The Fabulous Dorseys

The true story of the rise of jazz/swing bandleaders Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, The Fabulous Dorseys' appeal rests primarily on its basis in reality (the Dorseys portray themselves, in fact) and the many live performances recreated for the film. As for plot, well, it has none to speak of. The supporting cast is ornamental, and character development consists, for all but the last 15 minutes, of little more than establishing that the brothers don't always see eye to eye. Also, the film commands top honors when it comes to abysmal lip-synching and faux piano-playing. Nevertheless, it's clear that the point is to showcase the Dorsey's music and quell any gossip that may have been going around, at the time, about the tension between the Fabulous Dorseys, and on that level, this musical biography is pleasantly entertaining.

I watched this film this afternoon and I am amazed that Janet Blair didn't become one of the great sex symbols of the era. It was only for this beautiful, sexy woman that made me stay with it, (plus the fabulous music). The script was dreadful, the acting (apart from Ms Blair), was embarrasing and the storyline was desperately dull. So in summary if an actress can make me stick like glue to a bomb of a movie like that, she must be something special. Surely we can at least have a headshot!

The Dorsey Brothers were great musicians, and I admire their work greatly, but they weren't actors. They could carry off reasonable performances in cameo roles in films, like Tommy Dorsey did in the film "a star is born" but other than that, they were not worthy of a main role.

However, I am not here to dump this film; it has some fantastic music in it, including a great jam session with Art Tatum. We are treated to a fabulous amount of Dorsey hits like Tommy Dorsey's soulful rendition of "I'm Getting Sentimental over you" and Jimmy Dorsey's swingey rendition of "Tangerine".

Also, there are some enjoyable cameo appearances (apart from Tatum) that include the famous bandleader Paul Whiteman and the singer Bob Eberle.

The worst thing about this film is a romantic relationship that occurs between the DB band's pianist and the singer. This relationship has virtually nothing to do with the film, and amounts to an unbearable schmaltz.

"The fabulous Dorseys" isn't a bad film but you probably have to be a massive fan of the talented brothers to truly like this film. Enjoy the music! 7/10

The movie tells the story of musician and bandleader brothers Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey (played by themselves), from their upbringing in Pennsylvania coal country to modest musical beginnings in small venues, to eventual radio success. Their fiery temperaments cause them to clash with each other often, eventually leading to a split and them each forming their own orchestras, after which they find even more success. Also starring Janet Blair as a childhood friend, singer, and peacemaker between the brothers, and William Lundigan as a composer and piano player for the band, as well as love interest for Blair.

Tommy the trombone player and Jimmy the saxophone player are excellent musicians but horrible actors. Thus the script focuses more often on the fictional characters played by Blair and Lundigan, neither of whom are much more compelling than the Dorseys. The viewer also begins to notice that not much of dramatic interest happens in the Dorseys lives other than them bickering like brothers do, so the only saving grace is the music, much of it performed by singers and musicians of the day playing themselves in cameos. I'm not familiar with many of them, but the music they perform is fine, and I'm sure will be appreciated by fans of the style.

The condition of the print that was transferred to DVD was just awful. This was no bootleg, either. It's the commercially available disc. That is a pity. Worse is the ham-handed acting and Irish accents think enough to cut with a dull knife. Even Barry Fitzgerald never laid it on that thick.

However... for me, it as all worth it to see Helen O'Connell sing "Green Eyes." Oh yes! So, I hold with many of the others' views: watch this for the music and skip the rest.

It would be a help if the print could be restored to a decent condition and a disc transfer made from that. However, the overall quality of the movie and, sadly, the lack of general interest in good music of the Swing Era, probably doesn't justify the expense.