This long, glossy, flossy biopic chronicles the sad story of the title pianist and bandleader, once a favorite of New York's cafe society. Power seems overeager in the title role, but maybe that's because he's carrying the weight of bovine, manufactured Novak on his shoulders. Still,
she's ethereally lovely, and the film profited from a publicity spread of Novak mooning around New York's streets at dawn.
You could almost make up the plot of this one yourself. Pianist's wife dies in childbirth, pianist tours world, tries to reconcile with son, marries son's nanny (Shaw playing a character named Chiquita!), then finds out he has fatal disease. At least one box of tissues is required. Carmen
Cavallaro fills in the notes for Power, and James Whitmore plays one of those hail-fellow-well-met roles. Featuring almost 30 standards of Duchin's repertoire: "What Is This Thing Called Love?," "Till We Meet Again," "Manhattan," "The Man I Love," etc. leave a comment
