Eddie Duchin & Orchestra (1933) User Reviews

Eddy On Wheels----NOT

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 25 October 2007]

This Vitagraph short was shot in New York at the late Central Park Casino where Jimmy Walker presided and first Leo Reisman and then Eddy Duchin's Orchestra played for the best of New York society. Too bad the brothers Warner couldn't get his name spelled right in the title.

Eddy's girl singer Sylvia Froos remarked that everyone was on roller skates and indeed the theme of the short was a passing fad for roller skating. Even Eddy as it turned out. But notice later on during the short he's pointedly NOT wearing skates while playing the piano. Kind of hard to work the pedals that way.

You can also tell why Tyrone Power was later cast in the Eddy Duchin Story. The resemblance is pretty noticeable and this film was done when Eddy was a young man. Power could have played him easily had the Eddy Duchin Story been made in 1936 instead of 1956. But as it turned out both of them died too young.

I'm glad Eddy got to make this and a few other films to preserve his artistry not just on record.

Cheap skates, but plenty of ball bearings.

[F Gwynplaine MacIntyre · 7/10 · 9 September 2007]

Here's a pleasant Vitaphone short which has the sense to dispense with any sort of plot, just giving us musical numbers. Vocalist Sylvia Froos is a minor talent: pretty to look at and pleasant of voice, though clearly no star. She warbles a samba called "Tony's Wife", then sings "Lullaby of the Leaves", a weird ballad with its hook in a minor key. Between her numbers, the musicians (Eddie Duchin's orchestra?) perform instrumental versions of a couple of tunes that Warner Brothers already owned: 'The Shadow Waltz' and 'The Gold-Diggers' Song': the latter tune is often mistakenly called 'We're in the Money'.

I was much more impressed by a novelty turn in this short, introduced by Duchin as 'Earl, Jack and Betty'. They're roller skaters ... and they're VERY good. Earl and Jack (don't ask me which is which) perform in white tie and tailcoats, while Betty wears a skimpy sequined outfit which shows off her delightfully athletic physique. I expected their turn to be the usual stuff -- the man whirls the woman in circles, and so forth -- but they pleasantly surprised me with some variations on that theme.

Unfortunately, to justify the presence of roller-skaters in this sophisticated nightclub, we get some nonsense about how ALL the employees in this nightclub wear skates: the waiters, the chef, the lot. (The wheels on the busboy, round and round.) Are those tort lawyers in the alley outside wearing skates too? We even see an insert shot alleging to show Duchin's feet, wearing skates as he works the pedals of his piano. In addition to dozens of roller skates, we get an overhead shot of Duchin's orchestra performing on a revolving platform. (I wish I'd had the ball-bearing franchise for this movie.) At least Sylvia Froos has the sense not to wear skates. We could have done without that gimmick in this otherwise entertaining short. The guy who directed this movie previously played Abraham Lincolin in 'Birth of a Nation'. My rating (for this movie, not for 'Birth of a Nation'): 7 out of 10.

It compares well to the other Vitaphone shorts...

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 24 August 2011]

I just got a hold of a huge mega-set consisting of 11 hours worth of Vitaphone musical shorts! Wow. The first on disk 3 features Eddy Duchin and his orchestra. Compared to the other shorts in the series, it compares very well--with nice music that is still enjoyable today. During the course of the short, three or four songs are performed and the most famous of which was their version of "We're In the Money". There are lots of wild costumes (including spinning umbrella-like props) but what took me by surprise was the final number that featured Earl, Jack, and Betty--the most insanely talented group of roller skaters I've ever seen. You just have to see them to believe their dance number. All in all, a lot of fun and one that I wouldn't mind seeing again.

Not a Classic But Fun Short

[Michael_Elliott · 6 October 2010]

Eddie Duchin & Orchestra (1933)

*** (out of 4)

When people mention Eddy Duchin it's usually in connection with his bio-pic from 1956 that had Tyrone Power playing him. It's strange that his would get a picture of his own but it's also funny because this Vitaphone short actually misspells his name in the credit. As you can tell by the title, Eddie should actually be Eddy but I guess he got the final laugh when MGM put his right name in a film. Sylvia, From Me to You, Shadow Waltz, Lullaby of the Leaves are just a few of the songs that are performed here. Like a lot of these early Vitaphone shorts, there's certainly nothing ground breaking to them and they're certainly far from classics but if you're a fan of older music then you'll probably find yourself enjoying it. Sylvia Froos, again, no major star, has a pleasant voice and I thought she was easy on the eyes so it was fun seeing her. Duchin doesn't get as much screen time as you'd expect from someone in the title but he too was fairly charming and handled his lines quite well. "The Gold Diggers' Song (We're in the Money)" closes things out and was a pretty good version of the very familiar tune.