This film is loosely based on the life of composer John Philip Sousa (Clifton Webb), who was a military band leader in the late 19th century. He was responsible for some of the most famous military marching tunes ever written. This film covers, pretty much, the late 19th century portion of Sousa's life. He later made waves reenlisting in the military in his 60s for WWI, but this film takes us up, pretty much, to 1900. He is teetering on age 40, when this film picks up on his life. It is the early 1890s, Sousa is getting ready to leave the Marines and take his new civilian band on the road. He just needs to get through the next ten days. He lives off-base, in his own home, with his wife, Jennie (Ruth Hussey) and his kids.
He meets a young, energetic Marine band member, Willie Little (Robert Wagner), who invents a tuba called a Sousaphone and inserts himself into Sousa's band. He also brings his girlfriend, Lily Becker (Debra Paget), along, who is a struggling singer at a late-night music hall. Sousa eventually takes a liking to her, and along with Willie, aids her in advancing her singing career. As time goes by, we see some of the music that Sousa writes, the impact the music has on the country, his bought with typhoid fever and we learn more about the characters, as the century comes to a close. Eventually, the Spanish-American war comes and he reenlists back into the military to lead the American marching band into victory. Unfortunately, he can't fight, because of the fever coming back and he is sent on a cruise ship at sea to rehabilitate.
That is when he writes Stars and Stripes Forever. It wouldn't become the official, national, marching tune of the United States until, almost, the 1990s. The plot of the film is taken from excerpts from Sousa's book he wrote. As with every case, the film has that Hollywood added touch for entertainment and script needs. It is a nice, tightly-wrapped, 90 minute film, however it is up to you, if you need historical accuracies. Regardless, the story handed to us in this film is still entertaining, with the right amount of musical interludes thrown in. It is the type of musicals that I like. I tend to get annoyed if characters break out into song and dance for no apparent reason. The musical interludes in this film all happen on the stage, in practice or a performance outside. They are legitimate.
What is mostly interesting about this film, is the combination of eras, that you have to think about, in order to feel the real effect of this film. It was funny seeing the people of the time, dancing together to these military songs, like us, dancing to pop-dance tunes today. Sousa's band was the most popular band in the world, like the Beatles 65 years later. That's what this man, his bands and his music did. They were the 1890s equivalent of #1 pop band. I always say, put yourself into the time period that the movie was made, but since this is a period piece, even the kids who saw this movie, were already dancing to whoever was influencing Elvis at the time (Elvis was still in high school when this film came out).
Director, Henry Koster, utilizes the great art direction and practical set designs of the time. Take note, of the excellent matte background, that the effect team uses for the dusk sky, when Sousa is contemplating his greatest composition in his head, while outside on the ship's deck. The performances by the cast is quite good. This is a pretty good movie for Robert Wagner fans too. This film is a nice, entertaining, tight, hour-and-a-half, discovery of a small part of our history. The general design of the film and the spot it holds on the film history timeline, makes it a film needed to be seen.
7.1 (C MyGrade) = 7 IMDB.
He meets a young, energetic Marine band member, Willie Little (Robert Wagner), who invents a tuba called a Sousaphone and inserts himself into Sousa's band. He also brings his girlfriend, Lily Becker (Debra Paget), along, who is a struggling singer at a late-night music hall. Sousa eventually takes a liking to her, and along with Willie, aids her in advancing her singing career. As time goes by, we see some of the music that Sousa writes, the impact the music has on the country, his bought with typhoid fever and we learn more about the characters, as the century comes to a close. Eventually, the Spanish-American war comes and he reenlists back into the military to lead the American marching band into victory. Unfortunately, he can't fight, because of the fever coming back and he is sent on a cruise ship at sea to rehabilitate.
That is when he writes Stars and Stripes Forever. It wouldn't become the official, national, marching tune of the United States until, almost, the 1990s. The plot of the film is taken from excerpts from Sousa's book he wrote. As with every case, the film has that Hollywood added touch for entertainment and script needs. It is a nice, tightly-wrapped, 90 minute film, however it is up to you, if you need historical accuracies. Regardless, the story handed to us in this film is still entertaining, with the right amount of musical interludes thrown in. It is the type of musicals that I like. I tend to get annoyed if characters break out into song and dance for no apparent reason. The musical interludes in this film all happen on the stage, in practice or a performance outside. They are legitimate.
What is mostly interesting about this film, is the combination of eras, that you have to think about, in order to feel the real effect of this film. It was funny seeing the people of the time, dancing together to these military songs, like us, dancing to pop-dance tunes today. Sousa's band was the most popular band in the world, like the Beatles 65 years later. That's what this man, his bands and his music did. They were the 1890s equivalent of #1 pop band. I always say, put yourself into the time period that the movie was made, but since this is a period piece, even the kids who saw this movie, were already dancing to whoever was influencing Elvis at the time (Elvis was still in high school when this film came out).
Director, Henry Koster, utilizes the great art direction and practical set designs of the time. Take note, of the excellent matte background, that the effect team uses for the dusk sky, when Sousa is contemplating his greatest composition in his head, while outside on the ship's deck. The performances by the cast is quite good. This is a pretty good movie for Robert Wagner fans too. This film is a nice, entertaining, tight, hour-and-a-half, discovery of a small part of our history. The general design of the film and the spot it holds on the film history timeline, makes it a film needed to be seen.
7.1 (C MyGrade) = 7 IMDB.