Steve Allen as Benny Goodman; Donna Reed as Alice Hammond; Berta Gersten as Mama Goodman; Barry Truex as Benny Goodman (at 16); Herbert Anderson as John Hammond Jr.; Robert F. Simon as Papa Dave Goodman; Hy Averback as Willard Alexander; Sammy Davis Sr. as Fletcher Henderson; Dick Winslow as Gil Rodin; Shepard Menken as Harry Goodman; Jack Kruschen as Murph Podolsky; Wilton Graff as John Hammond Sr.; Fred Essler as Prof. Schoepp; David Kasday as Benny Goodman (at 10); John Erman as Harry Goodman (at 16)
Rating
NR (Not Rated)
Cinematography
William H. Daniels
Language
English
Plot
The Benny Goodman Story is a biographical film starring Steve Allen and Donna Reed, directed by Valentine Davies and released by Universal Studios in 1956. The film is based on the life of famed clarinetist Benny Goodman, who recorded most of the clarinet solos used in the film. The film captures several major moments in Goodman's life but it has been described as less than accurate in details. Goodman's Jewish background is never explicitly mentioned, despite it playing a part in his artistic and personal endeavors for decades. In one scene, where his mother tries to talk him out of a romance with Alice Hammond, played by Donna Reed, whom Goodman eventually married, she says, 'Bagels and caviar don't mix.'
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