Biography of bandleader Glenn Miller from his beginnings to his death over the English Channel in December 1944.Biography of bandleader Glenn Miller from his beginnings to his death over the English Channel in December 1944.Biography of bandleader Glenn Miller from his beginnings to his death over the English Channel in December 1944.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 1 win & 7 nominations total
Harry Morgan
- Chummy
- (as Henry Morgan)
Katherine Warren
- Mrs. Burger
- (as Katharine Warren)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
"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!
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!
The unemployed trombone player Glenn Miller (James Stewart) is always broken, chasing his sound to form his band and hocking his instrument in the pawn house to survive. When his friend Chummy MacGregor (Henry Morgan) is hired to play in the band of Ben Pollack, the band-leader listens to one Glenn's composition and invites him to join his band. While traveling to New York, Glenn visits his former girlfriend Helen Berger (June Allyson), in Boulder, Colorado, and asks her to wait for him. Two years later he quits the band and proposes Helen that moves to New York to marry him. After the success of "Moonlight Serenade", Glenn Miller's band becomes worldwide known and Glenn and Helen and their two children have a very comfortable life. Duting the World War II, Glenn enlists in the army and travels to Europe to increase the moral of the allied troops. In the Christmas of 1944, he travels from London to Paris for a concert to be broadcast; however his plane is never found in the tragic flight.
Glenn Miller was the great idol of my father and I recall that in my childhood, he loved the albums (long-plays) of this American musician and usually commented his tragic end. I do not know how many times I listened to hits like "Moonlight Serenade", "String of Pearls", "Pennsylvania 6-5000", "Little Brown Jug", "In the Mood", "Chattanooga Choo Choo" and other Glenn Miller's musics when I was a kid. This is the first time that I watch "The Glenn Miller Story" and the awesome combination of the music of Glenn Miller and James Stewart. Further, the lovely June Allyson shows a wonderful chemistry with James Stewart and together with the stunning Louis Armstrong, Frances Langford, Ben Pollack, Gene Krupa, Barney Bigard, James Young, Marty Napoleon, Arvell Shaw, Cozy Cole, Babe Russin and others personalities, they make a great tribute to a magnificent American musician and composer. My vote is eight.
Title (Brazil): "Música e Lágrimas" ("Music and Tears")
Glenn Miller was the great idol of my father and I recall that in my childhood, he loved the albums (long-plays) of this American musician and usually commented his tragic end. I do not know how many times I listened to hits like "Moonlight Serenade", "String of Pearls", "Pennsylvania 6-5000", "Little Brown Jug", "In the Mood", "Chattanooga Choo Choo" and other Glenn Miller's musics when I was a kid. This is the first time that I watch "The Glenn Miller Story" and the awesome combination of the music of Glenn Miller and James Stewart. Further, the lovely June Allyson shows a wonderful chemistry with James Stewart and together with the stunning Louis Armstrong, Frances Langford, Ben Pollack, Gene Krupa, Barney Bigard, James Young, Marty Napoleon, Arvell Shaw, Cozy Cole, Babe Russin and others personalities, they make a great tribute to a magnificent American musician and composer. My vote is eight.
Title (Brazil): "Música e Lágrimas" ("Music and Tears")
Did you know
- TriviaJames Stewart took trombone lessons in order to actually play during scenes where Glenn Miller is seen performing with his orchestra. However, while learning from his tutor, Stewart's attempts at practicing the instrument made such horrible noises that the teacher reportedly went home in a rage every night to his family. It was decided that Stewart would accurately mime the motions of playing (especially apparent during the performance of String of Pearls) while his trombone tutor Joe Yukl did the actual playing.
- GoofsMiller's famed swing instrumental of "Little Brown Jug" is depicted in the closing scene as a "special arrangement" Glenn created for a Christmas 1944 radio broadcast by Miller's AAF Band from Paris. In fact, it was one of the real Miller Band's first bona fide hits in 1939, arranged by the recently hired Bill Finegan, who became, along with arranger Jerry Gray, two of the key behind-the-scenes craftsmen that helped mold Miller's civilian band into the enduring commercial and artistic powerhouse it became.
- Quotes
[repeated line]
Helen Burger: Honestly!
- Alternate versionsMost current prints in circulation are the slightly shortened 113-minute 1959 re-release version.
- SoundtracksBasin Street Blues
(uncredited)
Written by Spencer Williams
Performed by Louis Armstrong and Gene Krupa
Details
Box office
- Gross worldwide
- $994
- Runtime
- 1h 55m(115 min)
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