The Glenn Miller Story

Universal, 1954
Starring James Stewart, June Allyson, Harry Morgan, and Charles Drake
Directed by Anthony Mann
Music by Glenn Miller, Henry Mancini, and others

This look at the life of one of the most popular big band orchestra leaders of the late 30's and early 40's was a huge hit for Universal and the first non-western Stewart and director Anthony Mann did together. Is this movie as dreamy as Miller's signature composition "Moonlight Serenade?" Let's head to a pawn shop in Colorado as Miller is just starting his career to find out...

The Story: Musician Glenn Miller (Stewart) is perpetually broke, to the point where he's always pawning his trombone, but he has big dreams. His friend Chummy (Morgan) manages to get him a job with big-time orchestra leader Ben Pollack (himself). Before he goes to New York with the band, he asks his girl Helen Berger (Allyson) to wait for him to call for her. Miller tries to play with Pollock and in Broadway pits (including the Gershwin show Girl Crazy), but he really wants to lead his own band performing his own tunes. He gets a chance with Chummy two years later, when he calls Helen to New York to marry her. The first band doesn't work out, but he does manage to get a second band off the ground thanks to the major hit "Moonlight Serenade" in 1939. Despite his constant working and traveling, Helen and Glenn manage to adopt two children and make a family.

Miller jumps into the Army when World War II hits, despite being told he's too old. He convinces General Arnold (Barton MacLane) to let him form a "modern" military band. Despite some officers thinking his marches and jazz are too modern, he and his band travel to camps all across Europe to raise morale. He's in England to make arrangements to move the band to Paris in December 1944 and conduct a special broadcast for Helen...but he never makes it, and Helen and his family are left with their memories of one of the most beloved band leaders of all time.

The Song and Dance: Miller and Stewart make a cute couple, particularly early-on when he's courting her, despite his constantly being late, broke, and on the road. In fact, where this works best is depicting the life of a traveling musician - second-rate hotels, living gig to gig, bad food, late nights - and in the end, when Glenn forms his military band. (It was so successful, Army jazz bands have continued to play for servicemen and civilians in Europe to this day.)

Favorite Number: If you're a fan of jazz, swing, or big band music, the cameos alone are reason enough to see this. Gene Krupa and Louis Armstrong get a nice "Basin Street Blues," while Frances Langford and the Modernaires run through a nice "Chattanooga Choo Choo" towards the end while the band is in Europe. Look for many of Miller's most famous songs throughout the movie, from "Pennsylvania 6-5000" to "Little Brown Jug" in the finale. The performance of "Bidin' My Time" that with Miller in the pit is cute, too.

Trivia: One of three films Allyson and Stewart made together. Allyson called it one of her favorites of her films.

The soundtrack album hit #1 on the Billboards Top Hits chart in March 1954.

This was the last movie appearance of Frances Langford and the Modernaires. Neither appeared with Miller's military band in real life (although the Modernaires did sing with Miller's civilian orchestra).

Miller's plane was never found; the mystery continues to this day. Most historians now think the plane's carburetor may have iced over. (The model they drove apparently had a history of similar problems.)

What I Don't Like: This is about as sentimental as you can get. It's a pretty typical "rise to fame" story with an unusually tragic ending. Most of the big cliches are hit, from him courting her despite all odds to their pushing their way to the top. While they do stick to the facts a little bit more than some earlier biographies, a few things were changed. Miller didn't really have any problems with "Little Brown Jug," which was one of their biggest hits in 1939 (not 1944). "Pennsylvania-6500" is the number of the Hotel Pennsylvania in New York, not the number of a boarding house. While older officers did complain to Miller about his "jazz marches," he was a bit sassier and pushed harder to keep them.

The Big Finale: Even with the cliches, this is still highly recommended for fans of Stewart, Allyson, or the real big band and jazz musicians who perform here.

Home Media: The DVD is out of print, but is fairly easy to find for a good price. You may be better off picking up the Universal Hollywood Icons set that also features the Stewart favorites Harvey, Winchester '73, and You Gotta Stay Happy. Shout Factory finally released it on Blu-Ray this past November, and it's on several streaming platforms.

DVD
DVD - Hollywood Icons Collection: James Stewart
Blu-Ray
Amazon Prime