The Glenn Miller Story **** (1954, James Stewart, June Allyson, Harry Morgan, Charles Drake, Frances Langford, Louis Armstrong, Gene Krupa, George Tobias, Barton MacLane, Sig Ruman) – Classic Movie Review 7876

Director Anthony Mann’s 1954 musical biopic The Glenn Miller Story stars James Stewart, who is ideal casting both as actor and as a Glenn Miller lookalike. Stewart conducts himself on screen with his customary easy-going charm and polish in one of his most famous performances as the swinging bandleader and trombone player. Carefully written by Valentine Davies and Oscar Brodney, it is a sterling, lovingly crafted biography of Glenn Miller.

It won an Oscar for Best Sound, Recording (Leslie I Carey) and there were two more nominations – for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay (Valentine Davies and Oscar Brodney) and Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture (Henry Mancini and Joseph Gershenson).

Despite the charismatic solo star performance from the celebrated front-man, the movie is not entirely a one-man band. June Allyson gives her most fondly remembered performance as bandleader Miller’s cheerful wife Helen Burger, in the second of Stewart and Allyson’s three films together. And there are pleasing turns from Harry Morgan (as Miller’s friend Chummy MacGregor), Charles Drake (as Don Haynes), George Tobias (as Si Schribman), Barton MacLane (as General Hap Arnold) and Sig Ruman (as pawnshop owner W Kranz), plus Louis Armstrong, Frances Langford, Ben Pollack and Gene Krupa (appearing as themselves) all get their moments.

And the music, painstakingly re-created by Oscar-nominated composer/ adapter Henry Mancini with Joseph Gershenson, still casts its potent spell. Gershenson conducts the Universal-International studio orchestra’s recreations of Miller’s arrangements on the soundtrack.

Also in the cast are Irving Bacon as Mr Miller, James Bell as Mr Burger, Kathleen Lockhart as Mrs Miller, Katherine Warren as Mrs Burger, Barney Bigard, James Young, Marty Napoleon, Arvell Shaw, Cozy Cole, Babe Russin, Hal K Dawson, Lisa Gaye, William Challee, Damian O’Flynn, Carleton Young, Dick Ryan and Marion Ross.

Stewart’s trombone playing is dubbed by Joe Yukl and Trummy Young. All these artists appear as themselves: Louis Armstrong, Barney Bigard, Trummy Young, Gene Krupa, Ben Pollack, Johnny Best, Babe Russin, Cozy Cole, Arvell Shaw, The Modernaires and Frances Langford.

It is shot by William H Daniels in Technicolor and widescreen.

It was recorded in stereo but released in mono, then reissued in 1985 with a stereo soundtrack.

The Glenn Miller Story is another big hit for the popular movie star pair of The Stratton Story (1949) and Strategic Air Command (1955). Its soundtrack featuring a number of Glenn Miller’s most popular recordings was equally successful, hitting number one on the Billboard album charts in 1954.

It was a blockbuster taking $7 million at the box office, and Stewart had a percentage of the profits, earning about $2 million by 1955.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7876

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