry's The Dark Is Light Enough (1954-1955) that gave him considerable personal satisfaction and generated much positive critical acclaim. When the latter play closed in Boston during May of 1955, Power wanted to continue with the theatrical phase of his acting career. It was around this time that Power agreed to star in a new play titled A Quiet Place (AQP) by young playwright Julian Claman. It dealt with the tribulations of a middle-aged American composer trying to write a new musical score while striving to save his failing marriage. Staged by Delbert Mann (of Marty (1955) fame), AQP opened in New Haven during late November,1955. After continuing its brief tryouts in Boston, Cleveland and Pittsburgh, AQP moved on to Washington, D. C.-----where it closed on New Year's Eve. Subsequent scheduled play dates in Philadelphia and New York for AQP were then cancelled.

AQP itself was a critical failure, although the actors in it generally received good notices. Power in particular was positively singled out for his realistic depiction of a serious composer, including his natural performance of suggested piano playing. A personal aside. I happened to see AQP during its Pittsburgh engagement-----and can attest to the validity of the above comments based upon my own actual experience.

Power did not appear in another stage production until a revival of Shaw's The Devil's Disciple was mounted in early 1956. It was was just when AQP had folded that the opportunity appeared for Power to act the title character in a proposed new biopic to be called The Eddy Duchin Story! It seemed to be either fate or coincidence or both that TEDS involved a musician who also played the piano just as Power recently did in in AQP. Power's preparation for AQP obviously helped him to deal with and successfully execute the extended important scenes in TEDS that required him to suggest virtuoso piano playing. As we know, the actual piano work in TEDS was done by Carmen Cavallaro. But having personally seen Power in both AQP and TEDS----probably a unique admission for someone to affirm at this point in time------his "faking" great piano playing was and is a truly remarkable piece of work and deserves the considerable praiseworthy attention that it garnered from both his fans and critics.

Power was well known to be one of Hollywood's most handsome men. Possibly this may help explain why he seldom received the acting recognition that should have been his. The way he was able to perform as an accomplished pianist in both AQP and TEDS must surely be singled out for appropriate recognition as a unique and remarkable acting achievement.

Tyrone Power and Errol Flynn were probably the two greatest cinematic action heroes of their generation. Both died young----Power at age 44 of a heart attack in 1958 and Flynn at age 50 of an abused life style just one year later. They were extraordinary performers-----we will not see their likes again. That Power was also able to broaden his acting range by accepting the challenge to appear on the stage while at the same time being a Hollywood film performer of the first rank is not sufficiently recognized------as it should be. Perhaps this review may help to correct that situation.

TYRONE POWER does a remarkably convincing job at the keyboard and the camera seems to linger on his dexterity at the piano (on a dummy keyboard, of course) while the magic of Carmen Cavallaro takes over on the soundtrack. He's excellent as the brash and overly eager young piano player who eventually makes bigtime as a popular pianist, marries and loses his sweetheart, KIM NOVAK, with whom he has a young son who at first resents him after Power's desertion, then reunites before Duchin's untimely death from leukemia. That's the plot, in a nutshell, but it's the sparkling music that counts.

The richly textured Technicolor photography of Manhattan and its settings evoke the time and period perfectly. I found KIM NOVAK's performance artificial and disturbingly unreal--as though she were affecting a series of poses--while Power is completely natural and appealing opposite her. Novak's performance here is a far cry from her work as Madge in PICNIC. The mood of the film becomes somber after her death and Power's decision to leave the country on tour, leaving his baby son behind. The conflict between Duchin and his son is what has to be resolved before the story ends.

The handsome production values are all enhanced by the constant use of Duchin's music, either in the background or with him at the keyboard and these qualities make it one of the most enjoyable musical biographies I've seen in a long time.

The film won four Oscar nominations and Power deserved to be included, but was not.