The Gene Krupa Story (1959)
-
64% of users liked it
(398 ratings)
Sal Mineo, who'd previously registered well as the lead in the TV drama Drummer Man, essays a strikingly similar role in The Gene Krupa Story. The film details Krupa's troubled home life: (he wanted to be a musician; his father wanted him to become a priest), his rise to fame as drummer for… More Sal Mineo, who'd previously registered well as the lead in the TV drama Drummer Man, essays a strikingly similar role in The Gene Krupa Story. The film details Krupa's troubled home life: (he wanted to be a musician; his father wanted him to become a priest), his rise to fame as drummer for the Benny Goodman orchestra, his years on top as a bandleader, and his ongoing problems with drug abuse. A fictional romantic subplot is grafted onto the proceeding involving clearly defined "good" and "bad" girls Ethel Maguire (Susan Kohner) and Dorissa Dinelli (Susan Oliver). Yvonne Craig has an entertaining scene as an anachronistically garbed good-time girl. Craig would later recall that, at the time of shooting The Gene Krupa Story, she weighed more than Sal Mineo, and that in the scene where he's required to lift her off the floor, she virtually had to lift him. Mineo, a drummer of some accomplishment, convincingly wields the sticks during the musical highlights, though the trickier drum solos were dubbed in by Gene Krupa himself. Real-life recording stars Anita O'Day, Red Nichols, Bobby Troup and Shelley Manne make cameo appearances. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Don Weis
- Written By
- Orin Jannings
- Genres
- Drama, Musical & Performing Arts, Classics, Comedy
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Jan 1, 1959 Wide
- Studio
- Columbia Pictures
Critic Reviews
-
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Biopic runs along familiar formulaic lines.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
Featured Audience Ratings
Currently unavailable on Flixster
Also available on
Other Retailers
Not Available
Not Available
Not Available
Subscription Services
Not Available
Not Available
Not Available
Cast
-
Sal Mineo
as Gene Krupa
-
Susan Kohner
as Ethel Maguire
-
James Darren
as Eddie Sirota
-
Susan Oliver
as Dorissa Dinell
-
Yvonne Craig
as Gloria Corregio
-
Lawrence Dobkin
as Speaker Willis
-
Celia Lovsky
as Mother
-
Red Nichols
as Himself
-
Bobby Troup
as Tommy Dorsey
-
Anita O'Day
as Herself
-
Shelly Manne
as Davey Tough
-
Buddy Lester
as Himself
-
Ruby Lane
as Blues Singer
-
Gavin MacLeod
as Ted Krupa
-
John Bleifer
as Father
- Gene Krupa
