Glenn Miller's band go on tour and so we get some swing music to enjoy. For a storyline, we get naïve small-town girl Ann Rutherford (Connie) hooking up with trumpet player George Montgomery (Bill) and becoming part of the troupe of back-stabbing orchestra wives. After a simpleton start, she plays them at their own game with admirable determination and this leads on to a good slap or two or three. Everyone reunites in the end for a quality musical finale.
The story isn't much – it's contrived and has leaps of absurdity – but that's not the point. Watch it for the music. The film is encased in between two show-stopping numbers. We begin with "People Like You and Me" and end with "(I've Got a Gal in) Kalamazoo" and these two pieces are the film's highlights. The last includes a dance routine from the Nicholas Brothers that shows what gymnasts they are as well as crazy dancers. Both these songs also include Tex Beneke singing along with the Modernaires. As regards the Modernaires, there is a very noticeable blonde singer who immediately reminded me of Betty Hutton. Well, I found out after watching the film that it's her sister. Far less blustery, though, thank goodness.
In terms of acting, I don't know why people refer to Glenn Miller as being a wooden actor. Maybe he is but he's perfectly fine as himself. It's irrelevant. I did feel that there was not enough of pianist Cesar Romero (St. John) and bass player Jackie Gleason (Ben) and too much of the love interest between Montgomery and Rutherford. Neither of these two leads were particularly interesting – more like a couple of wet fishes. Montgomery is actually quite a nasty character in the beginning with his treatment of soda jerk Harry Morgan (Cully).
So, if you fancy life on the road as an orchestra wife, don't forget to pack your hoover. And be prepared for a fight. And, of course, good music.
The story isn't much – it's contrived and has leaps of absurdity – but that's not the point. Watch it for the music. The film is encased in between two show-stopping numbers. We begin with "People Like You and Me" and end with "(I've Got a Gal in) Kalamazoo" and these two pieces are the film's highlights. The last includes a dance routine from the Nicholas Brothers that shows what gymnasts they are as well as crazy dancers. Both these songs also include Tex Beneke singing along with the Modernaires. As regards the Modernaires, there is a very noticeable blonde singer who immediately reminded me of Betty Hutton. Well, I found out after watching the film that it's her sister. Far less blustery, though, thank goodness.
In terms of acting, I don't know why people refer to Glenn Miller as being a wooden actor. Maybe he is but he's perfectly fine as himself. It's irrelevant. I did feel that there was not enough of pianist Cesar Romero (St. John) and bass player Jackie Gleason (Ben) and too much of the love interest between Montgomery and Rutherford. Neither of these two leads were particularly interesting – more like a couple of wet fishes. Montgomery is actually quite a nasty character in the beginning with his treatment of soda jerk Harry Morgan (Cully).
So, if you fancy life on the road as an orchestra wife, don't forget to pack your hoover. And be prepared for a fight. And, of course, good music.