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Revision as of 19:12, 19 January 2014 by SweeJeep (talk | contribs) (→Plot)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) 1944 American film| Music for Millions | |
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| Directed by | Henry Koster |
| Written by | Myles Connolly Jimmy Durante June Allyson |
| Produced by | Joe Pasternak |
| Starring | Margaret O'Brien |
| Cinematography | Robert Surtees |
| Edited by | Douglass Biggs |
| Music by | Michel Michelet |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| Release date | December 18, 1944 |
| Running time | 115 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1,744,000 |
| Box office | $3,845,000 |
Music for Millions is a 1944 musical comedy film directed by Henry Koster. It was nominated for an Academy Award in 1946.
Plot
"Mike" (Margaret O'Brien), age 6, arrives in New York to stay with her pregnant older sister Barbara Ainsworth (June Allyson), who lives together with a group of young women, her co-players in a symphony orchestra let by (Jose Iturbi) and his assistant Andy (Jimmy Durante). As the orchestra prepares to go on a tour of army camps, a telegram is received informing of the status of Barbara's soldier husband, apparently bad, but it's not revealed if he's missing or dead. Barbara has not heard from her husband in months. The girls decide to keep the news from her until after her baby is born, with one dissenter, who is quickly converted when Barbara sobs uncontrollably at a rendition of a musical favorite Clair de Lune (played by Larry Adler). When Barbara confesses to Mike that she feels her husband is never coming back (as she has not received a letter in months), Mike tries to cheer up her sister by encouraging her to pray for her husbands return and tells her to have faith that her husband will return.
Barbara catches Rosalind (Marsha Hunt) yelling at Mike for "going through" her purse and notices her nervously pocketing the fallen telegram. She later accuses her friends of hiding something from her, but Rosalind insists that the telegram was for her. Despite assurances from Mike, Rosalind and the others, she remains doubtful about the future and confesses her fears to Iturbi, after hearing him play Clair de Lune, who tries to cheer her up with a Chopin arrangement.
Her friends concoct a deal with Marie's (Marie Wilson ) shady, alcoholic uncle Bish (Hugh Herbert) to write a letter telling Barbara that Joe has been lost on an island for four months, and the next day, an letter arrives for Barbara at the boardinghouse. She's happy to read that Joe is alive after being lost and follows Mike to church to give thanks, with the girls following as well. Barbara's joy makes Rosalind and the others feel especially guilty, but they remain determined to keep their secret until the baby arrives.
Before a concert, Barbara goes into labor, and Mike and her reluctant new friend, Andy, wait at the hospital for the baby's arrival. As they are about to go on stage, Marie learns from Bish that the forged letter was forgotten and never written and tells the others. Overjoyed to learn that Joe truly is alive, the women perform enthusiastically Handel's Messiah and join Iturbi in rejoicing when word comes from Mike that Barbara has given birth to a boy.
The orchestra is shown playing several classical standards (Dvorak, Tschaikovsky, Grieg, Liszt, Herbert, Handel, Debussy, Chopin)before various military audiences. The talented Iturbi variously conducts the group as well as effortlessly plays difficult piano pieces, while Durante sings comically in two solo acts (Toscanini, Iturbi And Me and "Umbriago").Zabadu (talk) 19:12, 19 January 2014 (UTC)
Cast
- Margaret O'Brien as Mike
- José Iturbi as Himself
- Jimmy Durante as Andrews
- June Allyson as Barbara Ainsworth
- Marsha Hunt as Rosalind
- Hugh Herbert as Uncle Ferdinand
- Harry Davenport as Doctor
- Marie Wilson as Marie
- Larry Adler as Larry
- Ben Lessy as Kickebush
- Connie Gilchrist as Travelers Aid Woman
- Katharine Balfour as Elsa
- Helen Gilbert as Helen
- Mary Parker as Anita
- Madeleine Lebeau as Jane
- Ethel Griffies as Mrs. McGuff
- Eddie Jackson as Singer
- Jack Roth as Drummer
Soundtrack
- Clair de Lune
- Music by Claude Debussy
- Performed by Larry Adler on harmonica
- Also performed by José Iturbi on piano
- Antonín Dvořák's Symphony No. 9 in E minor, 4th movement, conducted by José Iturbi
- Piano Concerto in A Minor
- Music by Edvard Grieg
- Performed by José Iturbi
- The March of the Toys
- from Babes in Toyland
- Music by Victor Herbert
- Waltz in E Minor
- Music by Frédéric Chopin
- Performed by José Iturbi
- Hallelujah Chorus
- from The Messiah
- Music by Georg Friedrich Händel
- Toscanini, Iturbi and Me
- Written by Harold Spina, Walter Bullock and Jimmy Durante
- At Sundown
- Written by Walter Donaldson
- Umbriago
- Written by Jimmy Durante and Irving Caesar
- Jam Session
- Music by Calvin Jackson
Reception
According to MGM Records the film earned $2,341,000 in the US and Canada and $1,504,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $824,000.
References
- ^ The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
- Variety film review; December 13, 1944, page 8.
- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037104/awards
External links
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