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The Glenn Miller Story is a 1953 American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 film directed by Anthony Mann
Anthony Mann

Anthony Mann was an United States actor and film director....
 and starring James Stewart
James Stewart (actor)

James Maitland Stewart , popularly known as Jimmy Stewart, was an United States film and stage actor best known for his self-effacing persona....
 in their first non-western collaboration.

film follows big band
Big band

A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with playing jazz music and which became popular during the swing from the early 1930s until the late 1940s....
 leader Glenn Miller
Glenn Miller

Alton Glenn Miller , was an United States jazz musician, arranger, composer, and band leader in the Swing era. He was one of the best-selling recording artists from 1939 to 1942, leading one of the best known "Big band"....
 (1904-1944) (James Stewart
James Stewart (actor)

James Maitland Stewart , popularly known as Jimmy Stewart, was an United States film and stage actor best known for his self-effacing persona....
) from his early days in the music business in 1929 through to his presumed 1944 death when the airplane he was flying in was lost over the English Channel
English Channel

The English Channel is an Arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest, to only in the Strait of Dover....
 during World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
. Prominent placement in the film is given to Miller's courtship and marriage to Helen Burger (June Allyson), and various cameos by actual musicians who were colleagues of Miller.

Several turning points in Miller's career are depicted with varying degrees of verisimilitude, including: the success of an early jazz band
Jazz band

A jazz band is a musical ensemble that plays jazz music usually without a conductor. Jazz bands usually consist of a rhythm section and a horn section....
 arrangement; his departure from the Broadway
Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City....
 pit and sideman work to front a band of his own; the failure of his first band on the road; and the subsequent reforming of his successful big band and the establishment of the “Miller Sound” as typified by “Moonlight Serenade”.






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The Glenn Miller Story is a 1953 American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 film directed by Anthony Mann
Anthony Mann

Anthony Mann was an United States actor and film director....
 and starring James Stewart
James Stewart (actor)

James Maitland Stewart , popularly known as Jimmy Stewart, was an United States film and stage actor best known for his self-effacing persona....
 in their first non-western collaboration.

Plot

The film follows big band
Big band

A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with playing jazz music and which became popular during the swing from the early 1930s until the late 1940s....
 leader Glenn Miller
Glenn Miller

Alton Glenn Miller , was an United States jazz musician, arranger, composer, and band leader in the Swing era. He was one of the best-selling recording artists from 1939 to 1942, leading one of the best known "Big band"....
 (1904-1944) (James Stewart
James Stewart (actor)

James Maitland Stewart , popularly known as Jimmy Stewart, was an United States film and stage actor best known for his self-effacing persona....
) from his early days in the music business in 1929 through to his presumed 1944 death when the airplane he was flying in was lost over the English Channel
English Channel

The English Channel is an Arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest, to only in the Strait of Dover....
 during World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
. Prominent placement in the film is given to Miller's courtship and marriage to Helen Burger (June Allyson), and various cameos by actual musicians who were colleagues of Miller.

Several turning points in Miller's career are depicted with varying degrees of verisimilitude, including: the success of an early jazz band
Jazz band

A jazz band is a musical ensemble that plays jazz music usually without a conductor. Jazz bands usually consist of a rhythm section and a horn section....
 arrangement; his departure from the Broadway
Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City....
 pit and sideman work to front a band of his own; the failure of his first band on the road; and the subsequent reforming of his successful big band and the establishment of the “Miller Sound” as typified by “Moonlight Serenade”. Also depicted is Miller’s international success touring his band in support of the Allies
Allies

In general, allies are people, groups or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose....
 in World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
.

Reception

Upon release in 1953, The Glenn Miller Story was massively successful at the box office. In 1954, the film was nominated for three Academy Awards
Academy Awards

The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers....
, including Best Screenplay (by Valentine Davies
Valentine Davies

Valentine Davies was an USA film and television writer, producer, and director. He is best known for Miracle on 34th Street and The Benny Goodman Story ....
 and Oscar Brodney
Oscar Brodney

Oscar Brodney , was an United States lawyer-turned-screenwriter. Entering the film industry in 1935, Brodney worked on various projects, including Abbott and Costello's Mexican Hayride and the adapted screenplay for Harvey ....
) and Best Score (by Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini

Henry Mancini was an Academy Award winning American composer, Conducting and arranger. He is remembered particularly for being a composer of film and television scores....
 and Joseph Gershenson). The film won the Oscar for Best Music Recording, by Leslie I. Carey
Leslie I. Carey

Foley artist 'Leslie I. Carey' first hit Hollywood in 1938, where he embarked on the first of over 300 films. Some of these wereA Double Life in 1947, The Naked City and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein in 1948, Winchester '73 in 1950, Creature from the Black Lagoon and Magnificent Obsession in 1954, Man Withou...
. Its soundtrack was equally successful, reaching number one on the Billboard album charts in 1954, featuring a number of Glenn Miller's
Glenn Miller

Alton Glenn Miller , was an United States jazz musician, arranger, composer, and band leader in the Swing era. He was one of the best-selling recording artists from 1939 to 1942, leading one of the best known "Big band"....
 most popular recordings. This is the second of three movies that paired Jimmy Stewart and June Allyson, the others being The Stratton Story
The Stratton Story

The Stratton Story is a 1949 in film film directed by Sam Wood which tells the true story of Monty Stratton, a Major League Baseball pitcher who pitched for the Chicago White Sox from 1934-1938....
 and Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command (film)

Strategic Air Command is a 1955 in film United States film starring James Stewart and June Allyson, and directed by Anthony Mann. This Paramount Pictures release was the first of four films that depicted the role of the Strategic Air Command in the Cold War era....
.

Glenn Miller Orchestra pianist Chummy MacGregor was a technical advisor on the movie. Composer Henry Mancini composed the musical score with Joseph Gershenson.

Musician cameos

Some of the legendary musicians who make cameo appearances in the film include: Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong

Louis Daniel Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer.Coming to prominence in the 1920s as an innovative cornet and trumpet player, Armstrong was a foundational influence on jazz, shifting the music's focus from collective improvisation to solo performers....
, Barney Bigard
Barney Bigard

Albany Leon Bigard, aka Barney Bigard, was an United States jazz clarinetist and tenor saxophonist, though primarily known for the clarinet....
, Cozy Cole
Cozy Cole

Cozy Cole was a Jazz drumming who scored a chart-topper hit record with the Gramophone record "Topsy Part 2". The recording contained a lengthy drum solo, and was one of the few drum solo sound recording and reproduction that ever made the Billboard Hot 100 record chart....
, Gene Krupa
Gene Krupa

Gene Krupa was an influentialUnited States jazz and big band drummer and composer, known for his highly energetic and flamboyant style....
, Frances Langford
Frances Langford

Frances Newbern Langford was an American singer and entertainer who was popular during the Golden Age of Radio and also made film appearances over two decades....
, Marty Napoleon
Marty Napoleon

Marty Napoleon is an United States jazz pianist born in Brooklyn, New York, perhaps best-known for having replaced Earl Hines in Louis Armstrong's All Stars in 1952....
, Ben Pollack
Ben Pollack

Ben Pollack was a drummer and bandleader from the mid 1920s through the swing music era. His eye for talent led him to either discover or employ, at one time or another, musicians such as Benny Goodman, Jack Teagarden, Glenn Miller, Jimmy McPartland and Harry James....
, Babe Russin
Babe Russin

Irving "Babe" Russin was a tenor saxophone player. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Russin played with some of the best known jazz bands of the 1930s and 1940s, including Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey and Jimmy Dorsey....
, Arvell Shaw
Arvell Shaw

Arvell Shaw was an American jazz double-bassist, best known for his work with Louis Armstrong.Shaw learned to play tuba in high school, but switched to bass soon after....
, The Modernaires
The Modernaires

The Modernaires began in 1935 as a trio of schoolmates from Lafayette High School . The members, Hal Dickinson, Chuck Goldstein, and Bill Conway , were called Don Juan-Two and Three, and had their first engagement at Buffalo's suburban Glen Falls Casino, with the Ted Fio Rito Orchestra....
, and James Young (IV).

Cast

  • James Stewart
    James Stewart (actor)

    James Maitland Stewart , popularly known as Jimmy Stewart, was an United States film and stage actor best known for his self-effacing persona....
      : Glenn Miller
    Glenn Miller

    Alton Glenn Miller , was an United States jazz musician, arranger, composer, and band leader in the Swing era. He was one of the best-selling recording artists from 1939 to 1942, leading one of the best known "Big band"....
  • June Allyson : Helen Burger Miller
  • Harry Morgan
    Harry Morgan

    Harry Morgan is an Emmy-winning United States television actor. Morgan is perhaps best-known as Colonel Sherman T. Potter on M*A*S*H , "Pete" on Pete and Gladys and December Bride, and Detective Bill Gannon on Dragnet ....
      : Chummy MacGregor
    Chummy MacGregor

    John Chalmers MacGregor , better known as Chummy MacGregor, a pianist and composer, was Glenn Miller?s pianist from 1936-1942. He composed the jazz and pop standards "Moon Dreams" and "Slumber Song"....
  • Charles Drake
    Charles Drake

    Charles Drake was an United States actor....
      : Don Haynes
  • George Tobias
    George Tobias

    George Tobias was an United States character actor.Born to a Jewish family in New York City, he began his acting career at the Pasadena Playhouse in Pasadena, California....
      : Si Schribman
  • Barton MacLane
    Barton MacLane

    Barton MacLane was an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. Although he has appeared in many classic films from the 1930s through the 1960s, he was perhaps best known for his recurring role as General Martin Peterson on the 1960s television comedy series I Dream of Jeannie....
      : Gen. Henry H. Arnold, USAAF
  • Marion Ross
    Marion Ross

    Marion Ross is a Golden Globe-nominated United States actress, best known for her role as Marion Cunningham on the TV series Happy Days from 1974 to 1984....
      : Polly Haynes
  • Nino Tempo
    Nino Tempo

    Nino Tempo is an United States musician, singer, and actor.A musical prodigy, Nino Tempo learned to play the clarinet and the tenor saxophone as a child....
      : Wilber Schwartz


Soundtrack listing

  1. "Moonlight Serenade"
  2. "Tuxedo Junction
    Tuxedo Junction

    "Tuxedo Junction" is a song written by Birmingham, Alabama composer Erskine Hawkins and introduced by his orchestra. Lyrics were by Buddy Feyne....
    "
  3. "Little Brown Jug
    Little Brown Jug

    Little Brown Jug can refer to:*Little Brown Jug , an 1869 song by Joseph Winner. Most or all other uses of this phrase are named after this famous song....
    "
  4. "St. Louis Blues — March"
  5. "Basin Street Blues
    Basin Street Blues

    "Basin Street Blues" is a song often performed by Dixieland jazz bands, written by Spencer Williams. The song was published in 1926 and made famous in a recording by Louis Armstrong in 1928....
    "
  6. "In the Mood
    In the Mood

    "In the Mood" is a song popularized by the American bandleader Glenn Miller in 1939, and one of the best-known arrangements of the big band era....
    "
  7. "String of Pearls"
  8. "Pennsylvania 6-5000
    PEnnsylvania 6-5000

    PEnnsylvania 6-5000 is said to be the oldest continuing phone number in New York City, New York, New York. It belongs to the Hotel Pennsylvania and has been in continuous use since 1919....
    "
  9. "American Patrol
    American Patrol

    "American Patrol" is a popular march written by F.W. Meacham in 1885. Written originally for piano, it was then arranged for wind band and published by Carl Fischer in 1891....
    "
  10. "Otchi-Tchor-Ni-Ya"


See also

  • Glenn Miller
    Glenn Miller

    Alton Glenn Miller , was an United States jazz musician, arranger, composer, and band leader in the Swing era. He was one of the best-selling recording artists from 1939 to 1942, leading one of the best known "Big band"....
  • Glenn Miller Orchestra
    Glenn Miller Orchestra

    The Glenn Miller Orchestra was originally formed in 1937 by Glenn Miller. It was arranged around a clarinet and tenor saxophone playing melody, while three other saxophones played the harmony....
  • Swing music
    Swing (genre)

    Swing music, also known as swing jazz or simply swing, is a form of jazz music that developed in the early 1930s and had solidified as a distinctive style by 1935 in the United States....
  • Bandleader
    Bandleader

    A bandleader is the leader of a band of musicians. The term is most commonly, though not exclusively, used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or rock and roll music....
  • Big band
    Big band

    A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with playing jazz music and which became popular during the swing from the early 1930s until the late 1940s....
  • James Stewart
    James Stewart (actor)

    James Maitland Stewart , popularly known as Jimmy Stewart, was an United States film and stage actor best known for his self-effacing persona....
  • June Allyson


External links