SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

ChicDragon It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

Derry Herrera Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

Winifred The movie is made so realistic it has a lot of that WoW feeling at the right moments and never tooo over the top. the suspense is done so well and the emotion is felt. Very well put together with the music and all.

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!

jjgregory Viewed from the point of view of a jazz fan interested in the history of swing, this movie is a treasure. There are moments all through when some of the true greats in jazz can be at least glimpsed, and some have ongoing parts: Buck Clayton, on trumpet, Teddy Wilson on piano, Gene Krupa, on drums, Lionel Hampton on vibes, Stan Getz on tenor saxophone (he was the farthest to the right on the front row--almost always cut out of the pan-and-scan print shown on TCM, but he has a great solo and closeup in one of the numbers, in the Palomar ballroom section). There are other stars who appear for one scene, but it's fun to see them, even briefly. Ziggy Elman plays his trumpet solo on "And the Angels Sing" glibly verbatim from the famous recording, but rushes, unfortunately. The plot is quite predictable, and there's no clinch at the end, just shining eyes. A must-buy for the jazz sentimentalist--but get the wide-screen version.

funkyfry This project by Valentine Davies (who also wrote but did not direct the more famous but IMHO inferior "Glenn Miller Story") rises somewhat above the usual level of musical biographies largely due to the fact that it puts most of the emphasis on music (as opposed to the standard romantic melodrama, which is present but less important than usual) and contains many original musicians from the "big band" period who along with Goodman revolutionized jazz music.Steve Allen plays Goodman, and IMHO he did a superior job to most actors who try to play an instrumental musician. He truly seemed to have respect and love for the instrument. Barry Truex actually also did a very good job in the scenes as the teenaged Goodman. Donna Reed puts in a competent but unexceptional performance as his blue blooded love interest. Although the word "jew" is never mentioned in this film, the central component of the melodrama seems to be that Benny's mother disapproves of his marrying a high born gentile woman. I thought the early parts were interesting, in the sense that Goodman had to basically convince Alice (Reed) that swing music was musically respectable.Other characters weave themselves in and out of the thread of Goodman's life with reasonable proximity to truthfulness. Some of these represent the names of some of his greatest collaborators -- appearing in most cases with rather unconvincing wigs and/or dye jobs. These include Harry James, Gene Krupa, Lionel Hampton, Teddy Wilson, Ben Pollack, Ziggy Elman, and Martha Tilton. At one point we're even treated to a partial recreation of the famed Carnegie Hall concert, which represents both the musical and dramatic finale of the film. But my favorite scene was when the guys in Goodman's band met Lionel Hampton -- working in a cafe as the waiter, cook, and entertainment. Benny can't resist the urge to get his instrument out and jam with him; the film's honest depiction of "jam sessions" featuring artists like Hampton and Wilson is one of its brightest points.A solid musical bio-pic with just the right amount of story and plenty of solid music.

Elgroovio This film is considered by many as being a pretty mediocre film, but I think this film is truly great. Maybe it's just a jazz-lover's point of view; Benny Goodman is my favourite artist, and is the man who inspired me to take up the clarinet. Steve Allen comes across as a likable Goodman, and manages to look the part. Donna Reed also does her job pretty well but the people in the film who will really catch your attention are the jazz musicians that are in the film, playing themselves. These musicians include: the very enthusiastic drummer Gene Krupa, the trombone player Edward "Kid" Ory, the vibraphone player Lionel Hampton and the famous band leader and drummer of the '20s Ben Pollack. Whether you like the film or not, you have got to like the music which includes such Goodman classics as "Don't be that way", "Sing, Sing, Sing", "Let's Dance" and "One o'clock jump". All in all, a highly enjoyable film which, as far as I am concerned, is better than the much acclaimed film "The Glenn Miller Story" starring James Stewart in the part of Miller. "The Benny Goodman Story" is a must-see for all jazz fanatics and all clarinet players. The film also features a very impressive rendition of Mozart's clarinet concerto (Goodman also gave classical music a try, as you can see, to great effect). I'd say that it is decidedly worth seeing. Enjoy!