A Headbanger's Take on THE BENNY GOODMAN STORY

THE BENNY GOODMAN STORY (Blu-ray)

1956 / 117 min

Universal

Available HERE

Review by Mr. Paws😺

As a lifelong, card-carrying metalhead, it seems odd that I’ve recently become so enamored with swing music. I especially love the stuff from the 1930s & 40s, when the genre was at the height of its popularity and bandleaders like Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw and Glenn Miller were the rock stars of their day.

Goodman is a personal favorite. As a musician, he was to the clarinet what Jimmy Page is to the guitar…an uncompromising, innovative player who displayed jaw-dropping virtuosity and a keen ear for melody. None of the other guys in the Benny Goodman Orchestra were slouches either. And the more I listen to him, the more similarities I hear between his brand of “hot” music (as Goodman calls it) and metal epics by the likes of Iron Maiden, at least in terms of musical complexity. On the other hand, you can’t really dance to “Run to the Hills” (not sober, anyway).

If nothing else, The Benny Goodman Story is chock full of fantastic music, largely performed by Goodman and his band, some of whom play themselves in the film as well. However, Goodman himself is portrayed by Steve Allen, who convincingly apes the man’s clarinet skills, so when focusing on the music, the film is wonderful, both visually and sonically.

Benny's first groupie.

The rest is a fluffy guided tour of Goodman’s rise to stardom, facing little in the way of personal or professional conflict, as well as a growing romance with his manager’s sister, Alice (Donna Reed). The latter is superfluous but charming, and enables the film to conclude on a sweet note. Along the way, Goodman is depicted as congenial, earnest and dedicated to the music he loves (which, at the time, was regarded with contempt by musical snobs…kinda like rock & roll a few years later). 

In reality, Goodman was not easy to work with, nor always a pleasant guy to be around, meaning The Benny Goodman Story is probably not a very accurate portrayal of its subject. But who cares? The film is not-so-much a pure biography as a tribute to an incredible artist and the genre he helped popularize. Besides, Goodman was still alive and performed on the soundtrack, so of course this was never gonna be a warts-and-all bio. And to be honest, with all those toe-tapping musical performances, capped by a rousing rendition of “Sing, Sing, Sing” at Carnegie Hall, the film would be far less enjoyable if it was. Rock on, Benny!