The Music Man (1962)

Warner Bros, 1962
Starring Robert Preston, Shirley Jones, Buddy Hackett, and Hermione Gingold
Directed by Morton DaCosta
Music and Lyrics by Meredith Wilson

With the original Broadway show announced for a revival next fall (and none other than Hugh Jackman in the title role) , I thought this might be a fun way to kick off two weeks of All-American Weekdays, focusing on Americana and tales of the Fourth of July in years past. We hop on a train to Iowa to see just how the story of a con-man who fools a Midwestern town into buying band instruments fares today...

The Story: Professor Harold Hill (Preston) breezes into River City, Iowa in 1912, hoping to sell the stubborn locals on a non-existent boy's band. He has it all planned, including how he'll deal with the smart, pretty young librarian and piano teacher, Marian Paroo (Jones), and her mother (Pert Kelton). Marian's not happy with his slapdash methods of teaching music or how easily he charms all the women in town, including the wife of the mayor Mrs. Shinn (Gingold). As the children of the town become more and more involved with the band, including Marian's troubled younger brother Winthrop (Ron Howard), she begins to soften to the professor...and he realizes how much Marian, her family, and the town have come to mean to him.

The Song and Dance: For many people, Preston still is this role. He won a Tony for it in 1959 and really throws himself into it here. He's so charming and funny, especially when trying to flirt with Jones or convince the townspeople to buy his fictional instruments, you can understand why half the town falls for him. Jones more than matches him as the intellectual library lady with the secretly romantic heart. Gingold and Paul Ford are hilarious as the Shinns; he's suspicious of Preston's motives, she's happy to toss out gossip and starts a dance troupe for the older women in town at the slightest prevarication. Buddy Hackett and Pert Kelton has a lot of fun as Preston's best friend and Marian's matchmaking mother. A very young Ron Howard makes an adorable Winthrop. The colorful and historically accurate costumes and sets garnered Oscar noms.

Favorite Number:  The movie kicks off well with an excellent version of that early salesman's rap on the train, "Rock Island." Those guys can really rattle that song off! Preston makes the most of his two big solos, "Trouble" and "76 Trombones." "Trouble" easily convinces the parents of the town that a pool table will corrupt their kids; "Trombones" brings the kids in for one of the catchiest marches in musical history. He's charming with Howard and Kelton, telling them about "Gary, Indiana."

Jones gets two lovely ballads, "'Til There Was You" with Preston down on the bridge towards the end, and "Goodnight My Someone" with her little pupil Amaryllis (Monique Vermont) joining in on her piano lesson. "Shipoopi" really has nothing to do with the rest of the movie, but it's so energetically performed with such enjoyable choreography that it's easy to overlook; "Marian the Librarian" lets Jones and Preston have fun with the chorus (and Jones' expressions are perfect during that song).

 Trivia: Jones was pregnant during the entire filming. That (and it being the fashion in the early 1910's) is why the waistlines on her dresses are so high.

Only two songs from the original show weren't retained. "It's You" became a short number for the Buffalo Bills barbershop quartet and the ladies during the ice cream social at the end. "Being In Love" does use part of the original "My White Knight," but was mostly re-written by Wilson.

What I Don't Like: Like most of the big Broadway adaptations, this is way too long, over two and a half hours. A lot of the numbers go on for about ten minutes too long and really could have been trimmed, no matter how good the dancing is. The movie drags like crazy, especially in the middle when the focus is on Preston trying to sell the band and Gingold and her ladies and their dance.

The Big Finale: A huge favorite of mine, the cast and delightful musical numbers alone make this one worth a look if you have time on your hands.

Home Media: Pretty easy to find on most formats, including several streaming companies.

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