The Glenn Miller Story (1954)

The story of band leader Glenn Miller (James Stewart) starting in 1929 and his struggle to form his own band with his own sound to the 1940s when he was the best selling recording artist in the U.S. and his premature death in 1944. Directed by Anthony Mann (WINCHESTER 73), this was the fifth of the eight films he made with James Stewart. It's a generic by the number cornball biopic (struggling, success, sad ending) with none of the strengths of their western collaborations. Unless you're a fan of Miller's big band sound, this will be tough going. But if you are a fan, then it should be tolerable because the movie is crammed with his glorious music, just about all his hits. Certainly don't watch it expecting a serious cinematic biography of Miller as I doubt there's much accuracy in the telling. 1954 audiences ate it up and it was a huge box office hit. The mawkish ending is redeemed by some good acting by June Allyson as Miller's wife (nobody does holding back the tears like Allyson). With Charles Drake, Henry Morgan, Frances Langford (whose Chattanooga Choo Choo is a highlight), George Tobias, Louis Armstrong, Sig Ruman and Katherine Warren.