I must admit I was dumbfounded when I learned that it was not Barry Fitzgerald playing the native Irish father of the Dorsey brothers, rather, some guy named Arthur Shields. Upon further investigation, I discovered that this famous native Irish actor had an extensive resume of Broadway productions, as well as Hollywood films, not to mention his early career in Ireland. He was, in fact, Barry's younger brother. The resemblance is striking! I further learned that both brothers had roles in two well regarded films:'The Quiet Man", and "How Green was my Valley". I guess I assumed they were the same person. Sara Allgood, who played the boys'mother also played one the main characters in the latter film, she also being a native of Ireland. Even Janet Blair, who played their fictitious semi-sister throughout the film, was of Irish descent and also from rural PA, although quite a different neck of the woods.
Unlike most musician biops, the parent-offspring relationship remains an important part of the story throughout the film. On the other hand, the Dorsey brother's own romantic relationships and family life are entirely ignored as irrelevant, and somewhat messy in Tommy's case. Tommy's second wife was a former girlfriend of Jimmy's, and Jimmy shoved Tommy's birthday cake in her face(unfortunately, not reenacted in the film!). Instead, we have an ongoing romantic relationship between blond Janet Blair's character(Jane) and a pianist ( William Lundigan.) Jane serves as the band's female singer. She is obviously much younger than the Dorseys, thus the fiction that she was raised with them looks unbelievable. It takes the whole movie of constant pleading by the pianist before Jane agrees to say "I do", she still being loyal to the Dorseys. A rather similar fictitious romantic duo was created for the film biop of John Phillip Sousa: "Stars and Stripes Forever".
I don't know how much input the Dorseys had in the script, but the importance of their father in preparing them for their careers is one of the main points of the film. Although a wage-earning coal miner in the anthracite belt of eastern PA, his true passion was music. He made his sons learn to play several musical instruments and organized a local band that eventually included them. He wanted them to become something better than coal miners, and he succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. Unfortunately, I have no info on whether actors were even considered to play the brothers. I suspect Tommy couldn't stomach anyone else playing him. As actors, I thought Tommy and Jimmy weren't bad, certainly better than Benny Goodman or Glen Miller.The film was made rather soon after the steep decline in popularity of big bands, with the end of WWII, and shortly before Jimmy was forced to dissolve his band, for lack of demand. It was made about 10 years before the brothers died, both only in their early 50s. Throughout the film, the point is made that the brothers often had disagreements about how their music should be played. Jimmy often wanted to play in a slower, less jazzy style. Thus, it was clear that their partnership was not destined to last forever.Tommy reportedly was the more ambitious and demanding of the two, and his peak years occurred after he split with Jimmy in 1935. However, as a band member, you were likely to feel much more comfortable dealing with Jimmy. Their reconciliation was very gradual during the late '40s, until they finally collaborated on a new band in '53, which was given a weekly TV spot for several years. They are credited with giving a young, radically different singer, named Elvis Presley, his first national TV exposure, in 6 appearances in '56, just shortly before Tommy died suddenly from choking.
A few of the better known past or present members of their bands were briefly featured, including vocalists Bob Eberly and Helen O'Connell from Jimmy's band. Art Tatum is also featured playing the piano in an extended jam session, and Paul Whiteman's band is featured several times...Too bad Sinatra and Jo Stafford, former standout singers for Tommy, could not be included. Although Sinatra credited his experience with the Dorsey band as important in developing his singing technique and performance style, his parting from the band was not agreeable to Tommy, and Sinatra was always bitter about the terms he had to agree to in buying out the remaining years of his contract. Hence, he refused to participate in the TV tribute to Tommy, upon his death. Sinatra always contrasted his amiable parting from the Harry James band with his stormy departure from Tommy's band.
Returning to the film, Janet Blair sings "To Me" twice, once in private to her pianist admirer, and later in public. Occasional comedic incidents are interspersed to balance the spats between the boys and others. For example, in their first radio broadcast, they play way too loud and misinterpret a signal by the frantic sound booth-confined director to mean they should play louder. This is followed by a general melee, while still on the air. Between such melodrama scenes, enjoy some of their musical performances.
Unlike most musician biops, the parent-offspring relationship remains an important part of the story throughout the film. On the other hand, the Dorsey brother's own romantic relationships and family life are entirely ignored as irrelevant, and somewhat messy in Tommy's case. Tommy's second wife was a former girlfriend of Jimmy's, and Jimmy shoved Tommy's birthday cake in her face(unfortunately, not reenacted in the film!). Instead, we have an ongoing romantic relationship between blond Janet Blair's character(Jane) and a pianist ( William Lundigan.) Jane serves as the band's female singer. She is obviously much younger than the Dorseys, thus the fiction that she was raised with them looks unbelievable. It takes the whole movie of constant pleading by the pianist before Jane agrees to say "I do", she still being loyal to the Dorseys. A rather similar fictitious romantic duo was created for the film biop of John Phillip Sousa: "Stars and Stripes Forever".
I don't know how much input the Dorseys had in the script, but the importance of their father in preparing them for their careers is one of the main points of the film. Although a wage-earning coal miner in the anthracite belt of eastern PA, his true passion was music. He made his sons learn to play several musical instruments and organized a local band that eventually included them. He wanted them to become something better than coal miners, and he succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. Unfortunately, I have no info on whether actors were even considered to play the brothers. I suspect Tommy couldn't stomach anyone else playing him. As actors, I thought Tommy and Jimmy weren't bad, certainly better than Benny Goodman or Glen Miller.The film was made rather soon after the steep decline in popularity of big bands, with the end of WWII, and shortly before Jimmy was forced to dissolve his band, for lack of demand. It was made about 10 years before the brothers died, both only in their early 50s. Throughout the film, the point is made that the brothers often had disagreements about how their music should be played. Jimmy often wanted to play in a slower, less jazzy style. Thus, it was clear that their partnership was not destined to last forever.Tommy reportedly was the more ambitious and demanding of the two, and his peak years occurred after he split with Jimmy in 1935. However, as a band member, you were likely to feel much more comfortable dealing with Jimmy. Their reconciliation was very gradual during the late '40s, until they finally collaborated on a new band in '53, which was given a weekly TV spot for several years. They are credited with giving a young, radically different singer, named Elvis Presley, his first national TV exposure, in 6 appearances in '56, just shortly before Tommy died suddenly from choking.
A few of the better known past or present members of their bands were briefly featured, including vocalists Bob Eberly and Helen O'Connell from Jimmy's band. Art Tatum is also featured playing the piano in an extended jam session, and Paul Whiteman's band is featured several times...Too bad Sinatra and Jo Stafford, former standout singers for Tommy, could not be included. Although Sinatra credited his experience with the Dorsey band as important in developing his singing technique and performance style, his parting from the band was not agreeable to Tommy, and Sinatra was always bitter about the terms he had to agree to in buying out the remaining years of his contract. Hence, he refused to participate in the TV tribute to Tommy, upon his death. Sinatra always contrasted his amiable parting from the Harry James band with his stormy departure from Tommy's band.
Returning to the film, Janet Blair sings "To Me" twice, once in private to her pianist admirer, and later in public. Occasional comedic incidents are interspersed to balance the spats between the boys and others. For example, in their first radio broadcast, they play way too loud and misinterpret a signal by the frantic sound booth-confined director to mean they should play louder. This is followed by a general melee, while still on the air. Between such melodrama scenes, enjoy some of their musical performances.