Flyerplesys
Perfectly adorable
Lancoor
A very feeble attempt at affirmatie action
Calum Hutton
It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...
edwagreen
The plot is thin, but a certainly a whole lot of fun; especially with Glenn Miller's wonderful band. George Montgomery sounded like Rhett Butler's Clark Gable in "Gone With the Wind." How appropriate since co-star Ann Rutherford was in that memorable film 3 years before.Didn't Grant Mitchell who played Ms. Rutherford's father in this film resemble James Cagney intertwined with Harry Truman?When meeting Montgomery, whose acting in the film is below par, the Rutherford character quickly marries him only to find out that band life on tour is not what is what was made out to be. Lynn Bari, always up to trouble, in films is at it again. As a band member and former flame of Montgomery, she conspires with the help of the gossips to destroy the marriage.The music ensemble before the story begins and after it is resolved is wonderful. It certainly takes us back to that period.
bkoganbing
Unlike his fellow big band leaders Glenn Miller resisted the call of Hollywood because he felt that in too many cases the bands of his peers were just grafted into a film. He need not have worried about Orchestra Wives because his band was an integral part of the story.Orchestra Wives is a grand musical film with a great score of original songs written by Harry Warren and Mack Gordon. They include Serenade In Blue, People Like You And Me, and the Oscar nominated I've Got A Gal In Kalamazoo. All of them best sellers for the Glenn Miller Band.The plot as it were is about trumpet player George Montgomery who when the Miller Band is doing a gig in a small Michigan town has a whirlwind courtship with Ann Rutherford and marries her. She goes off to live and travel with her husband and the band. Ann's a naive kid who was not ready for the general cattiness among all the other wives who include such people as Carole Landis, Mary Beth Hughes, and Virginia Gilmore.But her biggest problem is with the band singer Lynn Bari who Montgomery was going with and who is determined to break up that marriage. She slings a lot of gossip around and does some considerable damage, so much so that the band nearly breaks up.Although Miller had the difficult role of playing himself under an alias, he handles his dialog reasonably well. Jackie Gleason plays a bass fiddle player and I wish we saw more of him. He was under utilized terribly in his early Hollywood films. Cesar Romero is the band's piano player and a wolf at heart, but someone who turns out to be a real pal to Montgomery and Rutherford.I have to single out the Nicholas Brothers who did a really great dance number after the band played I've Got A Gal In Kalamazoo for the finale. Also note a young Harry Morgan who is a soda jerk, accent on the last word, who Rutherford was originally going out with. He and Rutherford do a mean jitterbug and Morgan does make with the Forties jive talk.Orchestra Wives is a fine view of the early Forties big band era with a great score of music played by the one and only Glenn Miller.
blanche-2
George Montgomery, Anne Rutherford, Glenn Miller and his Orchestra, Lynn Barrie, Cesar Romero, Carole Landis, Mary Beth Hughes, Harry Morgan, Jackie Gleason, and the Nicholas Brothers all star in "Orchestra Wives," a 1942 musical film.Montgomery plays Bill Abbott, and one night, he meets a fan, Connie Ward, and invites her to see the orchestra the next night. She can't get into the concert because she doesn't have an escort, but he spots her when he comes outside. Her bus is about to arrive, and to keep her from leaving so soon, he proposes. She accepts. The next day, the band goes on tour, and Connie accompanies him.Connie's a nice, sweet young woman and isn't prepared for the other wives, who are pretty horrid. The worst isn't a wife, she's the group's singer, Jaynie (Lynn Bari), who used to date Bill and is determined to get him back. She befriends Connie. One evening, the orchestra has a concert in a nearby town, and all the wives stay back. One of the wives lets it slip that Jaynie and Bill used to date. Connie leaves in tears, and the wives call Jaynie to tell her that Connie is en route. Jaynie arranges to have Bill come to her room and lend her some money.When Connie arrives, she sees what looks like a compromising scene. She and Bill fight, and Connie leaves. As a result of a fight Connie has with the other women, in which she reveals how they all talk behind each other's backs, the entire orchestra breaks up, and Connie goes home.Very slight story with some wonderful music and singing. Miller's orchestra is interspersed with actors Gleason, Montgomery, and Romero. This was my parents' era and made me think of them -- the film was released in 1942 and made before Pearl Harbor, so the music and dancing has a joyous feel to it. Interesting that in those days the audience wasn't a passive one attending a concert. They got up and danced! Really delightful, with a lovely performance by the pretty Rutherford. Montgomery made mostly westerns; it's nice to see him out of the western garb. At the end of the film, the Nicholas Brothers do a spectacular number. (Once I asked my father if he'd ever heard of them and he said, "No, I couldn't afford the musicals.") A final thought: was M*A*S*H's Harry Morgan ever really that young? Guess so.
healyad
The big-band music by Glenn Miller's Orchestra is great.As a drama, the plot is a bit thin and at times is not believable (for example, Connie Ward's adoptive father is way too casual about her deciding to marry a musician the night she meets him, especially given the morals of the time period). And yes, Ann Rutherford is pretty but I think Carol Landis (as a scheming orchestra wife) is way cuter and a more interesting actress. Glenn Miller does a creditable acting job playing bandleader Gene Morrison.For me, the highlight is a fabulous tap dance number by the Nicholas Brothers. As a dancer, I would consider that performance to justify the price of admission. A very demanding performance physically; I don't know how they did it without injuring themselves!Overall a very enjoyable movie if you're interested in the time period, the music, or excellent tap dancing.
