Orchestra Wives (1942)

Connie Ward is in seventh heaven when Gene Morrison's band rolls into town. She is swept off her feet by trumpeter Bill Abbot. After marrying him, she joins the bands tour and learns about ... See full summary »

Director:

Archie Mayo

Writers:

Karl Tunberg (screenplay), Darrell Ware (screenplay),

Stars:

George Montgomery, Ann Rutherford, Glenn Miller

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
George Montgomery	...	Bill Abbot
Ann Rutherford	...	Connie Ward
Glenn Miller	...	Gene Morrison
The Glenn Miller Orchestra	...	Gene Morrison 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	...	Nicholas Brothers (as Nicholas Brothers)
Tamara Geva	...	Mrs. Beck
Frank Orth	...	Rex Willet
Grant Mitchell	...	Dr. Ward
Harry Morgan	...	Cully Anderson (as Henry Morgan)
Jackie Gleason	...	Ben Beck

Storyline

Connie Ward is in seventh heaven when Gene Morrison's band rolls into town. She is swept off her feet by trumpeter Bill Abbot. After marrying him, she joins the bands tour and learns about life as an orchestra wife, weathering the catty attacks of the other band wives.

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Plot Keywords:

musical acts | musician | husband wife relationship | sequel

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Music

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 September 1942 (USA)

Also Known As:

Kalamazou

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is the film debut of the song "At Last", famously covered nearly 20 years later by Etta James.

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Quotes

Bill Abbott: Now listen cutie-pie. I'm a big, bad trumpet player, and never in my life have I seen anything so gorgeous coming off a dance floor. I've seen thousands. I've kissed some of them, but not like I'm going to kiss you.

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Connections

Edited into Myra Breckinridge (1970)

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Soundtracks

" (I've Got a Gal in) Kalamazoo"
(uncredited)
Music by Harry Warren
Lyric by Mack Gordon
Performed by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra
Sung by Tex Beneke, Marion Hutton, and The Modernaires
Then sung and danced by Fayard Nicholas and Harold Nicholas
Copyright 1942

User Reviews

Bitches Brew

Coming back to this after a long gap I was surprised how much I remembered of it and basically how good it was. The glue and the title refer to some of the band's spouses and their overall bitching and attempts to go better over the others. This film sums up womankind as seen by Golden Age Hollywood - after watching it I feel more in touch with my feminine side. Maybe not! But I wouldn't wanna play in the same band with Buddy either!

Ignoring the above, the key to enjoying this movie lies in the marvellous and plentiful music (although mimed to) by Glenn Miller & his Orch. Some glorious 40's standards are captured here, "At last" but especially the sublime "Kalamazoo" sung by Tex Beneke definitively, where the Nicholas Brothers wrap it up in their usual laid back and reflective style.

The atmosphere is great, not quite in the Andy Hardy vein for Ann Rutherford, but I take my impressions of what small town America might have been like in the 40's from this film (along with "Shadow of a doubt").

Glenn Miller certainly helped create a unique and unforgettable sound with his music and his band - but his acting left something to be desired!