Review of "The Fabulous Dorseys" DVD

This is the story of the Big Band era favorites, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey. The brothers Tommy and Jimmy were born in the coal-mining town of Shennandoah, PA. Their father taught them music and encouraged them to become professional musicians as a means to give them a better life and not have to work at the mines. Their father was able to get them their first break having them perform in a dance hall orchestra that their father was the leader of when they were still young. They went on to play in many different orchestras, most notably with the Paul Whiteman orchestra. In 1933 they formed their own orchestra and enjoyed a great deal of success until 1935 when the two brothers had a rift that spilt them apart. Both went on to lead their own orchestras and enjoyed a great deal of success through the rest of the 30's and 40's during the Big Band era. In 1947, they reunited briefly to star in the movie about their lives, but they did not formally settle their differences until 1953 when they joined the orchestras together again. From 1954 to 1955, they enjoyed some success co-hosting the television show "Stage Show". Incidentally, "Stage Show" was the first time that Elvis Presley appeared on television. He sang "Heartbreak Hotel". Tommy Dorsey died in 1956. Jimmy ran the orchestra until his death in 1957.

I am not sure how accurate this movie is compared to their lives. My guess is that it is a Hollywood adaptation at best. If you are to watch this movie, you are not going to do it to see any great acting or any great plots. What this movie offers is a glimpse into the music and some of the people who influenced the musical era of that time period. It also gives us a glimpse as to how musicians interacted with each other. Indeed it was not uncommon for musicians to finish a gig and then go to a club where another musician was playing and just join that musician on stage.

This movie featured the Dorsey brothers playing themselves in the movie. It also featured other musicians and leaders of that day, including Paul Whiteman (conductor), Art Tatum (Pianist), Bob Eberly (Pianist), Helen O'Connell (Singer)and several more. The DVD also has a bonus feature with an episode of "Stage Show".

If you are interested in music and musicians of that era, then I would recommend this film to help give you a glimse of that era. I would also recommend "The Glenn Miller Story" starring Jimmy Stewart (1953) and "The Benny Goodman Story" starring Steve Allen (1955). While these are all fictional accounts, they do give you a good glimpse into the lives of the musicians and the music that they played.