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The Music Man (1962)

 -  Musical | Comedy | Family  -  19 June 1962 (USA)
7.6
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Ratings: 7.6/10 from 9,998 users  
Reviews: 116 user | 30 critic

A con man comes to a Midwestern town with a scam using a boy's marching band program, but things don't go according to plan.

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(based on: "The Music Man"), (written in collaboration with), 1 more credit »
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Title: The Music Man (1962)

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Won 1 Oscar. Another 6 wins & 11 nominations. See more awards »

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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The Buffalo Bills
Timmy Everett ...
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Winthrop Paroo (as Ronny Howard)
Harry Hickox ...
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Sara Seegar ...
Adnia Rice ...
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Storyline

Confidence man Harold Hill arrives at staid River City intending to cheat the community with his standard scam of offering to equip and train a boy's marching band, then skip town with the money since he has no music skill anyway. Things go awry when he falls for a librarian he tries to divert from exposing him while he inadvertently enriches the town with a love of music. Written by Kenneth Chisholm <kchishol@execulink.com>

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

The story of that man and his 76 trombones, and the wonderful, wonderful tune he played on every heart in town!


Certificate:

Approved | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

19 June 1962 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Meredith Willson's The Music Man  »

Company Credits

Production Co:

 »
Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

(RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

(Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
See  »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

When Eulalie Mackechnie Shinn (Hermione Gingold) is performing in the "spectacle" with her schoolchildren, she says "Now count to twenty in the Indian tongue..." and proceeds to count in nonsense words ("Een! Teen! Tether mether fip!..."). It seems her counting is some form of traditional British sheep-counting. See more »

Goofs

The final parade sequence is filmed on both sunny and overcast days. See more »

Quotes

Marian Paroo: No, please, not tonight. Maybe tomorrow.
Harold Hill: Oh, my dear little librarian. You pile up enough tomorrows, and you'll find you are left with nothing but a lot of empty yesterdays. I don't know about you, but I'd like to make today worth remembering.
See more »

Crazy Credits

The letters in the film's title, in producer-director Morton da Costa's name, and in Meredith Willson's name (the first time it appears onscreen) are formed by a miniaturized, stop-motion animated marching band, who also form themselves into musical instruments on which the rest of the opening credits appear. See more »

Connections

Featured in Broadway: The American Musical (2004) See more »

Soundtracks

"Ya Got Trouble"
(1957) (uncredited)
Music and Lyrics by Meredith Willson
Performed by Robert Preston and Company
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

 
Simply the best...........
28 September 2005 | by (Western Oregon, United States) – See all my reviews

The Music Man is a musical film that was done right and which, if anything, improves on its well regarded source material. It ranks up there with the all-time great musicals of Hollywood's golden age (and such British marvels such as "Evergreen," which starred the incomparable Jessie Matthews.

This movie has it all - wonderful music, a fine script, good production values and a top cast. What makes it really special is Robert Preston's tour-de-force performance. His performance is, quite simply, one of the most memorably great performances in the history of film.

It's one of those benchmark performances that must make any other actor who takes the role shake in their boots, for as long as the memory of Robert Preston as Prof. Hill exists all others will be compared against him and, likely, found lacking.

The rest of the cast is superior. I especially love Pert Kelton as Marian the Librarian's mother. Kelton was the original Alice on the classic "The Honeymooners" (she played Alice's mother later on in the series) and she had incredible comic timing. She reminds me of a combination of Ethel Merman, with her brassy voice and larger-than-life presence, and the comic genius of the great Patsy Kelly. It's a shame Kelton was not put to better use in the movies. She was a natural.

And then there is Shirley Jones. Lovely to look at and wonderful to hear and a good enough actor to keep up with Preston.

Buddy Hackett usually annoyed me but he's perfect as Prof. Hill's sidekick and his "Shafoofie" (sp?) number is a blast.

Funniest scene - Grecian Urns.

A splendid movie and one of the last great musicals. They truly don't make 'em like that anymore.


26 of 27 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
Musical ignoramus who sings and dances beautifully - illogical? cwy2009
Harold Hill was not as bad as some people say fugazzi49
time code for when 'Marian the Librarian' appears in the movie. mettalicajosh2001
Best Movie Quote robertgodwin
The Buffalo Bills DID NOT PLAY 'THEMSELVES'! noizboy57
Ye, Gads! palitodecanela
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