Orchestra Wives (1942)

Director:

Archie Mayo

Writers:

Karl Tunberg (screenplay) and
Darrell Ware (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

4 September 1942 (USA)

Genre:

Music

Tagline:

It's Hep! It's Hot! It's Hilarious!

Plot:

Connie Ward is in seventh heaven when Gene Morrison's band rolls into town. She is swept off her feet by trumpeter Bill Abbot...

Plot Keywords:

Musical Acts | Beautiful Woman | Musician | Husband Wife Relationship | Sequel

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

George Montgomery	...	Bill Abbot
Ann Rutherford	...	Connie Ward / Abbot
Glenn Miller	...	Gene Morrison
The Glenn Miller Orchestra	...	Gene Morrison's Orchestra (as The Glenn Miller Band)
Lynn Bari	...	Jaynie Stevens
Carole Landis	...	Natalie Mercer
Cesar Romero	...	St. John 'Sinjin' Smith
Virginia Gilmore	...	Elsie
Mary Beth Hughes	...	Caroline Steele
The Nicholas Brothers	...	Themselves (as Nicholas Brothers)
Tamara Geva	...	Mrs. Beck
Frank Orth	...	Rex Willet

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Canada:G (video rating) | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | USA:Approved

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Lynn Bari's singing was dubbed by Pat Friday.

Quotes:

Ben Beck: [as Bill Abbott approaches yet another pretty girl] There he goes. Out of the frying pan, into the frying pan!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Take It or Leave It (1944)

Soundtrack:

Chattanooga Choo Choo

Dazzling Musical!

There are no MGM styled production numbers in this 20th Century musical. But much better than that, you can see the legendary Glen Miller and his equally legendary orchestra and the Modernaires enchanting us in this l940 treat. the story is forgettable: the trials and tribulations of a bunch of wives whose husbands are all Big Band musicians. Lynn Bari plays the bitchy star singer who has the hots for Robert Montgomery and is determined to mess things up for his naive, dewy-eyed little wife, played in sad-eyed and weepy fashion by Ann Rutherford (Careen in "Gone With the Wind"). But just wait until the music starts and you'll be swinging your foot in rhythm or maybe even jumping to your feet and dancing along to "Kalamazoo", "At Last", "Serenade in Blue" and "People like You and Me." The personality who really jumps out is the blonde-haired, electrifying Marion Hutton who sings with the Modernaires. She looks very much like her more famous sister, Betty Hutton, but Marion steals all of her scenes. Just watch her belt out "People Like You and Me" and even better, "Kalamazoo." Yet, she and her handsome co-singer, Ray Eberle, are not even listed in the credits! Tex Benedet plays that sexy sax and harmonizes with the Modernaires. Bari performs a sultry "Serenade in Blue" and like her performance in "Sun Valley Serenade" lip syncs to another singer. Never mind. This is a fun, unforgettable experience to see why Glenn Miller and his Orchestra and singers were the hottest things in music during the late 30s and early 40s. He and his musicians vanished when their plane crossed the Atlantic during World War II.