1h 55min | Biography, Drama, Music | 4 January 1954 | Color
Director: Anthony Mann
Stars: James Stewart, June Allyson, Harry Morgan.
Kenny Williams ... dance director
Watched online, good print.
In theTap! Appendix (actually from Jazz Dance by Stearns, 1994) for Archie Savage Dancers.
In the
I distrust biopics. I am not usually a fan of JA. There was a time that I felt burned out on JS. Glenn Miller's style is syrupy sweet. Previously rated this 6. So I was not looking forward to it.
And yet I really enjoyed this film.
Had it come out 5 years earlier, I might not have. But I miss big bands by now. They've disappeared from the screen. Even Cugat is gone (most recent film: Neptune's Daughter ('49)). So even syrupy GM sounds pretty good, and this collection is his greatest hits.
JA didn't sing/dance here; maybe I like her better in straight roles. Then again, it's pretty easy for me to believe someone falls for JS, and grieves for his loss.
Watching so many musicals in the last 9 months, I am definitely not overwhelmed by JS (he made very few music/als, 2 in '36, 1 in '39, 2 in '41, 1 in '48). He looks good in those glasses, and plays the distracted genius well. This is the 5th of 8 pairings of director Mann and JS.
I don't need this to be an accurate biopic, because it shows well the struggle of searching for a new sound, just as Walking My Baby Back Home (1953) did a month earlier (also Universal!)
Plus they included a scene with Louis Armstrong and Gene Krupa, 2 of my favorites.
Universal, dir. Mann; 8
