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The Music Man (1962 film)
Encyclopedia
The Music Man is a 1962 musical film
starring Robert Preston
as Harold Hill and Shirley Jones
as Marian Paroo. The film is based on the 1957 Broadway musical
of the same name by Meredith Willson
. The film was one of the biggest hits of the year and highly acclaimed critically.
In 2005, The Music Man was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry
by the Library of Congress
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
), arrives in fictional location
of River City, Iowa
, intrigued by the challenge of swindling the famously stubborn natives of Iowa ("Iowa Stubborn
"). Masquerading as a traveling band instructor, Professor Hill plans to con the citizens of River City into paying him to create a boys' marching band, including instruments, uniforms, and music instruction. Once he has collected the money and the instruments and uniforms have arrived, he will hop the next train out of town leaving them without their money or a band.
With help from his associate Marcellus Washburn (Buddy Hackett
), who is now living in River City and is the only one who knows Hill's real name, Professor Hill incites mass concern among the parents of River City that their young boys are being seduced into a world of sin and vice by the new pool table in town ("Ya Got Trouble
"). He convinces them that a boys' marching band is the only way to keep the boys of the town pure and out of trouble, and begins collecting their money ("76 Trombones"). Hill anticipates that Marian (Shirley Jones
), the town's librarian and piano instructor, will attempt to discredit him, so he sets out to seduce her into silence. Also in opposition to Hill is the town's Mayor Shinn, who orders the school board to obtain Hill's credentials. When they attempt to do so, Hill avoids their questions by teaching them to sing as a barbershop quartet via "sustained talking." They are thereafter easily tricked by Hill into breaking into song whenever they ask for his credentials.
Meanwhile, Hill attempts to win the heart of Marian the librarian, who has an extreme distrust of men. His charms have little effect upon Marian ("Marian the Librarian") until he wins the admiration of both her mother and her withdrawn and unhappy younger brother Winthrop (Ron Howard
) ("Gary, Indiana
"). Marian falls in love with Hill, and subsequently hides evidence she has proving he is a fraud ("Till There Was You
"). The band's instruments arrive ("Wells Fargo Wagon") and Hill tells the boys to learn to play via the "Think System," in which they simply have to think of a tune over and over and will know how to play it without ever touching their instruments. Meanwhile, Marian is falling more in love with Harold, and in a counterpart with the The Buffalo Bills they sing "Lida Rose/Will I Ever Tell You". Hill's con is nearly complete; all he has to do is collect the rest of the instrument and uniform money ,and he can disappear. He is about to leave town when a disgruntled anvil salesman who had been run out of Brighton, Illinois in a backlash to Hill's having conned the townspeople there comes to River City and exposes Hill and his plans. Chased by an angry mob and pressed to leave town by Marcellus and Marian, Hill realizes that he is in love with Marian and can't leave River City. He is captured by the mob and brought before a town meeting to be tarred and feathered. Hill is saved by the boys' band who miraculously have learned to play their own instruments (albeit badly). Hill remains in River City with Marian to conduct the boys' band full time, which eventually becomes properly trained and equipped with better quality instruments and uniforms. ("76 Trombones 2nd Reprise").
cast appear in the film, including Robert Preston
, Pert Kelton
and The Buffalo Bills.
The film made Robert Preston into an "A" list star in motion pictures, after years of appearing in supporting roles in famous films and in starring roles in "B" movies. Although Preston scored a great success in the original stage version of the show, he was not first choice for the film version, partly because he was not a box office star. Jack L. Warner, who was notorious for wanting to film stage musicals with stars other than the ones who played the roles onstage, wanted Frank Sinatra
for the role of Professor Harold Hill, but Meredith Willson insisted upon Preston. Cary Grant
was also "begged" by Warner to play Hill but he declined, saying "nobody could do that role as well as Bob Preston".
issued the soundtrack album in both stereophonic and monaural
versions.
, who had directed the show onstage, not only directed the film, but produced it as well, ensuring that the film was extremely faithful to the show. The actress Pert Kelton
and the Buffalo Bills
also reprised their stage roles. All of the show's songs were retained for the film with the exception of "My White Knight", which was replaced by "Being in Love"; this new song included some of the original song's lyrics.
Several phrases were altered for the film, as the writers felt they were too obscurely Midwestern to appeal to a broader audience; "Jeely kly!"
is Tommy Djilas's catchphrase in the play, while in the film he exclaims, "Great honk!" The word "shipoopi
" has no meaning and was concocted by Willson for the show.
Shirley Jones found out she was pregnant while filming was already underway; the costume designers kept having to adjust her dresses to conceal her pregnancy. In the scene at the footbridge when Marian and Harold embrace, Shirley Jones says that baby Patrick
kicked hard enough for Robert Preston to feel him.
To film the final parade scene in 1962, Jack L. Warner selected the marching band of the University of Southern California the Spirit of Troy
. He used many junior high school students from Southern California for the majority of the band. It took about 8 hours of shooting over two days to film the scene. All the musical instruments for the production were specially made for the film by the Olds Instrument Company in Fullerton, CA. The instruments were then refurbished and sold by Olds with no indication they were ever used in the film.
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
starring Robert Preston
Robert Preston (actor)
-Early life:Preston was born Robert Preston Meservey in Newton, Massachusetts, the son of Ruth L. and Frank Wesley Meservey, a garment worker and billing clerk for American Express. After attending Abraham Lincoln High School in Los Angeles, California, he studied acting at the Pasadena Community...
as Harold Hill and Shirley Jones
Shirley Jones
Shirley Mae Jones is an American singer and actress of stage, film and television. In her six decades of television, she starred as wholesome characters in a number of well-known musical films, such as Oklahoma! , Carousel , and The Music Man...
as Marian Paroo. The film is based on the 1957 Broadway musical
The Music Man
The Music Man is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments and uniforms to naive townsfolk before skipping town with...
of the same name by Meredith Willson
Meredith Willson
Robert Meredith Willson was an American composer, songwriter, conductor and playwright, best known for writing the book, music and lyrics for the hit Broadway musical The Music Man...
. The film was one of the biggest hits of the year and highly acclaimed critically.
In 2005, The Music Man was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry
National Film Registry
The National Film Registry is the United States National Film Preservation Board's selection of films for preservation in the Library of Congress. The Board, established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, was reauthorized by acts of Congress in 1992, 1996, 2005, and again in October 2008...
by the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Plot summary
Set in July 1912, a traveling salesman, "Professor" Harold Hill (Robert PrestonRobert Preston (actor)
-Early life:Preston was born Robert Preston Meservey in Newton, Massachusetts, the son of Ruth L. and Frank Wesley Meservey, a garment worker and billing clerk for American Express. After attending Abraham Lincoln High School in Los Angeles, California, he studied acting at the Pasadena Community...
), arrives in fictional location
Fictional location
Fictional locations are places that exist only in fiction and not in reality. Writers may create and describe such places to serve as backdrop for their fictional works. Fictional locations are also created for use as settings in Role-playing games such as Dungeons and Dragons...
of River City, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, intrigued by the challenge of swindling the famously stubborn natives of Iowa ("Iowa Stubborn
Iowa Stubborn
"Iowa Stubborn" is a song by Meredith Willson from his 1957 musical The Music Man. The first sung number in the show , it is a relaxed “soft-shoe” sung by the citizens of River City, Iowa trying to convince Professor Hill to "give Iowa a try." Its lyrics convey their polite, reserved and stoic...
"). Masquerading as a traveling band instructor, Professor Hill plans to con the citizens of River City into paying him to create a boys' marching band, including instruments, uniforms, and music instruction. Once he has collected the money and the instruments and uniforms have arrived, he will hop the next train out of town leaving them without their money or a band.
With help from his associate Marcellus Washburn (Buddy Hackett
Buddy Hackett
Buddy Hackett was an American comedian and actor.-Early life:Hackett was born in Brooklyn, New York, New York, the son of a Jewish upholsterer. He grew up on 54th and 14th Ave in Borough Park, Brooklyn, across from Public School 103...
), who is now living in River City and is the only one who knows Hill's real name, Professor Hill incites mass concern among the parents of River City that their young boys are being seduced into a world of sin and vice by the new pool table in town ("Ya Got Trouble
Ya Got Trouble
"Ya Got Trouble" is a song by Meredith Willson from the 1957 Broadway musical The Music Man, and its 1962 filmed version The Music Man. It is one of the most popular and recognizable songs in the musical, and Robert Preston's performance in the film is admired...
"). He convinces them that a boys' marching band is the only way to keep the boys of the town pure and out of trouble, and begins collecting their money ("76 Trombones"). Hill anticipates that Marian (Shirley Jones
Shirley Jones
Shirley Mae Jones is an American singer and actress of stage, film and television. In her six decades of television, she starred as wholesome characters in a number of well-known musical films, such as Oklahoma! , Carousel , and The Music Man...
), the town's librarian and piano instructor, will attempt to discredit him, so he sets out to seduce her into silence. Also in opposition to Hill is the town's Mayor Shinn, who orders the school board to obtain Hill's credentials. When they attempt to do so, Hill avoids their questions by teaching them to sing as a barbershop quartet via "sustained talking." They are thereafter easily tricked by Hill into breaking into song whenever they ask for his credentials.
Meanwhile, Hill attempts to win the heart of Marian the librarian, who has an extreme distrust of men. His charms have little effect upon Marian ("Marian the Librarian") until he wins the admiration of both her mother and her withdrawn and unhappy younger brother Winthrop (Ron Howard
Ron Howard
Ronald William "Ron" Howard is an American actor, director, and producer. He came to prominence as a child actor, playing Opie Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show for eight years, and later the teenaged Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days for six years...
) ("Gary, Indiana
Gary, Indiana
Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city is in the southeastern portion of the Chicago metropolitan area and is 25 miles from downtown Chicago. The population is 80,294 at the 2010 census, making it the seventh-largest city in the state. It borders Lake Michigan and is known...
"). Marian falls in love with Hill, and subsequently hides evidence she has proving he is a fraud ("Till There Was You
Till There Was You
"Till There Was You" is a song written by Meredith Willson for his 1957 musical play The Music Man, and which also appeared in the 1962 movie version...
"). The band's instruments arrive ("Wells Fargo Wagon") and Hill tells the boys to learn to play via the "Think System," in which they simply have to think of a tune over and over and will know how to play it without ever touching their instruments. Meanwhile, Marian is falling more in love with Harold, and in a counterpart with the The Buffalo Bills they sing "Lida Rose/Will I Ever Tell You". Hill's con is nearly complete; all he has to do is collect the rest of the instrument and uniform money ,and he can disappear. He is about to leave town when a disgruntled anvil salesman who had been run out of Brighton, Illinois in a backlash to Hill's having conned the townspeople there comes to River City and exposes Hill and his plans. Chased by an angry mob and pressed to leave town by Marcellus and Marian, Hill realizes that he is in love with Marian and can't leave River City. He is captured by the mob and brought before a town meeting to be tarred and feathered. Hill is saved by the boys' band who miraculously have learned to play their own instruments (albeit badly). Hill remains in River City with Marian to conduct the boys' band full time, which eventually becomes properly trained and equipped with better quality instruments and uniforms. ("76 Trombones 2nd Reprise").
Cast
Many members of the Original BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
cast appear in the film, including Robert Preston
Robert Preston (actor)
-Early life:Preston was born Robert Preston Meservey in Newton, Massachusetts, the son of Ruth L. and Frank Wesley Meservey, a garment worker and billing clerk for American Express. After attending Abraham Lincoln High School in Los Angeles, California, he studied acting at the Pasadena Community...
, Pert Kelton
Pert Kelton
Pert Kelton was an American vaudeville, movie, radio and television actress. She was the first actress who played Alice Kramden in The Honeymooners with Jackie Gleason and was a prominent comedic supporting film actress in the 1930s...
and The Buffalo Bills.
The film made Robert Preston into an "A" list star in motion pictures, after years of appearing in supporting roles in famous films and in starring roles in "B" movies. Although Preston scored a great success in the original stage version of the show, he was not first choice for the film version, partly because he was not a box office star. Jack L. Warner, who was notorious for wanting to film stage musicals with stars other than the ones who played the roles onstage, wanted Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
for the role of Professor Harold Hill, but Meredith Willson insisted upon Preston. Cary Grant
Cary Grant
Archibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...
was also "begged" by Warner to play Hill but he declined, saying "nobody could do that role as well as Bob Preston".
- Robert PrestonRobert Preston (actor)-Early life:Preston was born Robert Preston Meservey in Newton, Massachusetts, the son of Ruth L. and Frank Wesley Meservey, a garment worker and billing clerk for American Express. After attending Abraham Lincoln High School in Los Angeles, California, he studied acting at the Pasadena Community...
as Harold Hill - Shirley JonesShirley JonesShirley Mae Jones is an American singer and actress of stage, film and television. In her six decades of television, she starred as wholesome characters in a number of well-known musical films, such as Oklahoma! , Carousel , and The Music Man...
as Marian Paroo - Buddy HackettBuddy HackettBuddy Hackett was an American comedian and actor.-Early life:Hackett was born in Brooklyn, New York, New York, the son of a Jewish upholsterer. He grew up on 54th and 14th Ave in Borough Park, Brooklyn, across from Public School 103...
as Marcellus Washburn - Paul Ford as Mayor George Shinn
- Hermione GingoldHermione GingoldHermione Gingold was an English actress known for her sharp-tongued, eccentric persona, an image enhanced by her sharp nose and chin, as well as her deepening voice, a result of vocal nodes which her mother reportedly encouraged her not to remove. She starred on stage, on radio, in films, on...
as Eulalie Mackechnie Shinn - Pert KeltonPert KeltonPert Kelton was an American vaudeville, movie, radio and television actress. She was the first actress who played Alice Kramden in The Honeymooners with Jackie Gleason and was a prominent comedic supporting film actress in the 1930s...
as Mrs. Paroo - Vern ReedBuffalo Bills (quartet)The Buffalo Bills were a barbershop quartet formed in Buffalo, New York, on September 20, 1947. The original members were tenor Vern Reed, an executive for the Tonawanda Boys' Club, lead Al Shea, who was a city of Buffalo policeman, baritone Herschel Smith, a corporate executive, and bass Bill...
as Jacey Squires - Al SheaBuffalo Bills (quartet)The Buffalo Bills were a barbershop quartet formed in Buffalo, New York, on September 20, 1947. The original members were tenor Vern Reed, an executive for the Tonawanda Boys' Club, lead Al Shea, who was a city of Buffalo policeman, baritone Herschel Smith, a corporate executive, and bass Bill...
as Ewart Dunlop - Bill SpangenbergBuffalo Bills (quartet)The Buffalo Bills were a barbershop quartet formed in Buffalo, New York, on September 20, 1947. The original members were tenor Vern Reed, an executive for the Tonawanda Boys' Club, lead Al Shea, who was a city of Buffalo policeman, baritone Herschel Smith, a corporate executive, and bass Bill...
as Olin Britt - Wayne WardBuffalo Bills (quartet)The Buffalo Bills were a barbershop quartet formed in Buffalo, New York, on September 20, 1947. The original members were tenor Vern Reed, an executive for the Tonawanda Boys' Club, lead Al Shea, who was a city of Buffalo policeman, baritone Herschel Smith, a corporate executive, and bass Bill...
as Oliver Hix - Timmy Everett as Tommy Djilas
- Susan Luckey as Zaneeta Shinn
- Ron HowardRon HowardRonald William "Ron" Howard is an American actor, director, and producer. He came to prominence as a child actor, playing Opie Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show for eight years, and later the teenaged Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days for six years...
as Winthrop Paroo - Harry Hickox as Charlie Cowell
- Charles LaneCharles Lane (actor)Charles Gerstle Levison , better known as Charles Lane, was an American character actor seen in many movies and TV shows, and at the time of his death may have been the oldest living professional American actor. Lane appeared in many Frank Capra films, including You Can't Take It With You , Mr...
as Constable Locke - Adnia Rice as Alma Hix
- Peggy Mondo as Ethel Toffelmier
- Mary WickesMary WickesMary Wickes was an American film and television actress.-Career:Wickes was born as Mary Isabelle Wickenhauser in St. Louis, Missouri, of German Irish Protestant extraction. She graduated at the age of eighteen with a degree in political science from Washington University in St. Louis, where she...
as Mrs. Squires - Sara Seegar as Maud Dunlop
- Ronnie DapoRonnie DapoRonnie Dapo is an American former child actor who appeared in supporting roles in such television series as ABC's Room for One More and CBS's The New Phil Silvers Show .-Acting career:...
as Norbert Smith - Jesslyn Fax as Avis Grubb
- Monique Vermont as Amaryllis
- Percy HeltonPercy HeltonPercy Helton was an American film and television actor.One of his most memorable supporting roles was playing a drunken Santa Claus in Miracle on 34th Street. He also appeared in small but memorable roles in Criss Cross , The Set-Up , Kiss Me Deadly and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid...
as Train Conductor (uncredited)
Songs
Warner Bros. RecordsWarner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
issued the soundtrack album in both stereophonic and monaural
Monaural
Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction is single-channel. Typically there is only one microphone, one loudspeaker, or channels are fed from a common signal path...
versions.
- Rock Island – Traveling Salesmen, Ensemble
- Iowa Stubborn – River City citizens, Ensemble
- "Ya Got TroubleYa Got Trouble"Ya Got Trouble" is a song by Meredith Willson from the 1957 Broadway musical The Music Man, and its 1962 filmed version The Music Man. It is one of the most popular and recognizable songs in the musical, and Robert Preston's performance in the film is admired...
" – Robert Preston, Ensemble - Piano Lesson / If You Don't Mind My Saying So – Shirley Jones, Pert Kelton
- Goodnight, My Someone – Shirley Jones
- Ya Got Trouble/Seventy-six TrombonesSeventy-Six TrombonesSeventy-six Trombones is the signature song from the musical play The Music Man , which was written by Meredith Willson. This song also appeared in the film The Music Man , and in the made-for-TV movie adaptation in 2003...
– Robert Preston, Ensemble - Sincere – Buffalo BillsBuffalo Bills (quartet)The Buffalo Bills were a barbershop quartet formed in Buffalo, New York, on September 20, 1947. The original members were tenor Vern Reed, an executive for the Tonawanda Boys' Club, lead Al Shea, who was a city of Buffalo policeman, baritone Herschel Smith, a corporate executive, and bass Bill...
- The Sadder But Wiser Girl – Robert Preston
- Pick-a-Little, Talk-a-Little – Hermione Gingold, Biddys
- Marian The Librarian – Robert Preston
- Being in Love – Shirley Jones
- Gary, IndianaGary, IndianaGary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city is in the southeastern portion of the Chicago metropolitan area and is 25 miles from downtown Chicago. The population is 80,294 at the 2010 census, making it the seventh-largest city in the state. It borders Lake Michigan and is known...
– Robert Preston - Wells Fargo Wagon – Ensemble
- Lida Rose/Will I Ever Tell You – Buffalo Bills, Shirley Jones
- Gary, IndianaGary, IndianaGary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city is in the southeastern portion of the Chicago metropolitan area and is 25 miles from downtown Chicago. The population is 80,294 at the 2010 census, making it the seventh-largest city in the state. It borders Lake Michigan and is known...
(Reprise) – Ron Howard - Lida Rose (Reprise)
- ShipoopiShipoopi“Shipoopi” is a song in the 1957 musical The Music Man by Meredith Willson. The song is sung by the character Marcellus Washburn, friend of Harold Hill...
– Buddy Hackett, Ensemble - Till There Was YouTill There Was You"Till There Was You" is a song written by Meredith Willson for his 1957 musical play The Music Man, and which also appeared in the 1962 movie version...
– Shirley Jones - Goodnight, My Someone – Shirley Jones, Robert Preston, Ensemble
- Seventy-six TrombonesSeventy-Six TrombonesSeventy-six Trombones is the signature song from the musical play The Music Man , which was written by Meredith Willson. This song also appeared in the film The Music Man , and in the made-for-TV movie adaptation in 2003...
Production notes
Unusual for a musical film at the time, Morton DaCostaMorton DaCosta
Morton DaCosta was an American theatre and film director, film producer, writer, and actor.-Career:Born Morton Tecosky in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, DaCosta began his career as an actor in the Broadway production of Thornton Wilder's The Skin of Our Teeth starring Tallulah Bankhead in 1942...
, who had directed the show onstage, not only directed the film, but produced it as well, ensuring that the film was extremely faithful to the show. The actress Pert Kelton
Pert Kelton
Pert Kelton was an American vaudeville, movie, radio and television actress. She was the first actress who played Alice Kramden in The Honeymooners with Jackie Gleason and was a prominent comedic supporting film actress in the 1930s...
and the Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills (quartet)
The Buffalo Bills were a barbershop quartet formed in Buffalo, New York, on September 20, 1947. The original members were tenor Vern Reed, an executive for the Tonawanda Boys' Club, lead Al Shea, who was a city of Buffalo policeman, baritone Herschel Smith, a corporate executive, and bass Bill...
also reprised their stage roles. All of the show's songs were retained for the film with the exception of "My White Knight", which was replaced by "Being in Love"; this new song included some of the original song's lyrics.
Several phrases were altered for the film, as the writers felt they were too obscurely Midwestern to appeal to a broader audience; "Jeely kly!"
Minced oath
A minced oath is an expression based on a profanity or a taboo term that has been altered to reduce the objectionable characteristics.Many languages have such expressions...
is Tommy Djilas's catchphrase in the play, while in the film he exclaims, "Great honk!" The word "shipoopi
Shipoopi
“Shipoopi” is a song in the 1957 musical The Music Man by Meredith Willson. The song is sung by the character Marcellus Washburn, friend of Harold Hill...
" has no meaning and was concocted by Willson for the show.
Shirley Jones found out she was pregnant while filming was already underway; the costume designers kept having to adjust her dresses to conceal her pregnancy. In the scene at the footbridge when Marian and Harold embrace, Shirley Jones says that baby Patrick
Patrick Cassidy (actor)
Patrick Cassidy is an American actor best known for his roles in musical theatre and television.-Personal life:...
kicked hard enough for Robert Preston to feel him.
To film the final parade scene in 1962, Jack L. Warner selected the marching band of the University of Southern California the Spirit of Troy
Spirit of Troy
The Spirit of Troy, also known as the University of Southern California Trojan Marching Band , self-described as "The Greatest Marching Band in the History of the Universe," represents USC at various collegiate sports, broadcast, popular music recording, and national public appearance functions.The...
. He used many junior high school students from Southern California for the majority of the band. It took about 8 hours of shooting over two days to film the scene. All the musical instruments for the production were specially made for the film by the Olds Instrument Company in Fullerton, CA. The instruments were then refurbished and sold by Olds with no indication they were ever used in the film.
Win
- Best Musical ScoreAcademy Award for Original Music ScoreThe Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:...
(adaptation or treatment) – Ray HeindorfRay HeindorfRay Heindorf was an American songwriter, composer, conductor, and arranger.-Early life:Born in Haverstraw, New York, Heindorf worked as a pianist in a movie house in Mechanicville in his early teens. In 1928, he moved to New York City, where he worked as a musical arranger before heading to...
Nominations
- Best Picture – Morton DaCostaMorton DaCostaMorton DaCosta was an American theatre and film director, film producer, writer, and actor.-Career:Born Morton Tecosky in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, DaCosta began his career as an actor in the Broadway production of Thornton Wilder's The Skin of Our Teeth starring Tallulah Bankhead in 1942...
- Best CostumeAcademy Award for Costume DesignThe Academy Award for Best Costume Design is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for achievement in film costume design....
(color) – Dorothy JeakinsDorothy JeakinsDorothy Jeakins was a costume designer.Born in San Diego, California, she went to public school in Los Angeles from first grade through high school... - Best Art Direction (color) – Paul GroessePaul GroessePaul Groesse was a Hungarian-born American art director. He won three Academy Awards and was nominated for another eight in the category Best Art Direction.-Academy Awards:...
and George James Hopkins - Best Film Editing – William H. Ziegler
- Best Sound – George Groves
American Film Institute
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs:
- Seventy-Six Trombones – Nominated
- AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals – Nominated