The Eddy Duchin Story

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!

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.

This was one of my favorite movies as a kid - not only does it have great musical sequences, but it is a real tearjerker. I read recently that this movie just about ruined the life of Peter Duchin, Eddy's son. I can't imagine what it must be like to be a character in such a popular film that shows up on AMC just before you play your next gig.

George Sidney did a beautiful job of directing, and no expense was spared for this Technicolor movie filmed on location in New York. There are so many great shots of the city -- if you're familiar with New York, watching the movie is all that much more enjoyable. The film appears to follow the structure of Duchin's actual life but how much is fact and how much is fiction is hard to say. What is fact is that Carmen Cavallero does a divine job dubbing the piano, and Tyrone Power's fingerings are excellent. He apparently worked at them night and day, and the result was worth it.

There are some wonderful scenes in the film, one of the best being when Duchin talks about his love for Marjorie to Chiquita, who is about to become his new wife. It's such a beautiful monologue about how you can be young and love someone the way he did Marjorie only once, watch your parents age only once etc. - needless to say, hearing that little speech today means more to me now than it did when I was 14. Another great scene is Eddy and a little boy playing chopsticks on a rickety piano in wartime; and, of course, Eddy talking to his son at the playground toward the end of the film.

Tyrone Power knew Eddy Duchin personally as he knew just about everyone, and his portrayal is masterful. In the beginning, however, he's the young Eddy and it's obvious that he's way too old to be fresh out of college. Power was 41 at the time of the filming, and it wasn't the 41 of 2006 - it was a 1950s, three-pack-a-day, party all night, I fought in World War II 41 - hello. You would have thought that the lighting man and cameramen would have worked just a tad harder - we're talking about Tyrone Power here, not some nobody. A little star treatment, please. Instead, Power ends up looking younger in the second half of the film. Ridiculous.

There are lots of posts about Kim Novak, who is very beautiful though vapid as Marjorie, but not much mention of the beautiful Australian actress, Victoria Shaw, who played Chiquita. Like Power and Duchin, she died young. She does an excellent job in the movie. One of the comments suggested the character of Chiquita is fictional; in fact, Duchin's widow was indeed Chiquita Wynn Duchin, and in 1947, Peter Duchin left the Harrimans to live with his father and his stepmother.

Rex Thompson plays the young Peter Duchin and though he makes a game try at hiding his British accent, he sounds British. As a young adult, Thompson was a handsome and fine actor - he worked into his twenties, and then faded from view. In real life, Peter Duchin went on to marry Margaret Sullavan's daughter, Brooke Hayward.

It's hard to hold back the tears during "The Eddy Duchin Story," so don't try. Enjoy the romance and be enveloped in a more gentile world where people had some class, and listen to that great music.

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

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.