It's only been recently, as I've seen some of the later movies by Tyrone Power, that I've come to realize just what a wonderful actor he was. It's easy to think of Power in his glory years when he often played swashbuckling roles, but in his later films before his untimely death, he was maturing very nicely on screen, often with a greater depth to his portrayals.It's sometimes a fine line between a legitimate tear-jerker and a film that turns maudlin. Not this time. George Sidney (director) never crossed that line. But, it's not really even a legitimate tear-jerker, because the story is basically true. But it's done very well.Tyrone Power, as Eddie Duchin, is excellent here. One of his better roles (and there were many). Kim Novak was interesting -- not quite as sultry as she became in films such as could sometimes be, and I much prefer her here than in some of her roles. Victoria Shaw as Duchin's second wife...well, the jury is still out...I don't recognize her from other films. James Whitmore is sort of cheated here...not a very impressive part, and not a lot to do with it. Rex Thompson as Duchin's son later in the film is quite good, too.Highly recommended.

Biographical melodrama traces bandleader Eddy Duchin's life from his meager beginnings as a struggling pianist to the years when he became a highly successful radio and nightclub personality. Director George Sidney underlines all of Duchin's ups and downs with the usual lumbering heaviness. The picture is soapy Hollywood schmaltz which fails to escape superficiality (and a few howlers in the screenplay). There are some strong dramatic scenes near the end, and Tyrone Power fares well in the lead (his piano-playing was dubbed by Carmen Cavallaro). Supporting players Kim Novak and Victoria Shaw aren't so lucky. Lots of studio gloss and color, but film is mostly painted cardboard. ** from ****

TYRONE POWER does a remarkably convincing job at the keyboard and the camera seems to linger on his dexterity at the piano (on a dummy keyboard, of course) while the magic of Carmen Cavallaro takes over on the soundtrack. He's excellent as the brash and overly eager young piano player who eventually makes bigtime as a popular pianist, marries and loses his sweetheart, KIM NOVAK, with whom he has a young son who at first resents him after Power's desertion, then reunites before Duchin's untimely death from leukemia. That's the plot, in a nutshell, but it's the sparkling music that counts.The richly textured Technicolor photography of Manhattan and its settings evoke the time and period perfectly. I found KIM NOVAK's performance artificial and disturbingly unreal--as though she were affecting a series of poses--while Power is completely natural and appealing opposite her. Novak's performance here is a far cry from her work as Madge in PICNIC. The mood of the film becomes somber after her death and Power's decision to leave the country on tour, leaving his baby son behind. The conflict between Duchin and his son is what has to be resolved before the story ends.The handsome production values are all enhanced by the constant use of Duchin's music, either in the background or with him at the keyboard and these qualities make it one of the most enjoyable musical biographies I've seen in a long time.The film won four Oscar nominations and Power deserved to be included, but was not.

Eddy Duchin was thought by some music critics and musicians to be more a showman than a talented performer. Some criticized his playing for the number of errors that might appear, but which did not matter to the audience because of the flair and enthusiasm in his playing style. Certainly Carmen Cavallero, who provided the music delivered by Tyrone Power in the title role, possessed far greater virtuosity. And although this movie contains some of the very fictionalized aspects of the biographical musicals of the 40's and 50's, it does contain more fact than most. Eddy Duchin did serve as a naval officer, with distinction, in combat in WW II. In contrast to the dramatic, tearjerker ending, he fought for an extended time against his life-ending leukemia. (However, I can't imagine anyone who couldn't be moved to tears by the movie's end, which is a prime example of a contrivance which augments rather then detracts from the story.) Kim Novak and Victoria Shaw are marvelous as his two loves, and the supporting cast excellent. Tyrone Power, who was tragically to die in his prime not many years after this film, will always be one of Hollywood's icons. (This was an eerie parallel to the character he had portrayed here. Like Duchin, whom he had portrayed not long prior, he died a handsome, matinée idol, many years prematurely, at the height of his career - and even more suddenly.) The film also presents an interesting depiction of New York from the 1920's through WW II - perhaps more realistically than it would be today, since the film was made so much closer to these times. And the music is as memorable and enjoyable as one would want or expect.