Of all the musical biopics I've seen, The Glenn Miller Story ranks pretty low. That's not to say it was bad; I'm just saying I've enjoyed the others much more. Films like "The Five Pennies" (about Red Nichols), "Til the Clouds Roll By" (Jerome Kern) or even the more recent 70s "Lady Sings the Blues" (Billie Holiday) were much more engaging and memorable to me because those films explored a dramatic conflict in the artist's life. I'm not talking about car chases & explosions; I just think a movie should focus on a particular difficulty that the protagonist must face: recurring obstacles, internal demons, or good old artistic pathos. Something to make it seem like there's a point to the struggle.
The Glenn Miller Story had no such conflict. Aside from a few money problems early on (always solved by hocking his horn at a local pawn shop), everything seems to go peachy keen. The whole film is like a gentle sled ride down a bunny slope. This is odd because Glenn's true life story had plenty of drama that could have been brought to the screen. Instead these moments were glossed over--almost as if the filmmakers were purposely trying to avoid any tension or passion. The "conclusion" was handled so vaguely I had to run over to wikipedia to read what really happened.
While I was at wikipedia, I learned a whole lot of other interesting things about Glenn Miller--none of which warranted more than a 30 second scene in the film. I'm talking about things like Glenn's "new sound" & how he struggled with it, his efforts to revolutionize the military's musical format & the tremendous resistance he encountered from officers & critics, and, as I mentioned, the VERY intriguing conclusion to his career & life. These major points were presented insufficiently in the film. It seemed like the filmmakers chose to focus more on the feel-good scenes like wedding parties, happy gigs and the happy couple cooing to each other (without ever showing how they fell in love in the first place). I was left in a state of disbelief.
It's hard for me to flunk any Jimmy Stewart film, so I'll probably try giving it another viewing someday. Maybe it's a good flick for a warm summer day when you don't want too much drama. But for now, I prefer the other films I mentioned, particularly "The Five Pennies" which really gives you an appreciation for how hard musicians struggle to reach success--and Louis Armstrong vs. Danny Kaye in duelling trumpets is worth the price of admission!
Another good biopic which convincingly shows an artist's struggle (though fictionalized) is "Young Man with a Horn" with Kirk Douglas and Lauren Bacall. If you really want a artistic pathos, of course go for AMADEUS!
The Glenn Miller Story had no such conflict. Aside from a few money problems early on (always solved by hocking his horn at a local pawn shop), everything seems to go peachy keen. The whole film is like a gentle sled ride down a bunny slope. This is odd because Glenn's true life story had plenty of drama that could have been brought to the screen. Instead these moments were glossed over--almost as if the filmmakers were purposely trying to avoid any tension or passion. The "conclusion" was handled so vaguely I had to run over to wikipedia to read what really happened.
While I was at wikipedia, I learned a whole lot of other interesting things about Glenn Miller--none of which warranted more than a 30 second scene in the film. I'm talking about things like Glenn's "new sound" & how he struggled with it, his efforts to revolutionize the military's musical format & the tremendous resistance he encountered from officers & critics, and, as I mentioned, the VERY intriguing conclusion to his career & life. These major points were presented insufficiently in the film. It seemed like the filmmakers chose to focus more on the feel-good scenes like wedding parties, happy gigs and the happy couple cooing to each other (without ever showing how they fell in love in the first place). I was left in a state of disbelief.
It's hard for me to flunk any Jimmy Stewart film, so I'll probably try giving it another viewing someday. Maybe it's a good flick for a warm summer day when you don't want too much drama. But for now, I prefer the other films I mentioned, particularly "The Five Pennies" which really gives you an appreciation for how hard musicians struggle to reach success--and Louis Armstrong vs. Danny Kaye in duelling trumpets is worth the price of admission!
Another good biopic which convincingly shows an artist's struggle (though fictionalized) is "Young Man with a Horn" with Kirk Douglas and Lauren Bacall. If you really want a artistic pathos, of course go for AMADEUS!