The Glenn Miller Story

"The Glenn Miller Story" appears on cable-TV from time to time. It is an historically accurate piece about a beloved man whose music defined an era.

Miller is portrayed as a gracious and kind man -- an officer and a gentleman. We see Jimmy Stewart's affectionate portrayal of this simple man who spent his short musical career searching for a particular sound. The results got the whole world dancing to his new beat: Swing! The music in this movie will surely get you on your feet!

The driving force in Glenn Miller's life was his love for his wife, Helen, amicably played by June Allyson.

A "must-see", movie classic. Be sure to bring a hanky!

Were Jimmy Stewart and June Allyson made for the movie,or what?!

Great movie,lovely music!One of those movies that make you feel good all over,with a beautiful blend if wit,emotion and the Blues!What is even more impressive is the use of African American actors,considering the movie was made in 1954.The Jimmy and June combination evokes the chemistry of a Kate and Spencer movie.A true classic in every way,I'd watch it again in a heartbeat!

The Glenn Miller Story is a biographical tribute to a man who is always ranked as one of the great swing bandleaders of the late thirties to middle forties era. It is indeed fortunate that when James Stewart puts a pair of glasses on, he does actually look like the real Glenn Miller. I don't know what Helen Miller looked like, but I'm sure she was as supportive to her husband as June Allyson was to her screen hubby.

The Miller story begins with Stewart and pal Harry Morgan on the road as musicians. Stewart plays a slide trombone and has ideas of how the orchestra should sound as a whole. He spends a lot of time writing arrangements for the entire band. When they're not done right as is graphically shown in a scene when Miller's famous Moonlight Serenade is performed, he decides to form his own band.

He's still looking for that particular sound that he wants his orchestra to have and he chances on it in one of the more interesting scenes in the film. Swing fans when they hear it will recognize it as the genuine Glenn Miller.

One glaring fault for purists though is while the instrumentals are performed nicely, the vocal part of the Miller band is left out of the film. For whatever reason singers, Ray Eberle, Marian Hutton (Betty's sister)and most of all Gordon "Tex" Beneke are not in the film. In fact Chattanooga Choo Choo, Beneke's most famous number, is performed in the film by Frances Langford as herself.

My favorite scene in the film is the nightclub scene in Harlem on the Miller wedding night. June was definitely a patient wife, but hey, if you got a chance to jam with Louis Armstrong, you drop EVERYTHING for that opportunity. Gene Krupa and other top jazz musicians are in that scene with Stewart and Satchmo, making it a real treat for jazz aficionados.

For American music we are indeed fortunate that Glenn Miller succeeded in his quest for the right sound which is so lovingly captured in this film.

James Stewart in one of his best roles of the 1950s playing the late bandleader in the embellished story of his life; June Allyson plays his wife – one of her best roles and I believe one of her personal favourites.

Watching the real Miller in ‘Orchestra Wives' and then watching this, Stewart is really a revelation in this role. All the hits of the band are represented – Moonlight Serenade, In The Mood, Tuxedo Junction, Chattanooga Choo-Choo, Pennsylvania 65000. Some artistic licence has been taken but the whole is funny, celebratory, and at the end fairly touching. One of the best Hollywood biopics, right in the middle of a glut of them (Love Me or Leave Me, With a Song In My Heart, The Eddy Duchin Story, Night and Day, Words and Music, Three Little Words …).

Glenn Miller's rise to fame and the tragedy that took him from us at the height of his career makes for a wonderfully entertaining film.

This film is rich because of the wonderful performances of James Stewart as the band leader and June Allyson, the latter was just made for the picture. She captures the depth of a devoted wife and we all can just cry with her when her happiness was ended so suddenly.

Naturally, the supporting cast of musicians and scenes with Frances Langford, Louis Armstrong and Gene Krupa are just wonderful.

We view Miller from humble beginnings to stardom, the old-fashioned Hollywood Way-he earned it by hard work and perseverance as he went through life looking for that sound.

My main flaw with this film. Just like Miller's life, it ended too suddenly. It could have gone on and on while we all danced the night away in tribute to this find musician.

Ever Harry Morgan's tear in the end tells you what this was all about.