Sal Mineo Sparkles In The Late 1950's Bio-Pic About The Great Gene Krupa!!
Added 11/10/2009
This film came out in 1959, and the then 20 year old Sal Mineo
gives what I think is one of the defining performances of his
brief and all-too-tragic career!
I have posted several reviews on the work of Sal Mineo...
he was an amazing and highly underappreciated talent in his lifetime
who had a few moments in great films where he really got to show the
world a glimpse of what he was made of!
He was a talent far beyond his years who worked really hard to develop
and inhabit the characters he played in a time when that was unheard of!
In his written and televised biographies, his sister Sarina recants that
Sal Mineo became so deeply immersed in Gene Krupa that he taught himself how
to play drums to almost the same intensity level of Gene Krupa,
who was one of the first virtuoso drum soloists in jazz history!
He hang out a lot with Krupa to absorb his story and to get a feel for
his fiery personality, and the two struck up a lifelong friendship.
All this becomes evident when you see Sal's amazing performance in one of the
few big screen movies where he was featured as the headliner.
He is supported by the beautiful Susan Kohner, who played the troubled
Sara Jane, the self-hating mulatto child in another 1959 classic, "Imitation Of Life".
She plays his principle love interest in this.
Other supporting cast members include James Darren, Susan Oliver and others who
would become big stars later on. I'll allow you to discover them for yourself
when you see this film. (-:
Sal Mineo was on top of the world during this time and recieved great reviews
and accolades from his peers for this role. It's a shame that he only had one other
big role after this one in the 1960 Otto Preminger film, EXODUS, in which he won
a golden globe for that role as "Dov", the nazi-hating jewish radical.
Even though he was nominated for 2 oscars and won a golden globe, Sal Mineo's career
was plunged into a tailspin when the powers that be in Hollywood of that time decided
that he was a has-been at 22. He spent the rest of the 60's into the mid 70's
trying to regain the place in the industry that he had once held,
turning in some very interesting and ahead of their time performances which
made some very uncomfortable ( Who Killed Teddy Bear? and Fortune In Men's Eyes)
during those wild in some ways, but still very much conservative in other ways, times.
Sal Mineo was a masculine, attractive, talented man that was forward-thinking enough to
dare to live openly as a gay man at a time when that was career suicide for an actor!
But he forged on in spite of this, eeking out a living in TV, commercials, off broadway plays
and was at threshold of a triumphant comeback when he was murdered by a random man
in an attempted robbery in February of 1976.
So much talent & promise misused and lost forever!
That's why it's great to go back and see movies like this one,
to ponder what might've been had he been given a chance back then in his youth.
A very good classic film for those who love classic films.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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the gene krupa story dvd
Added 1/23/2009
This was an expensive dvd but I didn't mind too much as it was a gift for my father. However VERY disappointed to be charged another £12.75 customs/handling charge when it was delivered. I think the seller could have warned me about this and I definitely would not have purchased it had I known first (- just under £50 in total for a used dvd !). Also, I don't understand why it needs to takes nearly a month for delivery. DVD seem fine but a disappointing transaction.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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"Reefers!"
Added 10/14/2008
Sal Mineo plays big band drummer Gene Krupa from his early days playing in speakeasies to later fame with Jimmy Dorsey's orchestra, followed by his scandalous arrest on drug charges and subsequent black-listing. Mineo is outstanding as the dynamic drummer, capturing his wild, pounding style, stick-syncing to Krupa's actual playing. Handsome James Darren (Gidget) sings a few songs as Gene's stalwart pal and almost steals the show. Susan Kohner gives a strong performance as Gene's long-time girlfriend and future wife.
This bio pic is melodramatic and predictable and has the look of the fifties instead of the thirties, but it's still quite enjoyable thanks to the good actors and electrifying drum solos.
0 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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Skin Deep-Drummer's Delight!
Added 6/29/2008
Movie could have been a bit more bio, however, Sal Mineo was at his best
in recreating the crazy drum-style of Mr Krupa and when I first saw this
film, I thought that the drumming was done by Sal (very convincing syncro-
nization). I only wish that the studio had use the character actor Harry
Guardino as the older Gene Krupa in the latter part of the movie. How-
ever, the film is a classic.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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I love accompied drums Gene Krupa was the best
Added 6/18/2008
Gene Krupa an artest on solo & accompanied drums He always enjoyed his work, He had a real instink for that kind of sound it seemed almost automatic but you could feel his emotions in his presentation.
Beautiful.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Sal Mineo Sparkles In The Late 1950's Bio-Pic About The Great Gene Krupa!!
Added 11/10/2009
This film came out in 1959, and the then 20 year old Sal Mineo
gives what I think is one of the defining performances of his
brief and all-too-tragic career!
I have posted several reviews on the work of Sal Mineo...
he was an amazing and highly underappreciated talent in his lifetime
who had a few moments in great films where he really got to show the
world a glimpse of what he was made of!
He was a talent far beyond his years who worked really hard to develop
and inhabit the characters he played in a time when that was unheard of!
In his written and televised biographies, his sister Sarina recants that
Sal Mineo became so deeply immersed in Gene Krupa that he taught himself how
to play drums to almost the same intensity level of Gene Krupa,
who was one of the first virtuoso drum soloists in jazz history!
He hang out a lot with Krupa to absorb his story and to get a feel for
his fiery personality, and the two struck up a lifelong friendship.
All this becomes evident when you see Sal's amazing performance in one of the
few big screen movies where he was featured as the headliner.
He is supported by the beautiful Susan Kohner, who played the troubled
Sara Jane, the self-hating mulatto child in another 1959 classic, "Imitation Of Life".
She plays his principle love interest in this.
Other supporting cast members include James Darren, Susan Oliver and others who
would become big stars later on. I'll allow you to discover them for yourself
when you see this film. (-:
Sal Mineo was on top of the world during this time and recieved great reviews
and accolades from his peers for this role. It's a shame that he only had one other
big role after this one in the 1960 Otto Preminger film, EXODUS, in which he won
a golden globe for that role as "Dov", the nazi-hating jewish radical.
Even though he was nominated for 2 oscars and won a golden globe, Sal Mineo's career
was plunged into a tailspin when the powers that be in Hollywood of that time decided
that he was a has-been at 22. He spent the rest of the 60's into the mid 70's
trying to regain the place in the industry that he had once held,
turning in some very interesting and ahead of their time performances which
made some very uncomfortable ( Who Killed Teddy Bear? and Fortune In Men's Eyes)
during those wild in some ways, but still very much conservative in other ways, times.
Sal Mineo was a masculine, attractive, talented man that was forward-thinking enough to
dare to live openly as a gay man at a time when that was career suicide for an actor!
But he forged on in spite of this, eeking out a living in TV, commercials, off broadway plays
and was at threshold of a triumphant comeback when he was murdered by a random man
in an attempted robbery in February of 1976.
So much talent & promise misused and lost forever!
That's why it's great to go back and see movies like this one,
to ponder what might've been had he been given a chance back then in his youth.
A very good classic film for those who love classic films.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
|
the gene krupa story dvd
Added 1/23/2009
This was an expensive dvd but I didn't mind too much as it was a gift for my father. However VERY disappointed to be charged another £12.75 customs/handling charge when it was delivered. I think the seller could have warned me about this and I definitely would not have purchased it had I known first (- just under £50 in total for a used dvd !). Also, I don't understand why it needs to takes nearly a month for delivery. DVD seem fine but a disappointing transaction.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
|
"Reefers!"
Added 10/14/2008
Sal Mineo plays big band drummer Gene Krupa from his early days playing in speakeasies to later fame with Jimmy Dorsey's orchestra, followed by his scandalous arrest on drug charges and subsequent black-listing. Mineo is outstanding as the dynamic drummer, capturing his wild, pounding style, stick-syncing to Krupa's actual playing. Handsome James Darren (Gidget) sings a few songs as Gene's stalwart pal and almost steals the show. Susan Kohner gives a strong performance as Gene's long-time girlfriend and future wife.
This bio pic is melodramatic and predictable and has the look of the fifties instead of the thirties, but it's still quite enjoyable thanks to the good actors and electrifying drum solos.
0 out of 2 people found this helpful.
|
