The Music Man

A charming slice of life set in an idyllic America of days gone by. Robert Preston, in the role of a lifetime, stars as Prof. Harold Hill, a con man who sweeps through the Midwest selling the simple townsfolk he ingratiates himself with on the notion of a boys' band. After collecting their payments for instruments and uniforms Hill hops on the next train out of town, just ahead of the tar and feather mobs which usually accompany him to the train station. Written and scored entirely by Meredith Wilson, based on his own life in Mason City, Iowa (River City for the show), and a huge hit on Broadway, "The Music Man" was one of Warner Bros.' big films for 1962; that is, if the notoriously meddlesome Jack Warner could be convinced to keep his hands off of the property. Similar to the tweakings he had imagined for "My Fair Lady" (trying to cast Cary Grant as Henry Higgins instead of Rex Harrison, who owned the role), Jack Warner initially sought Frank Sinatra to play the fast talking ne'er do well Harold Hill. Sinatra balked and other actors were considered. In true Hollywood "putting the cart before the horse" fashion, the studio had already locked up Shirley Jones to play Marion the Librarian, the film's female lead, and thus were considering younger actors whose romantic chemistry would be more palpable than that of the older Robert Preston. Nevermind that Preston dominated the role on Broadway, won the Tony, and was the choice everyone wanted to see. Finally cooler heads prevailed, Preston was given the part and "The Music Man" could go on to become the huge success everyone knew it would.

From the very first number in the movie, you can tell Meredith Wilson was a genius. Perfectly timing an extended sequence of syncopated speaking amongst a group of traveling salesmen bemoaning Harold Hill for giving all of them a bad name. The sequence goes on for more than 5 minutes, all of it done to a beat, and it really is quite remarkable. As the train the group is riding pulls into the next town, River City, Iowa, Harold Hill, who was sitting right in their midst the entire time, disembarks, ready to conquer another tiny hamlet. River City is the quintessential small town; extremely conservative, stubborn, and unhappily content with how the town is run. Its mayor is a pompous blowhard named George Shinn, who freqently mispronounces words, and his wife is an obnoxious browbeater, who with her gaggle of ladies resemble a flock of clucking hens (which Wilson brilliantly realizes later in the film when Hill has them sing together). The only one in town with a mind of her own is Marian, the pretty librarian who on the outside is buttoned up and stand offish, but on the inside is a romantic yearning for her white knight. Marian is an outcast in the town for allowing children to read the classics, which are chock full of vice and sin, and initially Hill uses this to his advantage. Relying on the town's intense fear of sin, he convinces them that the new pool hall is the first step towards the downfall of civilization in the rousing number "Trouble". The answer to the rampant degredation: a boys band, of course.

The plan going well, Hill turns his attention to other matters, namely winning over the beautiful Marian. She warms to him after Hill befriends young Winthrop, her troubled younger brother with a bad speech problem played by an 8 year old Ron Howard with a full head of red hair. Hill also ingratiates himself with the rest of the town by doing other good civic deeds: keeping town troublemaker Tommy out of trouble by putting him to work as the band's leader and organizing the four constantly bickering town elders into a barbershop quartet. The entire town is so excited by the prospect of the band (especially after Hill so vividly convinces them of it with the show stopping number "76 Trombones") and Hill is so smooth, that they continually neglect to check his references or even to ask anything specific of the man. At first Marian was suspicious of him, to the extent that she did some research on his purported alma mater, "Gary, Indiana, Conservatory of Music, Class of 'aught ten!", but soon she too falls under his spell. It is not until an anvil salesman comes to town and confirms Marian's initial doubts that Hill's scheme is foiled. Hill makes a break for the train station, but cannot bring himself to leave Marian, and the rest of the town that he has gron extremely fond of. Marian speaks up on behalf of Hill, imploring the town to forgive the man who, despite lying to them, also created a genuine air of kindness and compassion while he was in town. The town reluctantly forgives Hill, who agrees to stay on as band leader. The film ends with the band playing horribly, but the boys' parents are so proud that the clueless band, to their ears, segues into a tremendous orchestra, which Hill gallantly leads down the street. Perhaps the greatest compliment that can be bestowed upon "The Music Man" is that "The Simpsons" greatest episode in their long run was a direct parody of the classic film, with a con man trying to convince the citizens of Springfield that they need a monorail. That episode is truly classic, as is the film which inspired it.