Marisa

Music that covers every genre of the time and a wonderful performance by June Allyson as the expectant war bride who works playing a bass fiddle for Jose Iturbi's orchestra are the main hallmarks of Music For Millions. Of course the big name in the cast for the time is little Margaret O'Brien who was winning hearts all over the USA during the World War II years.

There were numerous films during those years that covered women doing all kinds of work in occupations for men. Why would playing in a symphony orchestra be different. Jose Iturbi is hemorrhaging male musicians in his orchestra to the draft and his ensemble was starting to look like Phil Spitalny's band.

One fine evening Allyson's little sister Margaret O'Brien comes to town and interrupts a concert at Carnegie Hall. Iturbi and orchestra manager Jimmy Durante are put out, but the women in the orchestra really take to O'Brien the way America did. Even Iturbi and Durante come around and Margaret becomes a kind of mascot.

A real crisis erupts when a War Department letter arrives for Allyson, but she doesn't get it courtesy of her fellow musicians. June is pregnant now and the women figure no news is good news until she has the baby. One of June Allyson's best acted scenes is with Iturbi where she confesses how frightened she is not knowing and hoping for the best for her husband out in the Pacific.

Iturbi does some classical music and appropriately the film ends with Handel's Hallelujah Chorus and why appropriate you watch the film for. And Jimmy Durante is his own comic self and his rendition of Umbriago is a film highlight.

Women certainly play in orchestras now. I live around the corner from the Kleinhans Symphony in Buffalo and I see many a female musician parking their cars and carrying their instruments to the hall. And we have a female conductor named Joann Falletta. This review is dedicated to her.

This movie has some of the most tender, moving scenes I've ever experienced. Margaret O'Brien speaks with heart and warmth. Her delivery has such a purity, she can't help but make you feel the hopefulness and faith of a child. A truly beautiful film.

The music is worth the viewing of this WWII film. Jose Iturbi performs some classic pieces as only he could do. This movie gives a slice of life from a different era. Some of the funniest scenes are between Jimmy Durante and Margaret O'Brien. June Allyson's scenes with Marsha Hunt compel even the most cynical person to tears. Seeing tiny June Allyson playing the huge double bass (not the cello) has its own kind of humor, and interestingly, the main character of the movie doesn't appear on screen! But it is the music that makes the film so sweet and memorable. The music is as much a part of the story as the characters. It was a time of innocence and sweetness that June Allyson and Margaret O'Brien capture so perfectly. They don't make movies like this any more.

I saw "Music for Millions" right before Memorial Day. This beautiful WWII movie must have been a wonderful gift of hope to American G.I. wives and sweethearts. It leaves nothing unsaid about the powerlessness and fear many of these women must have felt. Yet it is also an inspiring testimonial about hope. Hope, prayer, and faith as embodied by one tenacious six-year old girl.

Although you'll cry aplenty, this is more than a '4-hankie' drama. Jimmy Durante, with his famous 'snozzoola' and comic skits, provides a wonderfully humorous contrast to the inspiring classical concertos played by the world-renown Jose Iturbi. You'll be left breathless while the famous conductor/pianist fills the air with the incredibly beautiful music of his mostly female orchestra, bringing a different kind of hope and joy to our boys in uniform.

This movie is an absolute MUST!

This little movie is a warm, loving, funny movie full of hope and faith from a 7 year old child in a time of World War. They don't make them like this any more, plain acting NO special effects. You can't find it on any type of video, though I can't imagine why, with all the trash being brought out today. If you can catch it on one of the movie channels DO NOT MISS IT; grab something warm to drink and some tissues.