The Gene Krupa Story
He hammered out the savage tempo of the jazz era!
The story of legendary jazz drummer, Gene Krupa. Since his youth, all Gene ever wanted to do is play the drums and make music. This is something his parents would not approve of- they want him to be a priest. When Gene's father dies he promises to enter the priesthood. He soon realizes that he doesn't belong there and leaves to join his friend, Eddie's band. Ethel, Eddie's girlfriend, convinces Gene to go to New York and make it big. The 3 of them head to New York. Here Ethel and Gene soon fall in love and Gene makes a name for himself. Gene starts to live in the fast lane, with drugs, alcohol, women and parties. Ethel, unhappy with Gene's lifestyle, leaves him. Gene soon "hits rock bottom" where he has to face reality and choose where to take his life.
Wokeness: 0%
Overall Score: 80%
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User Submitted Reviews
Michaels
When dreams become more important than reality
This is a true story about a famous jazz drummer named Gene Krupa. This endearing film is quite the opposite of woke.
SPOILERS for the first 35 minutes follow.
Gene falls for a girl named Ethel the moment she says her life goal is to get married and have lots of kids. In the next instant, Marta, a pixie-like green Orion slave girl, tries to seduce him away. As a result, he loses Ethel to his best friend. Gene's mother, the Vulcan high priestess T'Pau, espouses an austere, spiritual, moral life. Against her wishes, Gene goes to New York with his best friend and Ethel to make it big. Ethel dumps that guy to rekindle the romance with Gene, who is immediately seduced by another green Orion slave girl, Vina. Gene continues to mistreat and neglect Ethel, with predictable results.
In case you're confused, I'm saying this movie features three actresses from the original Star Trek: Yvonne Craig, Celia Lovsky, and Susan Oliver! Susan has a huge role starting at the 30 minute mark. She seems like such a cougar here, but she was only 27. Maybe that was cougar-aged in 1959, and the actor who played Gene was just 20, as was the real Gene at that point in his life.
This movie beautifully moralizes in a traditional way. Men "only want one thing", and Gene foolishly threw it away for fame and debauchery. However, the film moralizes too hard against marijuana, even laughable in spots. Still, it's a great film.
Created: 07-03-2024
