The Benny Goodman Story

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.

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!

Benny Goodman was known as the King of Swing, and his songs "Sing, Sing, Sing," "One O'clock Jump," "Stompin' at the Savoy," "Moonglow," "Goody Goody," and my favorite "And the Angels Sing" (performed in this film by Martha Tilton) helped define an era. He was still going strong when this movie was made and continued to play his clarinet until his death in 1986 at the age of 77. Portrayed as an adult by television pioneer Steve Allen, Goodman's band musicians perform in this film: Gene Krupa, Teddy Wilson, Ben Pollack, Edward "Kid" Ory, and Lionel Hampton. The film makes clear that Goodman was instrumental in breaking the racial barrier in American music. Gorgeous Donna Reed costars (and blessedly doesn't sing), and Sammy Davis Sr. plays Fletcher Henderson. And you'll love the scene where Goodman shows the music snobs that he can play Mozart's "Clarinet Concerto" with the best of them. ---from Musicals on the Silver Screen, American Library Association, 2013

I enjoyed the music in this film immensely but the thing that drove me absolutely crazy was the costumes. This film is supposed to take place from 1910 - 1938 yet Donna Reed is in full 1950's dress including her hair and makeup. It actually screws up your whole perception of when the story takes place. Would it have killed them to dress her and the other women in period dress? There is one sad attempt at a 20's outfit where Donna is at a speakeasy and has on a cloche hat with her bangs in spit curls but of course her dress is a total 50's Dior 'New Look' with a cinched waist and huge skirt. It's also sad that original Benny Goodman vocalist, Martha Tilton, is only on film for like 1 minute singing one short refrain.

Growing up in the 40's in Brooklyn, I heard the music of BG, Miller, Dorsey, Shaw, etc. on the family radio(Martin Block's "Make Believe Ballroom"). I became a big fan of Benny's in 1950, with the release of the Columbia LP of the Carnegie Hall concert and the 1937-1938 radio broadcast albums.The music on these live performance albums was outstanding and spontaneous as opposed to the sterile studio recordings locked into a 3 minute format for 78 rpm records. These albums resulted in a resurgence of Benny's popularity and, ultimately lead to the movie.

Steve Allen, while not a great choice, was probably the best at that time, since he was a popular TV personality and was a music lover and musician in his own right. As for Donna Reed, well what can anyone say except that she was as beautiful as ever and the consummate pro as the female lead. A fairly fast paced film with loads of musical guest stars and some pretty good tunes made famous by and played by BG for the soundtrack.

Benny was not an exciting or controversial guy, so how do you generate enough interest to draw people to the movie,as is the case today. In 1955, good music did the trick. About the only controversy about Benny was his reputation of staring down any band member who diverted from the the arrangement. One former musician described in an interview how "the old man gave me the evil stare for the whole number after hitting a wrong note early on".

Too bad they could not synchronize the actual concert music with the movie. In particular, the quartet version of "Stompin At The Savoy" in which Gene Krupa's cymbal flew off the stand and was hit by Lionel Hampton on the way by without missing a beat, or the concert rendition of "Sing,Sing,Sing", probably the best ever recorded.

If you like this film go out and buy the newly released CD of the Carnegie Hall concert complete with 2 numbers previously excluded from other releases with intros by BG and no interruptions between numbers allowing you to hear the sounds of the band setting up for the next number, etc. Just like being there.