{"id":9149,"date":"2014-06-24T02:32:51","date_gmt":"2014-06-24T06:32:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=9149"},"modified":"2014-06-24T02:32:51","modified_gmt":"2014-06-24T06:32:51","slug":"br-eddy-duchin-story-the-1956","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=9149","title":{"rendered":"BR: Eddy Duchin Story, The (1956)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\"EddyDuchinStory_BR\"<\/a>Film<\/strong>: Very Good<\/p>\n

Transfer<\/strong>: \u00a0Excellent<\/p>\n

Extras<\/strong>: Good<\/p>\n

Label:\u00a0<\/strong>Twilight Time<\/p>\n

Region:<\/strong>\u00a0All<\/p>\n

Released:<\/strong>\u00a0 May, 2014<\/p>\n

Genre:<\/strong>\u00a0 Biography \/ Drama \/ Romance<\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/strong>\u00a0Very Hollywood version of Eddy Duchin, a popular pianist who died young from leukemia.<\/p>\n

Special Features:<\/strong>\u00a0 Isolated stereo music and effects track \/ Theatrical Trailer \/ 8-page colour booklet with liner notes by film historian Julie Kirgo \/ Limited to 3000 copies \/ Available exclusively at Screen Archives Entertainment<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

Review:<\/strong><\/p>\n

When pianist Eddy Duchin<\/a> died from leukemia at the terribly young age of 41, he\u2019d built up a striking career as a bandleader and performer, playing soft-styled orchestral jazz versions of contemporary songs and classical pieces for nightclubs, ballrooms, and live radio shows. \u00a0His elegant style featured long, gliding swathes of notes and snappy counterpoint which reportedly influenced Carmen Cavallaro<\/a> (himself hired to perform the music in the film) and later Liberace<\/a> (minus the big coats and gaudy props).<\/p>\n

The big question with this Jerry Wald-produced biopic is how much of the film is fact, since Duchin\u2019s son Peter, himself an accomplished pianist, wrote an autobiography in 1996 (Ghost of a Chance) to clarify true facts versus the highly manipulative events in this glossy production that was a box office success in 1956.<\/p>\n

Screenwriter Samuel Taylor (Sabrina<\/strong>, Vertigo<\/strong>) filtered and shaped events in Duchin\u2019s life to suit the tried & true formula of a classic Hollywood weepie, and director George Sidney (Bye Bye Birdie<\/a><\/strong>) was no stranger to the MGM template of music + melodrama + schmaltz, but in spite of the sometimes crazily (and clich\u00e9d) structure of Duchin\u2019s fast arrival and success in New York City with Leo Reisman\u2019s orchestra at the long-gone Central Park Casino<\/a>, once his romance begins with socialite \/ model Marjorie Oelrichs, the film starts to glide into a plush romantic interlude, and Sidney just milks the beauty of pretty NYC at dawn, daytime, and dusk, letting his pretty actors stroll through beautifully shot locations.<\/p>\n

Known for his gorgeous studio work, cinematographer Harry Stradling (The Picture of Dorian Gray, Auntie Mame<\/a><\/strong>) went for a mix of gloss and realism, with most of the film\u2019s exteriors shot in NYC. Even when the lighting may not be ideal due to cloudy skies, there\u2019s a coziness to the shots of stars Tyrone Power and Kim Novak bonding in rain-soaked, empty sections of Central Park. Alongside the musical numbers, these are the film\u2019s strongest sections, but after Oelrich\u2019s dies from some unnamed issue (it\u2019s presumed it\u2019s from complications from giving birth to son Peter, but never clarified), the film switches to the difficult relationship between Duchin, back from a distinguished tour during WWII, and his son who treats him like a polite guest who happens to live in the same house.<\/p>\n

Duchin\u2019s absence fostered an initial disliking between father & son \u2013 a situation further aggravated by the unsubtle attitude from presumed nanny Chiquita Wynn (British actress Victoria Shaw) \u2013 but through the magic of music (and a common love and skill with the piano), relations between dad and Peter warm up, and Duchin learns to stop blaming his son for the death of Oelrichs. Of course, just as life starts to improve \u2013 a heady career, a renewed relationship with hi son, and Duchin\u2019s preposterous attraction to very British Chiquita \u2013 that\u2019s when Duchin\u2019s barely referenced illness \u2013 leukemia \u2013 starts to take root, first with cramping hands that prevent playing, then indecisive doctor assessments, and finally a proper diagnosis that\u2019s starkly terminal.<\/p>\n

Screenwriter Taylor (and perhaps due to the influence of Sidney and producer Wald) treats death in a very strange way: Oelrich\u2019s illness is never detailed, but there\u2019s a hammy correlation between her fear of wind (it\u2019s an omen, get it?), and Novak plays Oelrich\u2019s wedding night like the couple\u2019s one true moment of bliss. Peter also suffers (quite ludicrously) from a fear of wind (a problem easily solved by shutting the offending gaping windows on stormy nights), and when Duchin has a sit-down in the park with his son about his terminal illness, Power also addresses the audience like a father explaining Why People Just Sometimes Die. It\u2019s well handled by Power, but the filmmakers never provide any clarity for the adults in the film, and cinemas.<\/p>\n

Near the finale, Duchin\u2019s admission to secretly loving Chiquita is forced, if not oblique, and gets silly really fast when Duchin leaves the house embarrassed, and Chiquita follows him into the street, up a raised pathway, and to the edge of the river in spite of having left a full dinner simmering on the stove.<\/em> The waterfront scene is well-staged, but there\u2019s a clumsiness to the acting because Taylor\u2019s dialogue is trying to wrap up the sudden romantic sub-plot + Duchin\u2019s emotional struggle + Chiquita\u2019s desire to stay and look after Peter + Duchin trying to describe what\u2019s ailing him in one speech. (Signs the dialogue was never perfected is evident in Power\u2019s hasty overdubbing that\u2019s supposed to identify Duchin\u2019s illness.<\/p>\n

Director Sidney managed to pull off the ending without much melodrama, and it\u2019s quite clever: father and son reassert their friendship by playing a duet of Duchin\u2019s signature tune, and after a sudden hand cramp and George Duning\u2019s music stab, the performance switches to a solo rendition, just in time for the End Credits.<\/p>\n

Although Wald had primarily produced glossy films at Fox, this rare outing for rival studio Columbia features the same high-caliber assets typical of his Fox productions \u2013 beautiful CinemaScope cinematography, striking locations, an attractive cast, heavy melodrama – plus star former Fox contract star Power (The Mark of Zorro<\/a><\/strong>, Captain from Castile<\/a><\/strong>, The Pony Soldier<\/a><\/strong>), who delivers a highly underrated performance, and transcends the film\u2019s most treacly material. Power\u2019s natural exuberance also pulls off the tough job of convincing audiences he\u2019s can play Duchin as an energetic, go-getting kid straight off the bus to NYC. As the film progresses to the tragic finale, Power modulates his performance, lowering his voice to a smooth, resonant quality typical of a mature adult, and one already experienced with the highs and lows of life from wartime service, personal tragedy, and hungrily working to support his aging parents.<\/p>\n

Sidney also sets up many shots to reinforce Power\u2019s actually playing the piano \u2013 or at least miming the keys \u2013 through sweeping camera movements. A lesser actor may have had trouble with the film\u2019s (melo)dramatic arc, and Power deals with the odd moments of maudlin drama within this otherwise slick and effective biopic.<\/p>\n

Twilight Time\u2019s Blu-ray features a lovely HD transfer that should please fans of fifties NYC \u2013 most of the exteriors seem to have been shot on location \u2013 and Stradling\u2019s lighting is slick yet never stagy, with the ballroon sequence of Power performing \u201cBazil\u201d a major highlight.<\/p>\n

The stereo sound mix is clean and well-balanced, and extras include an isolated music & effects track. (Duning\u2019s score apparently no longer survives as a separate music stem.)<\/p>\n

Julie Kirgo’s essay contextualizes the film with other fifties band leaders and musicians (these biopics are easily identifiable through their inclusion of “Story” in their long titles) who tackled their own respective tragedies, but her words are also a celebration of the high caliber of talent in front and behind the CinemaScope lens which makes The Eddy Duchin Story<\/strong> such a beautiful production; she’s quite right in describing the portrait of New York City as a pre-Woody Allen ode that’s also believable; where characters can stroll through empty parks and streets in clouds of romance, free from unwanted interruptions.<\/p>\n

Kirgo is also spot-on in her assessments of the film’s stars and supporting actors, including ‘starchy’\u00a0\u00a0Victoria Shaw. The Columbia contract star only made a handful of feature films\u00a0 –\u00a0The Crimson Kimono<\/strong>\u00a0(1959),\u00a0Edge of Eternity<\/strong>\u00a0(1959),\u00a0Because They\u2019re Young<\/strong>\u00a0(1960), I Aim at the Stars<\/strong>\u00a0(1960) – before slipping into the occasional TV show and apparently retiring in the late seventies. She\u2019s perhaps best known for playing the medieval queen in Michael Crichton\u2019s\u00a0Westworld<\/strong>\u00a0(1973).<\/p>\n

Tyrone Power would make three more films \u2013 <\/span>Seven Waves Away<\/strong>, <\/span>The Sun Also Rises<\/strong>, and <\/span>Witness for the Prosecution<\/strong> (all 1957) \u2013 before fatally succumbing to a heart attack at the equally young age of 44 during the making of <\/span>Solomon and Sheba<\/strong> (completed and released in 1959 with Yul Brynner taking over the male lead).<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u00a9 2014 Mark R. Hasan<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

External References:<\/strong>
\nEditor’s Blog<\/a> — IMDB \u00a0<\/a>— \u00a0Soundtrack Album<\/a> —\u00a0Composer Filmography<\/a>
\n\u00a0<\/span>
\nVendor Search Links:<\/strong>
\nAmazon.ca<\/a>\"\" \"\" —\u00a0<\/span> Amazon.com<\/a>\"\" \"\" —\u00a0<\/span> Amazon.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When pianist Eddy Duchin died from leukemia at the terribly young age of 41, he\u2019d built up a striking career as a bandleader and performer, playing soft-styled orchestral jazz versions of contemporary songs and classical pieces for nightclubs, ballrooms, and live radio shows…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[18],"tags":[2865,2866,951,2867,2868,1117,1828],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8nuyW-2nz","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9149"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9149"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9149\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9161,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9149\/revisions\/9161"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}