Rating: 
Summary: Nice but inaccurate story, GREAT music
Review: This film actually got me going as a BG fan, 20 years ago on the TV late show. I've been collecting BG recordings, books, and etc. ever since.
As previous reviewers have said, there are many inaccuracies in the story, the acting is a bit lifeless, but the music is great.
I do want to say that with all the inaccuracies, the film does a good job of conveying the feeling of Benny's beginnings and rise to the top. And one should remember that this was Steve Allen's first major acting role, and in that light, he does a commendable job as the frustrated but driven Goodman.
The movie is well worth buying just for watching the musicians perform the music as you hear it. The soundtrack CD gives complete versions of all the songs, but the visual performance adds a lot. It is a must to point out that Benny himself is playing all the clarinet from off camera. Allen does a good job of looking believable as he fakes playing. I understand it was his idea to take several hours of training from actual players, including Benny. Allen was already an accomplished jazz pianist and composer.
Other reviewers have mentioned Ross Firestone's 'Swing, Swing, Swing' as a good biography of BG. I find James Lincoln Collier's 'Benny Goodman And The Swing Era' to be a much more accurate and detailed bio for the serious fan.
Even if you're new to this kind of music, buy the movie, sit back, and enjoy! I can almost guarantee you'll want more of Goodman's music by the end of the film.
Rating: 
Summary: The King Of Swing Deserves Better Than This
Review: "The Benny Goodman Story" is a movie that is comparable to "The Babe Ruth Story"--a watered-down, fictionaliized Hollywood version of the life of an authentic American original. While some of the scenes are factually correct, they are diluted by the silly love story. While a guest on the Merv Griffin Show in the 1970s, Goodman's own reflection on the film was "Every time my wife and I see it, we laugh like Hell!"The movie is not without its merits, however. The real value of the film is to the young aspiring musician who might have only heard of Goodman in passing. It provides a young person to be introduced to the personages of Ben Pollack, Fletcher Henderson, and to get a mere glimpse of what the Original Benny Goodman Orchestra sounded like. Just as valuable is the chance to see Gene Krupa, Teddy Wilson and Lionel Hampton on the screen, and to hear them perform with Goodman himself on the sountrack. Even in 1955, 20 years after the Goodman trio and quartet were in their heyday, their music is as timeless as ever. Hopefully, the experience will be enough to get the aspirant to pursue the real "Benny Goodman Story" via countless good historical CDs and biographies. One last note--whoever designed the DVD cover obviously is not a student of the clarinet, as the picture of Steve Allen is backwards!
Rating: 
Summary: Worth buying just for the music
Review: "The Benny Goodman Story" is a formulaic Hollywood biography of dubious accuracy, with wooden acting and equally wooden dialogue. But who cares? The music is terrific: exhilirating, dynamic, and joyous. Buy it for the music, and enjoy the silliness of the story.
Rating:
Summary: The King Of Swing Deserves Better Than This
Review: "The Benny Goodman Story" is a movie that is comparable to "The Babe Ruth Story"--a watered-down, fictionaliized Hollywood version of the life of an authentic American original. While some of the scenes are factually correct, they are diluted by the silly love story. While a guest on the Merv Griffin Show in the 1970s, Goodman's own reflection on the film was "Every time my wife and I see it, we laugh like Hell!" The movie is not without its merits, however. The real value of the film is to the young aspiring musician who might have only heard of Goodman in passing. It provides a young person to be introduced to the personages of Ben Pollack, Fletcher Henderson, and to get a mere glimpse of what the Original Benny Goodman Orchestra sounded like. Just as valuable is the chance to see Gene Krupa, Teddy Wilson and Lionel Hampton on the screen, and to hear them perform with Goodman himself on the sountrack. Even in 1955, 20 years after the Goodman trio and quartet were in their heyday, their music is as timeless as ever. Hopefully, the experience will be enough to get the aspirant to pursue the real "Benny Goodman Story" via countless good historical CDs and biographies. One last note--whoever designed the DVD cover obviously is not a student of the clarinet, as the picture of Steve Allen is backwards!
Rating: 
Summary: Captivating Movie
Review: Although in general, Jazz is one of my most unfavourite types of music, I was captivated by the story. I couldn't get up once I had started watching it. Donna Reed and Steve Allen really brought the story (partly fictional by the way) of Benny Goodman out and intrigued me enough to want to learn more about his life and the sort of music he played. The musical numbers in the film are among Goodman's best, and really liven the film up. A great film.
Rating:
Summary: The whole family can enjoy it and the music is great.
Review: Even if the movie is not a 100% accurate depiction of Benny Goodman's life and rise in the music world, it's a fun movie with great music. It has all the elements of a classic. You get a good story line, belivable characters, struggle, love story, and great music. There is also a bonus of some all time great musicians making cameo appearances in the music scenes. I have enjoyed watching it several times and will several more times as well. Steve Allen's part as Benny Goodman really made the movie in my opinion. Sure there is typical Hollywood fluff in the movie. Watch it anyway. It's just plain fun.
Rating:
Summary: Good Movie, Bad Acting
Review: If you like jazz and swing, you'll like this movie...the music is great. Steve Allen is one of the most gifted all-around artists of this century (music, writing, humor, etc.), but he cannot act...this could be one of the worst acting jobs in cinematic history (but I still love the guy).
Rating:
Summary: Good Movie, Bad Acting
Review: If you like jazz and swing, you'll like this movie...the music is great. Steve Allen is one of the most gifted all-around artists of this century (music, writing, humor, etc.), but he cannot act...this could be one of the worst acting jobs in cinematic history (but I still love the guy).
Rating:
Summary: Not bad if you ignore the silly elements.
Review: It seems clear that the real BG is not to be found in this movie. The factual distortions are pretty extreme, even by Hollywood biopic standards. For more on the real Benny (gifted; demanding; egocentric; alternately generous and selfish; etc.), the biography "Swing, Swing, Swing" by Ross Firestone is a very good read.
Still, if not taken too seriously (and how can you take seriously a movie in which various characters keep saying "Benny, don't be that way!"?), this movie is pretty entertaining and the music (while a pale imitation of that from his glory years) is worth listening to.
Rating:
Summary: The music is better than the "history" in this bio-pic
Review: The consensus has long been that "The Benny Goodman Story" has problems when it comes to being historically accurate but the music is absolutely great. Steve Allen plays Goodman in such a low-keyed manner it is hard to reconcile this with the jovial host of "The Tonight Show." Donna Reed plays love interest Alice Hammond, who is quicker to fall for Benny than she is for his music. It seems Alice is a society gal, who tags along with her brother John (Herbert Anderson) from time to time when he hits the jazz clubs. But when John invites Benny to play a Mozart clarinet concerto at their home for the society crowd, Alice is convinced Benny is going to be humiliated. Instead, it is Alice who has her eyes opened, especially after meeting the wonderful Dora Goodman (Berta Gersten), who wishes her husband was still alive to hear their son play "good" music. The other wonderful scene is when Goodman's band is going down for the last time and he decides they might as well go out playing HIS kind of music. As the band plays on he is stunned to see the kids are just standing and LISTENING to his music rather than dancing. The rest is history, or at least the Hollywood version of history. Gene Krupa,Lionel Hampton, Teddy Wilson and Sammy Davis Sr. are some of the jazz greats who appear as themselves in this film. Barry Truex plays Goodman at age 16 and actually does a fantastic job of playing Steve Allen at 16, because there is no problem seeing than as the same person a decade apart. The film climaxes with his landmark Carnegie Hall band concert in 1938. Along the way there is the great music: "Let's Dance, "Stompin' At The Savoy," "One O'Clock Jump," "Moonglow," "Sing Sing Sing (With A Swing)" and the proverbial much much more. The obvious double-feature with "The Benny Goodman Story" would be "The Glenn Miller Story," in that order if you want to do the history right.
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