The Eddy Duchin Story (1956)

Director:

George Sidney

Writers:

Samuel A. Taylor (screenplay)
Leo Katcher (story)

Release Date:

21 June 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Music | Romance

Plot:

The life story of the famous pianist and band-leader of the 1930s and 1940s. |

Plot Keywords:

Male Female Relationship | Bandleader | Piano | Pianist | Band

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 2 nominations

Cast

Tyrone Power	...	Eddy Duchin
Kim Novak	...	Marjorie Oelrichs Duchin
Victoria Shaw	...	Chiquita
James Whitmore	...	Lou Sherwood
Rex Thompson	...	Peter Duchin, Age 12
Mickey Maga	...	Peter Duchin, Age 5
Shepperd Strudwick	...	Sherman 'Sherm' Wadsworth
Frieda Inescort	...	Mrs. Edith 'Edie' Wadsworth
Gloria Holden	...	Mrs. Duchin
Larry Keating	...	Leo Reisman
John Mylong	...	Mr. Duchin
Gregory Gaye	...	Philip
Warren Hsieh	...	Native boy
Richard H. Cutting	...	George, Destroyer Captain (as Richard Cutting)
Carlyle Mitchell	...	Marjorie's Doctor

Runtime:

123 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo

Certification:

Australia:G | Iceland:L | USA:Approved (PCA #17752) | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

Central Park Casino, Central Park, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The characters of "Mr. and Mrs. Sherman Wadsworth" are fictionalized versions of the real-life Mr. and Mrs. W. Averall Harriman, Marjorie Duchin's uncle and aunt. Averell Harriman was the heir to his father's, E.H. Harriman, railroad fortune, and devoted most of his life to public service, including stints as US ambassador to the Soviet Union and to the Paris Peace talks during the Vietnam War. At the time "The Eddy Duchin Story" was released (1956), Harriman was in the midst of his term (1955-1959) as Governor of New York, and was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination that year.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: 1950s cars visible in some scenes. The film is set in the 1930s.

Quotes:

Eddy Duchin: What I want to know is why! Why do they have to destroy a man twice? You work and work and just what do you get? Everything, when it gets too good they take it away.
Eddy Duchin: Oh Chiquita, I don't want to die, I don't.

Soundtrack:

Body and Soul

enjoyable tearjerker

This was one of my favorite movies as a kid - not only does it have great musical sequences, but it is a real tearjerker. I read recently that this movie just about ruined the life of Peter Duchin, Eddy's son. I can't imagine what it must be like to be a character in such a popular film that shows up on AMC just before you play your next gig.

George Sidney did a beautiful job of directing, and no expense was spared for this Technicolor movie filmed on location in New York. There are so many great shots of the city -- if you're familiar with New York, watching the movie is all that much more enjoyable. The film appears to follow the structure of Duchin's actual life but how much is fact and how much is fiction is hard to say. What is fact is that Carmen Cavallero does a divine job dubbing the piano, and Tyrone Power's fingerings are excellent. He apparently worked at them night and day, and the result was worth it.

There are some wonderful scenes in the film, one of the best being when Duchin talks about his love for Marjorie to Chiquita, who is about to become his new wife. It's such a beautiful monologue about how you can be young and love someone the way he did Marjorie only once, watch your parents age only once etc. - needless to say, hearing that little speech today means more to me now than it did when I was 14. Another great scene is Eddy and a little boy playing chopsticks on a rickety piano in wartime; and, of course, Eddy talking to his son at the playground toward the end of the film.

Tyrone Power knew Eddy Duchin personally as he knew just about everyone, and his portrayal is masterful. In the beginning, however, he's the young Eddy and it's obvious that he's way too old to be fresh out of college. Power was 41 at the time of the filming, and it wasn't the 41 of 2006 - it was a 1950s, three-pack-a-day, party all night, I fought in World War II 41 - hello. You would have thought that the lighting man and cameramen would have worked just a tad harder - we're talking about Tyrone Power here, not some nobody. A little star treatment, please. Instead, Power ends up looking younger in the second half of the film. Ridiculous.

There are lots of posts about Kim Novak, who is very beautiful though vapid as Marjorie, but not much mention of the beautiful Australian actress, Victoria Shaw, who played Chiquita. Like Power and Duchin, she died young. She does an excellent job in the movie. One of the comments suggested the character of Chiquita is fictional; in fact, Duchin's widow was indeed Chiquita Wynn Duchin, and in 1947, Peter Duchin left the Harrimans to live with his father and his stepmother.

Rex Thompson plays the young Peter Duchin and though he makes a game try at hiding his British accent, he sounds British. As a young adult, Thompson was a handsome and fine actor - he worked into his twenties, and then faded from view. In real life, Peter Duchin went on to marry Margaret Sullavan's daughter, Brooke Hayward.

It's hard to hold back the tears during "The Eddy Duchin Story," so don't try. Enjoy the romance and be enveloped in a more gentile world where people had some class, and listen to that great music.