StunnaKrypto Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

Softwing Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

Joanna Mccarty Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

Mischa Redfern I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

writers_reign Around 1980 things were humming on the Academic-Pseud circuit as one by one people who described themselves as film critics or teachers of film studies on their passports lined up in a contest for the biggest orgasm because Robert de Niro put on 60 lbs in order to play the role of Jake La Motta, a real person. These people equated the acquisition of 60 lbs with acting which is why they should be made to watch The Eddy Duchin Story. Here's why: In 1956, without the aid of make up or camera tricks 42 year old Tyrone Power played a real person, Eddy Duchin, less than half his age - Duchin was approximately 20 at the start of the film. Let me say right away that Power looked nothing like 20, not even 30, BUT he made you BELIEVE he was a 20 year old; it's called ACTING and de Niro should try it sometime. Power, a man in middle age, with life experience behind him, BECAME a green, naive, 20 year old with boundless energy and youthful enthusiasm to spare, The film itself is shamelessly sentimental - Duchin rose to be a celebrity, married a beautiful socialite who died two years into the marriage, came back from that only to die himself of leukemia in his early forties - but nevertheless highly watchable. My own taste in pianists is much closer to Erroll Garner, or Oscar Peterson than Duchin, who is best described as a 'society' musician and ironically Carmen Cavalero, who actually plays for Power, employs his own florid style which is nothing like the real Duchin, yet I still enjoyed the film due largely to Power's inhabiting the character and even the usually wooden Kim Novak turns in a half-decent performance as Marjorie Oelrichs, Duchin's tragic first wife. There is, in fact, lots to admire here, not least the soundtrack, a nice blend of standards and Chopin, and the lush photography that captures a lost Central Park. On balance a wonderfully evocative movie.

Applause Meter This is a story of a man, his music and the era when he achieved his greatest success. What we get is a lackluster movie, purportedly, the biography of pianist and bandleader Eddie Duchin whose heyday was the 1930s. Duchin was primarily a "society" favorite—his piano style and manner appealing to the upper crust patrons who were habitués of the swank venues in which he performed. Yet, the most glaring deficiency of this film is its failure to re-create the cultural energy and social vibrancy of 1930s New York City. No attempt has been made to credibly resurrect or even provide the viewer with a reasonable facsimile of the world that was Eddy Duchin's milieu. In essence, the art production is totally inept, the costumes, make-up and hair styling barely referencing the time period. Kim Novak is particularly inauthentic in both appearance and character portrayal. She couldn't get me to buy into the belief that she was the celebrity debutante and heiress, Marjorie Oelrichs. Novak's short, blonde, severe helmet hairdo is completely identifiable as her familiar 1950s screen look, seen over time in numerous films in which she appeared. Tyrone Power, as Eddy Duchin, looks weary, and he and Novak as a pair of young, madcap lovers, just don't mesh.The musical performances may be the only entertaining element in this movie, yet they can barely sustain interest in the storyline. Here we have, yet again, a film representing what movie makers were putting out in an attempt to lure the public away from their TV screens: pure 1950s Hollywood schlock.

mikasparky There's no way, even suspending reality to the Nth degree, that Tyrone Power is in any way, shape or form "believable" as a fresh faced graduate of the Massachusetts School of Pharmacy. The deep, unforgiving wrinkles around his eyes make him look more like the DEAN of the school! I know that Hollywood had a bad habit (still does) of casting people up to the age of forty as teens and young adults, but Tyrone doesn't look at all "young" in this role--he was just too doggone old.And like every picture made in the era, there's no accuracy when it comes to make-up or hairstyles, either. It's a shame, too, because the costumes aren't horrible, and good hair and make-up would have helped immeasurably. Kim Novak looks like she dropped in from the Technicolor fifties! Still and all, for a schlocky, sentimental, typical-of-the-era film, it's not awful--it'll pass the time if you're in an escapist mood.

Lolly2222 If you like to watch actors who are skilled, have on screen chemistry to die for (and they do) and enjoy cinematography that might make you want to take a stroll in Central Park, then rent, buy, borrow this CD and sit back and watch it over and over and over again. This is a well adapted screen play that moves through a life, tells the story well and makes this love story very believable and of course tragic. Watch the life of an extraordinary talent and sit back and enjoy. Tyrone Power never disappoints and if you can capture his voice and keep it in a bottle, you would And Kim Novak is stunning, sweeping and is well cast. As Marjorie Oelrich she couldn't be more perfect. Also, besides being an exceptional beauty, she, too, has a lovely voice. In a very understated way, you want her to go on and on and on. James Whitmore always delivers. All cast members are charming. You'll love the actor who plays Lou Reisman, the orchestra leader at the Central Park Casino. Enjoy folks. This one is a keeper. OHHHHHHHHHHH, you'll be amazed at how well Tyrone Power plays the piano, or seemingly appears to be playing. The music!!!! Oh, the music.Now to the truth. There are many changes to the real story of Eddy Duchin. Peter Duchin was raised by Marie (he called Ma) and Averell Harriman. Peter's mother, Marjorie Oelrichs, died in July. Not as depicted in the film after Eddy Duchin's radio show from the Central Park Casino in the Winter, Christmas. The Harriman's are portrayed as the Wadsworth's. Why? I don't know why but if you read Peter Duchin's book "A Ghost of a Chance", you will get more of the inside scoop. Still a wonderful film. I don't believe the young actor Rex Thompson was even close to Peter Duchin's persona. But that's my story.