The Glenn Miller Story (1954)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Anthony Mann

Writers:

Valentine Davies (writer) and
Oscar Brodney (writer)

Release Date:

8 January 1954 (Japan)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Music | Romance

Tagline:

See it and Hear it as Never Before [1980 re-release]

Plot:

The biography of the Bandleader Glenn Miller from his beginnings to his death over the English Channel in December 1944...

Plot Keywords:

Bandleader | Plane | Husband Wife Relationship | Pawnshop | Dancing

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 5 nominations

Cast

James Stewart	...	Glenn Miller
June Allyson	...	Helen Berger Miller
Harry Morgan	...	Chummy MacGregor (as Henry Morgan)
Charles Drake	...	Don Haynes
George Tobias	...	Si Schribman
Barton MacLane	...	Gen. Hap Arnold, USAAF
Sig Ruman	...	W. Kranz (pawnshop owner)
Irving Bacon	...	Mr. Miller
James Bell	...	Mr. Burger
Kathleen Lockhart	...	Mrs. Miller
Katherine Warren	...	Mrs. Burger (as Katharine Warren)
Frances Langford	...	Herself
Louis Armstrong	...	Himself
Ben Pollack	...	Himself
Gene Krupa	...	Himself

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

3 Channel Stereo (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Iceland:L | West Germany:6 (f) | USA:Approved (PCA #16668) | South Korea:All | Australia:G (alternate rating) | Australia:PG | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

3rd Street Tunnel Stairway, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Trivia:

Decca's 10-inch, eight-track soundtrack LP, ascending to number one on the "Billboard" album chart in March 1954, omitted the teaming of Frances Langford (in her last film) with The Modernaires (in their last picture) on the classic train song, "Chattanooga Choo Choo" (music by Harry Warren, lyrics by Mack Gordon). The audio has been restored on an import CD of the soundtrack, courtesy of the Pid label. In connection with the film's release, Coral Records, a Decca subsidiary, had The Modernaires record two medleys of Glenn Miller hits, released on both sides of a 45-rpm single, which charted up to number 29 in "Billboard" during 1954. The quintet's Miller tribute can be enjoyed on a 1998 Modernaires CD from Varese Sarabande called "Singin' and Swingin'." In 1956, the Decca soundtrack album was expanded into a 12-inch LP, adding two studio cuts by Louis Armstrong and The All Stars, "Basin Street Blues" (music and lyrics by Spencer Williams) and "Otchi-Tchor-Ni-Ya" (music by Florian Hermann, improvised lyrics by Louis Armstrong). The second Armstrong ditty had not been performed by him in the movie. Towards the end of 1958, Decca reissued the soundtrack LP in true stereo.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: There are several instances of musicians being out of sync with the playback.

Quotes:

Glenn Miller: Alright, alright, let's have the five saxes right in there...
Si Schribman: *Five* saxes?
Glenn Miller: And the trombones, right on the left here, over there, right in there, and the four trumpets right behind them...
Si Schribman: Four Trombones and Four Trumpets! When they get playing, what's gonna hold the roof on?
Sy's Assistant: He's trying five saxes with a trumpet lead.
Si Schribman: Maybe it's good and maybe it ain't, but it's radical!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003)

Soundtrack:

St. Louis Blues

One of those classics!

Were Jimmy Stewart and June Allyson made for the movie,or what?!

Great movie,lovely music!One of those movies that make you feel good all over,with a beautiful blend if wit,emotion and the Blues!What is even more impressive is the use of African American actors,considering the movie was made in 1954.The Jimmy and June combination evokes the chemistry of a Kate and Spencer movie.A true classic in every way,I'd watch it again in a heartbeat!