Review of THE MUSIC MAN

THE MUSIC MAN - 1962

The Music Man is a, satirical romantic musical comedy, and it works on all of these genres.

PROFESSOR HAROLD HILL (Robert Preston) has a nice little con going.  He sells band instruments and uniforms to children in small towns and promises the parents that by continually humming music, for example, Beethoven's Minuet in G, the kids will learn to play. After the equipment arrives and before the first band rehearsal, he collects the rest of the money and skips town, leaving the parents to the sad discovery that band equipment does not automatically create a band. 

RIVER CITY, IOWA, he hears, is an especially hard sell, so there he goes. First step--manufacture a need.  A new pool hall gives him the opportunity.  He climbs on a soapbox and rouses the townspeople with a brisk, rhythmic patter:

 

      You've got trouble, my friends, right here in River City,
      With a capitol T and that rhymes with P and that stands for pool...

 Soon the whole town is worried about how:

       …libertine men and scarlet women, and ragtime, shameless music,

      will grab your son, your daughter in the arms of the jungle animal instinct,

      masssteria, friends, the idle brain is the devil's playground.

 Lucky for the town, Harold has a solution to the problem.

      A band will do it, my friends, oh yes, I said a boys' band, do you hear me? 
      River City's gotta have a boys' band and I mean she needs it today.
      Well, Professor Harold Hill's on hand, River City's gonna have a boys' band,
      as sure as the Lord made little green apples, and that band's gonna be in uniform...

But Harold runs into a problem. He is attracted to the MARIAN THE LIBRARIAN, who advocates "dirty books, Chaucer, Rabelais, BALLzac."  After an incredibly gross attempt to woo her, he falls in love with her, and when the time comes for him to leave, he's reluctant.  Meanwhile, the townspeople are preparing the tar and feathers…

This movie can be summed up in two words--Robert Preston. His boundless energy and personality as he dashes about and distracts everyone from realizing that his promises are empty fluff are the best part of the film.  In addition, the music is wonderful, the dancing is energetic, the characters memorable, and the plot absurdly funny.

 The movie was 'updated' in 2003 to reflect modern 'sensibilities.'   I suspect someone thought Harold Hill's rants were serious--a mistake. The original movie is a parody, and whatever sensibilities the revision is supposed to correct can not make up for the lack of Robert Preston.

If you saw this film decades ago, you'll can enjoy it again.  If you never saw it, you have a treat in store for you. It's a superb movie. As a workout movie, it does have slow spots, but will still get your pulse up to a jog.  I give it +++.