I expected to see a lot of hand double scenes, but the director Sydney does not let Tyrone Power cheat -- in cinema-scope, as Mr. Sydney puts in a Herculean effort to give these piano playing scenes some energy, it's clear Mr. Power must have spent weeks practicing his miming skills. Ty Power is great, as always, but he's too old for the role in the early sequences.
I thought the beginning of the movie was pretty engaging. I like the period, and I enjoyed his romance with Kim Novak as a rich perfect woman. But of course, the minute she starts freaking out about how the wind terrifies her, we know she's a goner. Hollywood just does not give a leading lady such a dark side in this era, unless she's going to die or go insane. The rest of the movie stretches our sympathy for Duchin/Power as he proves a neglectful father and rather embarrassing lover.
The movie is basically a big opus about a guy who used to play piano in hotel clubs. He even knew Xavier Cugat! The music is the height of cultural appropriation and corny schmaltz. The incidental characters, like Novak's aunt/uncle, appear and interact in a way that is far too functional. There's just nothing inspired here.
I thought the beginning of the movie was pretty engaging. I like the period, and I enjoyed his romance with Kim Novak as a rich perfect woman. But of course, the minute she starts freaking out about how the wind terrifies her, we know she's a goner. Hollywood just does not give a leading lady such a dark side in this era, unless she's going to die or go insane. The rest of the movie stretches our sympathy for Duchin/Power as he proves a neglectful father and rather embarrassing lover.
The movie is basically a big opus about a guy who used to play piano in hotel clubs. He even knew Xavier Cugat! The music is the height of cultural appropriation and corny schmaltz. The incidental characters, like Novak's aunt/uncle, appear and interact in a way that is far too functional. There's just nothing inspired here.