The Fabulous Dorseys (Blu-Ray Review)
**The Film Detective’s Special Edition for “The Fabulous Dorseys” comes out on Tuesday, December 14, 2021. This is a review of not just the film, but the Blu-Ray Special Edition.**
Musical biopics are one of the most durable genres in movie history. The idea of being able to see the lives of musicians we’ve heard over the years, and maybe get a glimpse into them as an individual- however tumultuous- is something that audiences always seem to be up for. Not all of them are successful, and it’s frustrating when we feel like people have too much control over how their life is presented, and we sense like some scrubbing of some of the most embarrassing parts of their lives has occurred. I wonder how audiences at the time felt when they saw said musicians playing themselves in their own biopic. Did they care? Or were they just happy that they were going to be able to see these people perform?
“The Fabulous Dorseys” is not necessarily a very good movie. It’s fine for what it is, but it’s a fictionalized account of the lives of big band leaders Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey. That doesn’t mean none of this is based on real life- a lot of major parts are based in reality- but there are also some Hollywood tropes that play as conventional, and were only added to serve the story. One trope that wasn’t added, however, is the idea of a love triangle between Jimmy and Tommy and their lead singer, Jane Howard, a composite character played by Janet Blair here. Part of that is no doubt because of the fact that the Dorseys had wives in real life, and them playing themselves it would have been disrespectful. But it also allows the thing to separate the Dorseys to be the same on-screen as it was in real life- creative differences. As a musician, that’s enough to cause tension, and it’s nice to see that was kept the same for the movie.
The story is told through the perspective of a diary of sorts by the Dorseys’s mother (played by Sara Allgood), and it starts with the brothers as children in rural Pennsylvania. Their father (Arthur Shields), a mine worker, wants them to take up music, and he is also teaching people around town. The brothers are rambunctious from an early age, and that sibling rivalry will remain while they grow into adults. The early scenes felt like a lighter version of the moments between David Helfgott and his father in “Shine”- Mr. Dorsey is not remotely the taskmaster that father is, but he wants musical success for some of the same reasons- he wants a better life for his sons than he has. We then see them grown up, on the road, and that is the crux of the narrative, with a love story between Jane and a pianist (William Lundigan) thrown in.
Adapted by Art Arthur, Curtis Kenyon and Richard English from an article by English, “The Fabulous Dorseys” is a fairly standard biopic. The Dorseys playing themselves as adults adds nothing of substance to their performances except for authenticity to their musical performances. The love story is pure filler. There are very good moments like when the Dorseys are playing with jazz pianist Art Tatum at the club, a fun sequence where they are breaking in live radio, and the parents are a pleasure to watch, but on the whole, there’s very little about Alfred E. Green’s film of merit beyond being an interesting curiosity for people interested in big band music, the Dorseys, and the history of the musical biopic.
Blu-Ray Presentation
While “The Fabulous Dorseys” is not a particularly good movie, The Film Detective’s Special Edition for the film is very good, and maybe even better than the film deserves. The new 4K print was compiled from several archival prints, and it is a strong presentation, with image that probably looks better than this movie has since 1947. Because of the music-heavy nature of the film, a great soundtrack is important, and this one is restored beautifully; in fact, I would argue being able to listen to this music in a crisp, energetic sound mix is the highlight of the film- there are some strong musical performances that deserve to be highlighted.
The bonus features for Film Detective discs are fairly predictable in what one can expect, but the quality of them is always there, and that’s all that matters. The first one you’re presented with is a color booklet with an essay entitled The Dorseys in Film, about Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey’s history in movies written by Don Stradley. On the disc, we get a commentary track by Jennifer Churchill that has a few dead spots (some by design to highlight musical performances), but is primarily good to listen to if you’re interested in fact vs. fiction in the film, discussions about big band life in the ’30s and ’40s, and more on the Dorseys. Rounding out the extras is “The Fabulous Forties: Big Bands on Screen,” a visual essay on the history of big bands in the movies that is informative about film history.
“The Fabulous Dorseys” is, fundamentally, a niche movie, for people interested in watching musical performances on film, for fans of big band music, and people looking to dive into musical biopics as a genre. It’s not a particularly memorable entry in the latter category, but it’s hardly the most embarrassing one.
Film Grade: B-
Audio & Video: A
Bonus Features: A-
