Customer Reviews

Benny Goodman Story [VHS]

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The consensus has long been that "The Benny Goodman Story" has problems when it comes to being historically accurate but the music is absolutely great. Steve Allen plays Goodman in such a low-keyed manner it is hard to reconcile this with the jovial host of "The Tonight Show." Donna Reed plays love interest Alice Hammond, who is quicker to fall for Benny than she is for his music. It seems Alice is a society gal, who tags along with her brother John (Herbert Anderson) from time to time when he hits the jazz clubs. But when John invites Benny to play a Mozart clarinet concerto at their home for the society crowd, Alice is convinced Benny is going to be humiliated. Instead, it is Alice who has her eyes opened, especially after meeting the wonderful Dora Goodman (Berta Gersten), who wishes her husband was still alive to hear their son play "good" music. The other wonderful scene is when Goodman's band is going down for the last time and he decides they might as well go out playing HIS kind of music. As the band plays on he is stunned to see the kids are just standing and LISTENING to his music rather than dancing. The rest is history, or at least the Hollywood version of history. Gene Krupa,Lionel Hampton, Teddy Wilson and Sammy Davis Sr. are some of the jazz greats who appear as themselves in this film. Barry Truex plays Goodman at age 16 and actually does a fantastic job of playing Steve Allen at 16, because there is no problem seeing than as the same person a decade apart. The film climaxes with his landmark Carnegie Hall band concert in 1938. Along the way there is the great music: "Let's Dance, "Stompin' At The Savoy," "One O'Clock Jump," "Moonglow," "Sing Sing Sing (With A Swing)" and the proverbial much much more. The obvious double-feature with "The Benny Goodman Story" would be "The Glenn Miller Story," in that order if you want to do the history right.

This film actually got me going as a BG fan, 20 years ago on the TV late show. I've been collecting BG recordings, books, and etc. ever since.

As previous reviewers have said, there are many inaccuracies in the story, the acting is a bit lifeless, but the music is great.

I do want to say that with all the inaccuracies, the film does a good job of conveying the feeling of Benny's beginnings and rise to the top. And one should remember that this was Steve Allen's first major acting role, and in that light, he does a commendable job as the frustrated but driven Goodman.

The movie is well worth buying just for watching the musicians perform the music as you hear it. The soundtrack CD gives complete versions of all the songs, but the visual performance adds a lot. It is a must to point out that Benny himself is playing all the clarinet from off camera. Allen does a good job of looking believable as he fakes playing. I understand it was his idea to take several hours of training from actual players, including Benny. Allen was already an accomplished jazz pianist and composer.

Other reviewers have mentioned Ross Firestone's 'Swing, Swing, Swing' as a good biography of BG. I find James Lincoln Collier's 'Benny Goodman And The Swing Era' to be a much more accurate and detailed bio for the serious fan.

Even if you're new to this kind of music, buy the movie, sit back, and enjoy! I can almost guarantee you'll want more of Goodman's music by the end of the film.

The value of this film lies not in the story but the music. The story is filled with flaws including the Carnegie Hall concert. However, there are some versions of the musical material on the soundtrack that surpasses many of the studio recorded versions available today. "One O'Clock Jump, Stompin' at the Savoy," and "Bugle Call Rag" are three that come to mind. This is where the film shines, in the musical presentation.

As one of the other reviewers stated, if you want to learn about the life of Benny Goodman, get a copy of "Swing, Swing, Swing: The Life and Times of Benny Goodman." Next get a copy of the Carnegie Hall concert and listen. The recording is noisy, but the music is amazing. Furthermore, this event elevated Jazz from popular music to an artform. 1 star for the acting and 5 stars for the music.

VHS or DVD: The Benny Goodman Story. A tearjerker, the life of one of Americas' outstanding musical artists. You can see ALL the original artists, as (then) sidemen/women performing with the Benny Goodman Trio, Quartet, and full Orchestra. Steve Allen portrays Benny pretty darn well. There's even sceans from the 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert. An American Classic! EVERYBODY should be so fortunate to view this 5-star production!
A wonderful way to introduce the youngsters to 'GOOD MUSIC!'
Andrew A! Honolulu, Hawaii

"The Benny Goodman Story" is a movie that is comparable to "The Babe Ruth Story"--a watered-down, fictionaliized Hollywood version of the life of an authentic American original. While some of the scenes are factually correct, they are diluted by the silly love story. While a guest on the Merv Griffin Show in the 1970s, Goodman's own reflection on the film was "Every time my wife and I see it, we laugh like Hell!"

The movie is not without its merits, however. The real value of the film is to the young aspiring musician who might have only heard of Goodman in passing. It provides a young person to be introduced to the personages of Ben Pollack, Fletcher Henderson, and to get a mere glimpse of what the Original Benny Goodman Orchestra sounded like. Just as valuable is the chance to see Gene Krupa, Teddy Wilson and Lionel Hampton on the screen, and to hear them perform with Goodman himself on the sountrack. Even in 1955, 20 years after the Goodman trio and quartet were in their heyday, their music is as timeless as ever. Hopefully, the experience will be enough to get the aspirant to pursue the real "Benny Goodman Story" via countless good historical CDs and biographies.

One last note--whoever designed the DVD cover obviously is not a student of the clarinet, as the picture of Steve Allen is backwards!

I think this is one of the finest stories written about the Big Band era. Steve Allen does an excellent job in portraying the genius of Benny Goodman. He like so many of this era had a different sound he was looking for and found it with much success. I also recommend The Glenn Miller Story with James Stewart.

If you like jazz and swing, you'll like this movie...the music is great. Steve Allen is one of the most gifted all-around artists of this century (music, writing, humor, etc.), but he cannot act...this could be one of the worst acting jobs in cinematic history (but I still love the guy).

Even if the movie is not a 100% accurate depiction of Benny Goodman's life and rise in the music world, it's a fun movie with great music. It has all the elements of a classic. You get a good story line, belivable characters, struggle, love story, and great music. There is also a bonus of some all time great musicians making cameo appearances in the music scenes. I have enjoyed watching it several times and will several more times as well. Steve Allen's part as Benny Goodman really made the movie in my opinion. Sure there is typical Hollywood fluff in the movie. Watch it anyway. It's just plain fun.

The Benny Goodman Story tells the story of Benny Goodman's rise to great fame with his endless touring and a historic concert at Carnegie Hall. Yes, the film is highly fictionalized; but I must agree with many reviewers who comment that the picture is worth seeing for the music alone! The acting is mediocre; Steve Allen plays Benny Goodman in such an understated way that I felt his acting was actually rather flat. He makes Goodman come off as somewhat callous--although I think Goodman wasn't so likable in real life. Donna Reed does a much better job at playing Benny's girlfriend Alice Hammond. The plot moves along at a good pace and the music will hold your attention.

The action starts when we are introduced to a very young, ten year old Benny Goodman played very well by David Kasday. We see Benny getting his first music lessons; and after six years Benny is able to play just about anything. He slowly but surely gets his start but isn't ever comfortable in New York (where Alice lives, just by coincidence) because he and his band had a flop or two early on there.

The movie then progresses to show Benny Goodman form his band; and their eventual climb up the ladder is wonderful to watch. I especially liked the scene at the theater where people stop dancing and just crowd around the stage because they are so much in awe of Benny and his band.

Of course, the famous Benny Goodman concert at Carnegie Hall ends this film in order to show the viewers that Benny was on top--a happy ending made all the happier because we also know that Benny will finally marry his sweetheart Alice Hammond.

There are numerous celebrities in this film; look for Sammy Davis, Sr. to play Fletcher Henderson, who wrote some arrangement for Benny and his band earlier on in their careers; and we also get great performances by Lionel Hampton, Martha Tilton, and Gene Krupa, and Harry James among others. In addition, when Steve Allen plays the clarinet in this film we are actually listening to Benny Goodman himself playing his own clarinet offstage. Great! We hear them play terrific numbers including "Let's Dance, "Stompin' At The Savoy," "One O'Clock Jump," "Moonglow," "Sing Sing Sing (With A Swing)."

The DVD comes without any bonuses or extras; that's a disappointment. Another disappointment is that the costumes are distinctly 1950s looking--and this movie takes place mostly in the 1930s. The cars used are from the right era; but I was quite surprised to see costumes from the `50s.

Overall, this may not be the greatest biopic ever made; but the music, Donna Reed and the celebrity appearances make this more than worth the while. You should see this film if you are a Benny Goodman fan--and people who enjoy swing music will love this!

Although in general, Jazz is one of my most unfavourite types of music, I was captivated by the story. I couldn't get up once I had started watching it. Donna Reed and Steve Allen really brought the story (partly fictional by the way) of Benny Goodman out and intrigued me enough to want to learn more about his life and the sort of music he played. The musical numbers in the film are among Goodman's best, and really liven the film up. A great film.