''The Glenn Miller Story'' is a 1954 American biographical film about the eponymous American band-leader, directed by

Anthony Mann Anthony Mann (born Emil Anton Bundsmann; June 30, 1906 – April 29, 1967) was an American film director and stage actor. Mann initially started as a theatre actor appearing in numerous stage productions. In 1937, he moved to Hollywood where ...

and starring

James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality ...

in their second non-

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

collaboration.

Plot

The film follows

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s ...

leader

Glenn Miller Alton Glen Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American big band founder, owner, conductor, composer, arranger, trombone player and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the US Army Air Forc ...

(1904–1944) (

) from his early days in the music business in 1929 through to his 1944 death when the airplane he was flying in was lost over the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Ka ...

during World War II. Prominent placement in the film is given to Miller's courtship and marriage to Helen Burger (

June Allyson June Allyson (born Eleanor Geisman; October 7, 1917 – July 8, 2006) was an American stage, film, and television actress, dancer, and singer. Allyson began her career in 1937 as a dancer in short subject films and on Broadway in 1938. She sig ...

), and various cameos by actual musicians who were colleagues of Miller. Several turning points in Miller's career are depicted with varying degrees of accuracy, including: the success of an early jazz band arrangement; his departure from the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

pit and sideman work to front a band of his own; the failure of his first band on the road; and the subsequent re-forming 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 An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

in World War II. There are several

anachronism An anachronism (from the Greek , 'against' and , 'time') is a chronological inconsistency in some arrangement, especially a juxtaposition of people, events, objects, language terms and customs from different time periods. The most common ty ...

s in the picture. When the military band led by Miller is playing in front of General "Hap" Arnold, a

B-29 The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 Fl ...

bomber is in the background. The marching troops are desegregated, which did not occur until 1948. Scenes ostensibly shot in England are clearly staged in the U.S., as witness the presence of

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

Type 44

microphone A microphone, colloquially called a mic or mike (), is a transducer that converts sound into an electrical signal. Microphones are used in many applications such as telephones, hearing aids, public address systems for concert halls and publ ...

s during a BBC broadcast. In reality, the BBC could not afford them and commissioned its own, cheaper version. In addition, several key plot points are either highly fictionalized from actual events or were invented for the film: * Miller is shown as disliking the tune " Little Brown Jug" and only performing it in 1944 as a "special arrangement" for his wife. The song was actually first performed and recorded in 1939, became one of his most popular early hits, and was performed numerous times by both the civilian and AAF Orchestras. The 1939 recording went on to sell over a million copies. * Miller was, in fact, dressed down for performing jazz marches and told by a superior officer that Sousa's marches served the military well in World War I. However, in the film, his character apologizes sheepishly and is only rescued by another officer whose children are fans. Miller's biographer George T. Simon states that his actual response was "Are you still flying the same planes you flew in the last war?", after which the jazz marches stayed. * Neither

Frances Langford Julia Frances Newbern-Langford (April 4, 1913 – July 11, 2005) was an American singer and actress who was popular during the Golden Age of Radio and made film and television appearances for over two decades. She was known as the "GI Nightinga ...

nor the Modernaires performed with Miller's Army Air Force Band.

Cast

(trombone dubbed by Joe Yukl and Murray McEachern) *

as Helen Burger Miller *

Harry Morgan Harry Morgan (born Harry Bratsberg; April 10, 1915 – December 7, 2011) was an American actor and director whose television and film career spanned six decades. Morgan's major roles included Pete Porter in both ''December Bride'' (1954–1959 ...

Chummy MacGregor John Chalmers MacGregor (March 28, 1903 – March 9, 1973), better known as Chummy MacGregor, a musician and composer, was the pianist in The Glenn Miller Orchestra from 1936 to 1942. He composed the songs " Moon Dreams", " It Must Be Jelly ('Cau ...

(billed as Henry Morgan) * Charles Drake as Don Haynes *

George Tobias George Tobias (July 14, 1901 – February 27, 1980) was an American theater, film and television actor. He had character parts and supporting roles in several major films of Hollywood's Golden Age. He is also known for his role as Abner K ...

as Si Shribman *

Barton MacLane Barton MacLane (December 25, 1902 – January 1, 1969) was an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. He appeared in many classic films from the 1930s through the 1960s, including his role as General Martin Peterson on the 1960s NBC ...

as Gen. Henry H. Arnold, USAAF *

Sig Ruman Siegfried Carl Alban Rumann (October 11, 1884 – February 14, 1967), billed as Sig Ruman and Sig Rumann, was a German-American character actor known for his portrayals of pompous and often stereotypically Teutonic officials or villains i ...

as W Kranz *

Irving Bacon Irving Bacon (born Irving Von Peters; September 6, 1893 – February 5, 1965) was an American character actor who appeared in almost 500 films. Early years Bacon was the son of entertainers Millar Bacon and Myrtle Vane. He was born in St. Jos ...

as Mr. Miller * James Bell as Mr. Burger *

Kathleen Lockhart Kathleen Lockhart (née Arthur; 9 August 1894 – 18 February 1978) was a prolific English-American actress during the early-mid 20th century. Early life Kathleen Arthur was born on August 9, 1894 in Southsea, Hampshire, England. Caree ...

as Mrs. Miller *

Marion Ross Marion Ross (born Marian Ellen Ross; October 25, 1928) is a American former actress. Her best-known role is that of Marion Cunningham on the ABC television sitcom '' Happy Days'', on which she starred from 1974 to 1984 and for which she recei ...

as Polly Haynes *

Nino Tempo Nino Tempo (born Antonino LoTempio; January 6, 1935) is an American musician, singer, and actor. He was a duet partner with his older sister April Stevens as well as the frontman for a 1970s funk band, 5th Ave. Sax. Career Antonino LoTempio w ...

Wilbur Schwartz Wilbur Schwartz (17 March 1918 Newark, New Jersey – 3 August 1990 Los Angeles) was an American clarinetist, alto saxophonist, and dance band arranger who was widely known as a member of the Glenn Miller Orchestra. He is a Native American, and h ...

(clarinet playing dubbed by

)

Cameo appearances

The following artists all appeared as themselves (listed alphabetically): *

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and Singing, vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and se ...

* Johnny Best *

Barney Bigard Albany Leon "Barney" Bigard (March 3, 1906 – June 27, 1980) was an American jazz clarinetist known for his 15-year tenure with Duke Ellington. He also played tenor saxophone. Biography Bigard was born in New Orleans to Creole parents, Ale ...

Cozy Cole William Randolph "Cozy" Cole (October 17, 1909 – January 9, 1981) was an American jazz drummer who worked with Cab Calloway and Louis Armstrong among others and led his own groups. Life and career William Randolph Cole was born in East Or ...

Ray Conniff Joseph Raymond Conniff (November 6, 1916 – October 12, 2002) was an American bandleader and arranger best known for his Ray Conniff Singers during the 1960s. Biography Conniff was born November 6, 1916 in Attleboro, Massachusetts, United St ...

Gene Krupa Eugene Bertram Krupa (January 15, 1909 – October 16, 1973), known as Gene Krupa, was an American jazz drummer, bandleader and composer who performed with energy and showmanship. His drum solo on Benny Goodman's 1937 recording of " Sing, Sing, ...

* The Modernaires *

Ben Pollack Ben Pollack (June 22, 1903 – June 7, 1971) was an American drummer and bandleader from the mid-1920s through the swing era. His eye for talent led him to employ musicians such as Benny Goodman, Jack Teagarden, Glenn Miller, Jimmy McPartland, ...

Babe Russin Irving "Babe" Russin (June 18, 1911 – August 4, 1984) was an American 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 a ...

* Arvell Shaw * Trummy Young

Production

Universal-International's first public announcements, early in 1953, employed the soon-discarded title, "Moonlight Serenade." This is the second of three movies that paired Jimmy Stewart and June Allyson, the others being ''

The Stratton Story ''The Stratton Story'' is a 1949 American biographical film directed by Sam Wood that tells the true story of Monty Stratton, a Major League Baseball pitcher who pitched for the Chicago White Sox from 1934 to 1938. The film is the first of three ...

'' and ''

Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile ...

''.

Release

The film opened in New York City on February 10, 1954.

Reissues

The film was re-released in 1960. An alternate cut of the film, running 3–4 minutes shorter than the original theatrical release was re-released in 1985 with a stereo soundtrack. The film was originally recorded in stereo but was initially released in mono. It was screened out of competition at the

1985 Cannes Film Festival The 38th Cannes Film Festival was held from 8 to 20 May 1985. The Palme d'Or went to the ''When Father Was Away on Business'' by Emir Kusturica. The festival opened with ''Witness'', directed by Peter Weir and closed with ''The Emerald Forest'', ...

Home media

The film was originally released on home video in the VHS format in 1986. On March 4, 2003, the film was released onto DVD with an

anamorphic Anamorphic format is the cinematography technique of shooting a widescreen picture on standard 35 mm film or other visual recording media with a non-widescreen native aspect ratio. It also refers to the projection format in which a distorted ...

display, remastered surround sound, and subtitles. The film can also be found in a James Stewart DVD collection that was released in 2007. The film was released on Blu-ray in Germany on July 24, 2014. Shout Factory released the film on Blu-ray in the United States on November 20, 2018. This release includes both the original theatrical version, at 1h 56m, and the 1985 alternate cut, running 1h 52m. A detailed comparison of the differences in the two versions can be found at movie-censorship.com.

Reception

The critical reception to ''The Glenn Miller Story'' was generally positive. The film holds an 88% rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

based on 8 reviews.

Box-office

Upon release in 1954, ''The Glenn Miller Story'' was massively successful at the box-office and earned

theatrical rental A box office or ticket office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a wicket. By extension, the term is fre ...

s of over $7 million, placing it third for the year behind '' White Christmas'' and ''

The Caine Mutiny ''The Caine Mutiny'' is a 1951 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Herman Wouk. The novel grew out of Wouk's personal experiences aboard two destroyer-minesweepers in the Pacific Theater in World War II. Among its themes, it deals with the moral ...

''. It was Universal's highest-grossing film overseas, with rentals of $5 million, for worldwide rentals of $12 million. Stewart took a percentage of the profits. In 1955,

William Goetz William B. Goetz (March 24, 1903 – August 15, 1969) was an American film producer and studio executive. Goetz was one of the founders of Twentieth Century Pictures, and later served as vice president of 20th Century Fox after the merger with ...

estimated that Stewart had earned $2 million from the film.

Awards

In 1954, the film was nominated for three

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

, including Best Screenplay (by

Valentine Davies Valentine Loewi Davies (August 25, 1905 – July 23, 1961) was an American film and television writer, producer, and director. His film credits included ''Miracle on 34th Street'' (1947), ''Chicken Every Sunday'' (1949), ''It Happens Every Spring ...

and

Oscar Brodney Oscar Brodney (February 18, 1907 – February 12, 2008) was an American lawyer-turned-screenwriter. He is best known for his long association with Universal Studios, where his credits included ''Harvey'', ''The Glenn Miller Story'' (1954), severa ...

) and Best Score (by

Henry Mancini Henry Mancini ( ; born Enrico Nicola Mancini, ; April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flautist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Award ...

and

Joseph Gershenson Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

). The film won the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for Best Sound Recording, by

Leslie I. Carey Sound recordist Leslie I. Carey (August 3, 1895 – June 17, 1984) first hit Hollywood in 1938, where he embarked on the first of over 300 films. Some of these were '' A Double Life'' in 1947, ''The Naked City'' and ''Abbott and Costello Meet ...

Music

Glenn Miller Orchestra pianist John "Chummy" MacGregor was a technical advisor on the movie. Composer Henry Mancini composed the musical score with Joseph Gershenson, who conducted the Universal-International studio orchestra's recreations of Miller's arrangements on the soundtrack. Miller's band was portrayed by ''

The Airmen of Note The Airmen of Note is the premier jazz ensemble of the United States Air Force and part of the United States Air Force Band. Created in 1950 to carry on the tradition of Major Glenn Miller's Army Air Corps dance band, the "Note" is a touring b ...

'', an ensemble of the

United States Air Force Band The United States Air Force Band is a U.S. military band consisting of 184 active-duty members of the United States Air Force. It is the Air Force's premier musical organization and is based at Bolling Air Force Base, Washington, D.C.. Within t ...

originally created in 1950 to carry on the Glenn Miller tradition. The soundtrack included many big band pieces originally performed by Glenn Miller's orchestra. # " Moonlight Serenade" # "

Tuxedo Junction "Tuxedo Junction" is a popular song written by Erskine Hawkins, Bill Johnson, and Julian Dash with lyrics by Buddy Feyne. The song was introduced by Erskine Hawkins & His Orchestra, a college dance band previously known as the Bama State Collegi ...

" # " Little Brown Jug" # "

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...

March" # "

Basin Street Blues "Basin Street Blues" is a song often performed by Dixieland jazz bands, written by Spencer Williams in 1928 and recorded that year by Louis Armstrong. The verse with the lyric "Won't you come along with me / To the Mississippi..." was later added ...

" # "

In the Mood "In the Mood" is a popular big band-era jazz standard recorded by American bandleader Glenn Miller. "In the Mood" is based on the composition " Tar Paper Stomp" by Wingy Manone. The first recording under the name "In the Mood" was released by ...

" # " A String of Pearls" # "

Pennsylvania 6-5000 PEnnsylvania 6-5000 is a telephone number in New York City, written in the 2L+5N (two letters, five numbers) format that was common from about 1930 into the 1960s. The number is best known from the 1940 hit song " Pennsylvania 6-5000", a swing ...

" # "

American Patrol "American Patrol" is a popular march written by Frank White (F.W.) Meacham in 1885. It incorporates both original musical themes by Meacham and melodies from American patriotic songs of the era such as " Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean," "Dixie," ...

" # " Otchi-Tchor-Ni-Ya"

Musical cameos

The film contains songs by musicians who also make cameo appearances in the film. These cameos include:

, Skeets McDonald, The Modernaires, Marty Napoleon,

, Arvell Shaw, and James Young.

Billboard charts

The original soundtrack to the movie, '' The Glenn Miller Story---Sound Track'', Decca DL 5519 (USA)/BML 8647 (UK), was number one for 10 weeks on the ''Billboard'' albums chart in 1954. The 1954 album contained eight selections. The soundtrack was re-released with an expanded track list. The album '' Glenn Miller Plays Selections From the Film "The Glenn Miller Story"'' was number one for 11 weeks on the ''Billboard'' albums chart the same year, released as RCA Victor LPT 3057. The original 1954 album contained eight selections. An expanded version of the latter album was certified Gold in 1961 by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

. A tribute album ''I Remember Glenn Miller'', Capitol H 476, by Ray Anthony was number nine on the same Billboard album chart for that week. The extended play versions of the same albums also reached the same position on the ''Billboard'' EP charts for that week. The Modernaires released a 45 single on Coral Records, 9-61110, "A Salute to Glenn Miller," which included medleys in two parts from the movie soundtrack, Parts 1 and 2:

(I've Got a Gal In) Kalamazoo "(I've Got a Gal in) Kalamazoo" is a #1 popular song recorded by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra in 1942. It was written by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren and published in 1942. It was featured in the musical film '' Orchestra Wives'' and was recor ...

Moonlight Cocktail "Moonlight Cocktail" is a 1941 big band song recorded by Glenn Miller during World War II. The music was composed by Luckey Roberts with lyrics by Kim Gannon. Background The song was originally recorded by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra on Dece ...

/Elmer's Tune/ Moonlight Serenade/

Chattanooga Choo Choo "Chattanooga Choo Choo" is a 1941 song written by Mack Gordon and composed by Harry Warren. It was originally recorded as a big band/swing tune by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra and featured in the 1941 movie '' Sun Valley Serenade''. It was ...

/ String of Pearls/ Serenade in Blue/

At Last "At Last" is a song written by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren for the musical film '' Sun Valley Serenade'' (1941). Glenn Miller and his orchestra recorded the tune several times, with a 1942 version reaching number two on the US ''Billboard'' po ...

Perfidia "Perfidia" (Spanish for "perfidy", meaning ''faithlessness'', ''treachery'' or ''betrayal'') is a 1939 Spanish-language song written by Mexican composer and arranger Alberto Domínguez (1906–1975). The song is sung from the perspective ...

, that reached number 29 on the Billboard charts in 1954.

References

External links

* *
Awards won by ''The Glenn Miller Story''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Glenn Miller Story, The 1954 films 1950s biographical films 1954 musical films American biographical films Biographical films about musicians 1950s English-language films Films that won the Best Sound Mixing Academy Award Films directed by Anthony Mann Universal Pictures films Jazz films Films set in the 1920s Films set in the 1930s Films about the United States Army Air Forces Films set in New York City Films scored by Henry Mancini Cultural depictions of jazz musicians Cultural depictions of American men 1950s American films