Watch The Eddy Duchin Story For Free

It is a performances centric movie

Did you people see the same film I saw?

Absolutely Brilliant!

Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

Copyright 1956 by Columbia Pictures Corp. New York opening at the Radio City Music Hall: 21 June 1956 (ran seven weeks). U.S. release: 28 May 1956. U.K. release: 13 August 1956. Australian release: 14 February 1957. Sydney opening at the State. 11,104 feet. 123 minutes.SYNOPSIS: The time is the late 1920s. Eddy Duchin, a recently graduated pharmacist from Boston, comes to New York to try his hand at becoming a professional musician, and with the help of Marjorie Oelrichs (Kim Novak), a pretty socialite he has met at a party, he secures a job at the celebrated Central Park Casino as pianist with the orchestra of Leo Reisman (Larry Keating). Duchin's distinctive playing wins him rapid fame and his new found stature in society circles makes it convenient for him to romance the girl who got him his first break. Their love affair culminates in marriage, but their bliss is short-lived as Marjorie dies in child birth on Christmas Eve. Heartbroken, Duchin blames his baby son, Peter, for Marjorie's death and refuses to have anything to do with him. NOTES: Harry Stradling was nominated for an Oscar for his Color Cinematography, losing in this category to Lionel Lindon's "Around the World in 80 Days". Also receiving Academy Award nominations: Leo Katcher for his story ("The Brave One"), John Livadary for sound recording ("The King and I"), Morris Stoloff and George Duning for Scoring of a Musical Picture ("The King and I").With a domestic rentals gross of $5.3 million, number 6 at U.S./Canadian ticket windows for 1956. The movie was not nearly so successful in Great Britain, but proved a resounding hit in Australia, coming in at fourth position for 1957, beaten only by "Around the World in 80 Days", "The King and I", and "Anastasia". Hollywood debut of Australian film actress, Jeanette Elphick.COMMENT: Carmen Cavallaro makes a brave attempt to emulate the Duchin distinctive style with moderate success (one mustn't be too hard on the film, otherwise I would probably never have heard of Duchin, let alone play his records with such pleasure), and the acting is all very earnest throughout, but it is Kim Novak that keeps the film alive. Once she goes, it becomes a very boring, very tedious, unbelievably soap opera affair. Lush production values and very capable direction cannot make up for corny, padded dialogue and plot developments that are telegraphed miles ahead. Drastic trimming (young Peter, Shepperd Strudwick and a lot of James Whitmore should go) would help tremendously.

I don't remember Eddy Duchin, but I remember his son, Peter. When I was a kid, their style of pop still retained some popularity.Tyrone Power Jr might have been a pretty face, but he was rarely (if ever) accused of being a poor actor. You'd never know it from this film. When he gets angry or upset, he so overdoes it that you can't believe the director didn't ask him to tone it down.Tyrone Power Sr gave an even worse performance in "The Big Trail". I would like to think Jr was trying to carry on the tradition, to make up for his dad not having completed a second sound film. (He died of a heart attack on the set of "The Miracle Man" in 1931.)"The Eddy Duchin Story" is so emotionally overwrought that it's hard to keep a straight face. As they say, "There's a not a wet eye in the house."

In the late 20's, the talkative newly graduated in pharmacy and aspirant piano player Eddy Duchin (Tyrone Power) comes from Boston to New York expecting to play with the orchestra of Leo Reisman (Larry Keating) at fancy New York's Central Park Casino. However he had misunderstood the invitation of the maestro and while leaving the place, he meets the wealthy socialite Marjorie Oelrichs (Kim Novak) that asks Leo Reisman to give a chance to Eddy. He plays in the intermission and becomes a successful piano showman. Two years later, Marjorie and Eddy get married and in the Christmas, Marjorie has a baby, Peter, but she dies after the delivery. Eddy rejects Peter blaming him for the death of Marjorie and only five years later he meets his son. With the World War II, Eddy Duchin breaks up his band and enlists to fight in the war. With the end of the war, Eddy returns to New York with the intention of getting closer to Peter but he sees the boy connected to his friend Chiquita (Victoria Shaw). When Eddy discovers that he has a terminal disease, he proposes Chiquita and they get married. When we see the biography of a personality by Hollywood, we are never sure that it is a true story or a fairy tale created by the cinema industry. Despite of that, the melodramatic "The Eddy Duchin Story" is a nice story of a man's life surrounded by music, beautiful ladies and tragedies. The forty-two year-old Tyrone Power has good performance and he really seems to be playing the piano, but it is funny to see him in the role of a newly graduated man. Kim Novak shines with her beauty, elegance and her sweet voice. Victoria Shaw is also gorgeous. The cinematography and the music score are awesome and deserved the nomination to the Oscar. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "Melodia Immortal" ("Immortal Melody")

A popular branch of the musical genre during the 1940s and 1950s was the biopic of composers (of both classical pieces and popular tunes), singers or musicians/bandleaders; this belongs to the latter category. I can't say I was familiar with Duchin's history or style and, in any case, despite numerous musical numbers (where star Tyrone Power's piano-playing is obviously dubbed by a professional), the film seems much more concerned with the man's turbulent and tragic life. Ironically, both the star and his subject would suffer an untimely death – for the record, when Power's passing was announced, the film under review was (belatedly) on general release locally! He does O.K. in eliciting both Duchin's wholesomeness (which endeared him to audiences) and his ambivalent feeling towards a son he blamed for the death of beloved first wife Kim Novak. Nudged by manager James Whitmore, however, Duchin's ready to make it up to the boy following his war service in the Pacific; here, he also meets, falls for and marries young war orphan Victoria Shaw (following some initial sparring when Duchin Jr. is seen preferring her company!). Just when it seems that his domestic problems could be surmounted comes a fatal blow: he's diagnosed with a neurological condition which even curtails his career. At the end of the day, THE EDDY DUCHIN STORY is far from a highlight of its subgenre or, for that matter, the filmography of its matinée idol star; nonetheless, it was deemed serviceable enough to garner 4 Oscar nominations (not to mention landing director Sidney a surprising DGA nod).