The Music Man - 1962

[ginscpy]

They don't make corrnball movies like that anymore.

Too bad....

(just rewatched it on TCM)

 

[ginscpy]

River City, Iowa.............................

 

[Baruch Menachem]

My boy plays the trombone, sometimes, in the marching band.

But usually he does the baratone horn.

An amazing piece of work. I love the exercises in contrapoint. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODu888i14-I"]The ending is one of the all time great ways to finish a movie.[/ame]

 

[random3434]

My daughter LOVED that movie when she was in grade school!

We watched it every day, I know all the lyrics lol.


The Simpsons did a great spoof on one of the songs from the movie:


[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEZjzsnPhnw]‪Simpsons - Monorail‬‏ - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Baruch Menachem]

And there is nothing that can top
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hC2nFFu-mj4&feature=related"]Goodnight my someone, goodnight.[/ame]

 

[ginscpy]

1962 was really the end of the 1950s

In 63 JFK got assasinated and things started going downhill ......................

 

[ginscpy]

Wholesome AMERICANA - don't see any drug-dealers or any other lowlifes.............................

 

[ginscpy]

"Trouble in River City.."

Yeah right.

How many alive back then would like to go back in time????????????????

 

[lenrely]

The wiki article on this movie is great but I was surprised by their interpretation of the ending. It says the plot fast-forwards to a time when the town has a real band with better uniforms and equipment, Prof. Hill remaining in town as bandleader with Marian at his side. I interpreted the ending to be the sight of their boys performing has led the town's imagination to run wild, believing they have a real marching band and therefore Prof. Hill's goal of spellbinding the town is complete, fantasy replacing reality (which is all that was needed). The article also says his goal of seducing Marian was to silence her from discrediting him. When Hill says "you know how I feel about stuck-up librarians who teach piano" I took this to mean he sees hard-to-get women as a personal challenge to his salemanship (like River City itself).
This movie is a fascinating exploration of the placebo effect, whether perception is more valuable than authenticy. You never know if Prof. Hill actually believes his own spiel (he dreams of being a real band leader and yet he is a habitual liar), so the viewer himself is denied the answer. He is not practicing holistic medicine without a PhD because he disagrees with the system, he is a con man who prides himself on his ability to sell anything to anyone, so much so that he works harder talking the ears off a mule than it would be to actually learn what something is, and it is this skill that miraculously changes people.
As to whether someone can master a mechanical instrument by the "think system", instinctual learning, the boys in the band were able to play the Minuet (badly) by experimenting with their instruments to find the right notes. So the think system is completely dependent on outside factors to "work", and therefore a sham, but could probably continue this way indefinitely and thus fulfill its purpose.