The Music Man (1962 film)

The Music Man is a 1962 American musical film starring Robert Preston as the titular character and Shirley Jones as Marian Paroo. The film is based on the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name by Meredith Willson. The film was one of the biggest hits of the year and highly acclaimed critically.

The Music Man
Theatrical release poster by Bill Gold
Directed byMorton DaCosta
Produced byMorton DaCosta
Screenplay byMarion Hargrove
Story by
Based onThe Music Man
by Meredith Willson
Starring
Music byMeredith Willson
CinematographyRobert Burks
Edited byWilliam H. Ziegler
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • June 19, 1962 (1962-06-19)
Running time
151 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$15 million[1]

Plot

The film opens in July 1912, with a traveling salesman being chased onto a train just about to depart. As the train gets underway, the salesmen on the train get into a rhythmic conversation about credit that veers off to discussion of the con man 'Professor' Harold Hill ("Rock Island"). After the train arrives in River City, Iowa, 'Professor' Harold Hill (Robert Preston) reveals himself to the others on the train before getting off, ready to swindle the famously stubborn citizens ("Iowa Stubborn"). Masquerading as a band instructor, Hill plans to con the townspeople into paying him to create a boys' marching band. Once he has collected their payment and the instruments and uniforms have arrived, he will hop the next train out of town, leaving them without their money or a band.

With his associate Marcellus Washburn (Buddy Hackett), Hill incites concern among River City’s parents that their boys are being seduced into sin and vice by the town’s new pool table ("Ya Got Trouble"). He convinces them that a marching band is the only way to keep the boys out of trouble, and begins collecting their money ("76 Trombones"). Anticipating that Marian (Shirley Jones), the town's librarian and piano instructor, will attempt to discredit him, Hill sets out to seduce her into silence. Also in opposition to Hill is the town's Mayor Shinn (Paul Ford), owner of the billiard parlor, who orders the school board to obtain Hill's credentials. When they attempt to do so, Hill avoids their questions by teaching them to sing as a barbershop quartet via "sustained talking". Thereafter, Hill easily tricks them into breaking into song whenever they ask for his credentials ("Sincere", "Pick-a-Little, Talk-a-Little/Goodnight Ladies", and "Lida Rose").

Hill’s attempts to woo Marian, who has an extreme distrust of men, have little effect ("Marian the Librarian") despite his winning the admiration of her mother (Pert Kelton) by singing ("Gary, Indiana") and his attempts to draw out her unhappy younger brother Winthrop (Ronnie Howard). When Marian discovers that Hill's claim to being a graduate of "Gary Conservatory, Gold Medal, Class of '05" is a lie (Gary was founded in 1906), she attempts to expose him but is interrupted by the arrival of the Wells Fargo wagon ("Wells Fargo Wagon"). When Winthrop, after years of moody withdrawal, joins in with the townspeople and speaks effusively with Marian due to the excitement at receiving his cornet, Marian begins to fall in love with Hill and hides the evidence she has uncovered from Mayor Shinn. Hill tells the boys to learn to play via the "Think System", in which they simply have to think of a tune over and over and will know how to play it without ever touching their instruments.

Marian falls further in love with Hill, and in counterpoint with The Buffalo Bills, they sing "Lida Rose/Will I Ever Tell You". Hill's con is nearly complete; all he has to do is collect the rest of the money and disappear. Meeting Marian at the footbridge – the first time she has ever been there with a man – he learns that she knew of his deception but did not tell because she is in love with him ("Till There Was You"). He is about to leave town when Charlie Cowell (Harry Hickox), a disgruntled anvil salesman who was run out of Brighton, Illinois because Hill had conned the townspeople there, comes to River City and exposes Hill. Sought by an angry mob and pressed to leave town by Marcellus and Marian, Hill realizes he is in love with Marian and cannot leave ("Till There Was You (Reprise)").

Hill is captured by the mob and brought before a town meeting to be tarred and feathered. Marian defends Hill, and the townspeople, reminded of how he has brought so many of them together, elect not to have him tarred and feathered. Mayor Shinn reminds the townspeople how much money Hill has taken, with no apparent result. When he demands to know "Where's the band?" Hill is saved by the town's boys, who play Beethoven's Minuet in G. Although their technical expertise leaves much to be desired, the boys' parents are enthralled. As the boys march out of the town hall, they are suddenly "transformed" into a spectacular marching band in resplendent uniforms, playing and marching with perfection, led by Hill ("76 Trombones 2nd Reprise"). Hill is reunited with Marian, and all the other main characters join in during the credits.

Cast

Many members of the original Broadway cast appear in the film, including Robert Preston, Pert Kelton, and The Buffalo Bills.[2][3]

Although Preston scored a great success in the original stage version of the show, he was not the first choice for the film version, mostly because he was not a major box office star. Bing Crosby was offered the part, but turned it down.[4] Jack L. Warner, who was notorious for wanting to film stage musicals with bigger stars than the ones who played the roles onstage, wanted Frank Sinatra for the role of Professor Hill, but Meredith Willson insisted upon Preston.[5][6] Warner also offered the role of Hill to Cary Grant, but Grant declined, saying "nobody could do that role as well as Bob Preston". Grant also reportedly told Warner that he (Grant) would not bother to see the film unless Preston was in it.[7][5][3]

Songs

Warner Bros. Records issued the soundtrack album in both stereophonic and monaural versions.[8]

Source:AllMusic[9]

  1. "Main Title/Rock Island" – Orchestra, The Traveling Salesmen
  2. "Iowa Stubborn" – The Ensemble
  3. "Ya Got Trouble" – Robert Preston, The Ensemble
  4. "Piano Lesson / If You Don't Mind My Saying So" – Shirley Jones, Pert Kelton
  5. "Goodnight, My Someone" – Shirley Jones
  6. "Ya Got Trouble/Seventy-Six Trombones" – Robert Preston, The Ensemble
  7. "Sincere" – Buffalo Bills
  8. "The Sadder But Wiser Girl" – Robert Preston
  9. "Pick-a-Little, Talk-a-Little" – Hermione Gingold, Mary Wickes, Peggy Mondo, Sara Seegar, Adnia Rice
  10. "Marian The Librarian" – Robert Preston
  11. "Being in Love" – Shirley Jones
  12. "Gary, Indiana" – Robert Preston, Pert Kelton
  13. "The Wells Fargo Wagon" – The Ensemble
  14. "Lida Rose/Will I Ever Tell You?" – Shirley Jones, The Buffalo Bills
  15. "Gary, Indiana" (Reprise) – Ronny Howard, Pert Kelton, Shirley Jones
  16. "Shipoopi" – Buddy Hackett, The Ensemble
  17. "Till There Was You" – Shirley Jones
  18. "It's You" – Buffalo Bills (does not appear on soundtrack album)
  19. "Goodnight, My Someone" (Reprise) – Shirley Jones, Robert Preston
  20. "Seventy-Six Trombones" (Reprise & Finale) – The Ensemble

During the recording of the soundtrack musical numbers in late 1961 and early 1962 to which the cast would later lip-sync on the soundstage, some sessions included work on The Chicken Fat Song, a.k.a. President Kennedy's Youth Fitness Song, performed by Robert Preston.

Production

Unusual for a musical film at the time, Morton DaCosta, who had directed the stage version of the musical not only directed the film, but produced it as well, ensuring that the film was faithful to the show. In addition to Preston, the actress Pert Kelton and the Buffalo Bills also reprised their stage roles.[2][3][5]

All of the show's songs were retained in their full versions with three exceptions: "Rock Island" was slightly edited, the middle verse of "My White Knight" was retained but the remainder of the song was replaced with "Being In Love" with new music and lyrics by Willson, and "It's You" was initially heard as incidental music and later sung by the school board in abbreviated form in the fairground scene, prior to Cowell exposing Hill as a fraud to the River City townspeople.[10]

Several phrases were altered for the film, as the writers felt they were too obscurely Midwestern to appeal to a broader audience; the minced oath "Jeely kly!" is Tommy Djilas's catchphrase in the play, while in the film he exclaims, "Great honk!" The word "shipoopi," which has no meaning and was concocted by Willson for the original Broadway show, was left unchanged.

When Amaryllis plays "Goodnight My Someone", she is playing the keys C, G, and E on the piano, but the notes actually heard are B, F#, and D#. Marian sings the song in B major.

Late in the film, when the townspeople are chasing Marcellus and "Prof" Hill, Marcellus frantically calls "Professor" Harold Hill - Greg. He says it 4 times. This implies the con also consists of using a fake name in River City.

Shirley Jones was pregnant while the film was in production. When she and Robert Preston embraced during the footbridge scene, the fetus—who would be born on January 4 and would be named Patrick Cassidy—kicked Preston.[11] The costume designers had to adjust her dresses several times to conceal her pregnancy.

For the final parade scene, Jack L. Warner selected the University of Southern California's marching band, the Spirit of Troy. Many junior high school students from Southern California were also included, forming the majority of the band. It took approximately eight hours of shooting over two days to film the scene. All the musical instruments for the production were specially made for the film by the Olds Instrument Company in Fullerton, California. The instruments were then refurbished and sold by Olds with no indication they were ever used in the film.

Reception
Theatrical release poster

The film received positive reviews and grossed $14,953,846 at the box office,[1] earning $8.1 million in US theatrical rentals.[12] It was the 4th highest-grossing film of 1962.

Bosley Crowther in The New York Times wrote "It's here, and the rich, ripe roundness of it, the lush amalgam of the many elements of successful American show business that Mr. Willson brought together on the stage, has been preserved and appropriately made rounder and richer through the magnitude of film."[13]

The Staff Variety reviewer wrote: "Call this a triumph, perhaps a classic, of corn, smalltown nostalgia and American love of a parade...DaCosta’s use of several of the original Broadway cast players is thoroughly vindicated...But the only choice for the title role, Robert Preston, is the big proof of showmanship in the casting. Warners might have secured bigger screen names but it is impossible to imagine any of them matching Preston’s authority, backed by 883 stage performances."[2]

Leo Charney reviewing for AllMovie wrote that the film "is among the best movie musicals, transforming Meredith Willson's Broadway hit into an energetic slice of Americana. Robert Preston's virtuoso portrayal of con man Harold Hill transfers from the stage (despite the studios' nervousness about casting no-name Preston), and the result is one of the most explosively vital performances in any movie musical."[14]

In 2005, The Music Man was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[15]

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

Academy Awards

The film won one award at the 35th Academy Awards and was nominated for five more.[18][19][20]

Event Date Award Nominee Result
Academy Awards April 8, 1963 Best Musical Score (Adaptation or Treatment) Ray Heindorf[20] | style="background: #99FF99; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="yes table-yes2"|Won
Best Picture Morton DaCosta | style="background: #FDD; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="no table-no2"|Nominated
Best Costume Design (Color) Dorothy Jeakins | style="background: #FDD; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="no table-no2"|Nominated
Best Art Direction (Color) Paul Groesse & George James Hopkins | style="background: #FDD; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="no table-no2"|Nominated
Best Film Editing William H. Ziegler | style="background: #FDD; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="no table-no2"|Nominated
Best Sound Recording George Groves | style="background: #FDD; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="no table-no2"|Nominated

Comic book adaptation
  • Dell Movie Classic: The Music Man (January 1963)[21]
gollark: That is saved to disk or something, right?
gollark: PotatOS has a repeater program with some nicer features and which is not subject to various crash bugs.
gollark: As much as I generally dislike rednet, its repeater thing is somewhat slightly helpful.
gollark: "Good news, [user], you're promoted to moderator!""Great, what do I need to do?""Actually, you can't do anything at all, but you have a role saying "moderator" now."
gollark: Who would want display moderators?

See also

References
  1. Box Office Information for The Music Man. The Numbers. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
  2. "Review: ‘The Music Man’", Variety, December 31, 1961
  3. " The Music Man Credits", TCM, accessed October 24, 2016
  4. Traubner, Richard. "The Music Man," Playbill (1988).
  5. Miller, Frank. " 'The Music Man' (1962)", TCM, accessed October 24, 2016
  6. "Making of" featurette included with the 1998 video release
  7. Nelson, Nancy (2003). Evenings with Cary Grant: Recollections in His Own Words and by Those Who Knew Him Best. Citadel Press. p. 270. ISBN 0-8065-2412-X.
  8. The Music Man listing amazon.com, retrieved March 4, 2010
  9. M" 'The Music Man' Original Soundtrack", AllMusic, accessed October 24, 2016
  10. DaCosta, Morton (Director) (2010-02-02). The Music Man (Blu-Ray) (Motion picture). United States: Warner Home Video. ISBN 1-4198-8842-0.
  11. Ginell, Gary (December 28, 2013). "A Visit With Shirley Jones – Part 4: Filming The Music Man". VC On Stage: Ventura County Theatre News.
  12. Top 20 Films of 1962 by Domestic Revenue
  13. Crowther, Bosley. "Screen: Preston Stars in 'Music Man':Film Version of Stage Comedy Opens Here", New York Times (mrqe.com), August 24, 1962
  14. Charney, Leo. "Review", AllMovie, accessed October 24, 2016
  15. "registry", loc.gov, accessed October 24, 2016
  16. "AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs Nominees" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-08-13.
  17. "AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals Nominees" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-08-13.
  18. "The 35th Academy Awards (1963) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 2011-08-23.
  19. "NY Times: The Music Man". NY Times. Retrieved 2008-12-25.
  20. "Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences". allmovie.com. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
  21. Dell Movie Classic: The Music Man at the Grand Comics Database
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