The Benny Goodman Story

The Benny Goodman Story
Directed by	Valentine Davies
Produced by	Aaron Rosenberg
Written by	Valentine Davies
Starring	Steve Allen Donna Reed Bertha Gersten Herbert Anderson Robert F. Simon Dick Winslow
Music by	Joseph Gershenson Henry Mancini Sol Yaged Alan Harding Harold Brown
Cinematography	William Daniels
Editing by	Russell Schoengarth
Distributed by	Universal Studios
Release date(s)	February 2, 1956
Running time	116 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The Benny Goodman Story is a biographical film starring Steve Allen and Donna Reed, directed by Valentine Davies and released by Universal Studios in 1956. The film is based on the life of famed clarinetist Benny Goodman, who recorded most of the clarinet solos used in the film. The film captures several major moments in Goodman's life but it has been described as less than accurate in details. Goodman's Jewish background is never explicitly mentioned, despite it playing a part in his artistic and personal endeavors for decades. In one scene, where his mother tries to talk him out of a romance with Alice Hammond, played by Donna Reed, whom Goodman eventually married, she says, "Bagels and caviar don't mix."

Guest stars

Lionel Hampton, Martha Tilton, Kid Ory, George Givot, Gene Krupa, Teddy Wilson and many other musicians have cameo appearances in this film. However, while Ziggy Elman appeared on screen recreating his trumpet solo on "And the Angels Sing", he was unable to record his portion for the soundtrack; Manny Klein actually performed it, off-camera.

External links

• The Benny Goodman Story at the Internet Movie Database
• The Benny Goodman Story at AllRovi
• The Benny Goodman Story at AllMovie
• A film clip "Army Digs In for Defense of Arctic, 1956/02/27 (1956)" is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]