Serenata Azul

SUN VALLEY SERENADE was a surprise and a big success when it came to Europe, and I don't understand why ORCHESTRA WIVES did not travel well over the Atlantic (to my knowledge). The musical numbers are quite a few, and Lucien Ballard did a tremendous work at filming them. The Nicholas Brothers are even better than in the former Miller movie (and they were at their climax the year after, in STORMY WEATHER). The plot is unessential, as in most of the musicals, but the "wives" are all good looking and the players are credible too. Special mention to singer Marion Hutton, sax player Tex Benneke and drummer Moe Purtill, all uncredited.henry caraso

It's Glenn Miller and his orchestra all right, even though the producers called him Gene Morris or something like that, and there is lots of music played by them. This movie seems to be almost unknown, yet it should by on the top of the list of every Glenn Miller fan. The sound is not bad for a 1942 recording.

The story line ... is not worse than those of hundred other movies, past and present, without redeeming musical numbers. It's about the few wives or girl friends traveling with the band, who do not necessarily make the musicians' hardships on the road any easier. In the style of these older movies, things are happening at a good clip and are never too melodramatic.

Glenn Miller plays "Glenn Miller" pretty well in a low-key manner and looks quite realistic. How could they make such great music with the smoking and the bad food at odd hours?

On Australian television, this movie has always been shown as the second half of a double bill, following 'Sun Valley Serenade'. It's a neat balancing act, the upbeat nature of 'Sun Valley Serenade' being brought back to earth by the semi-documentary flavour of 'Orchestra Wives'. The latter is a compelling movie and as another reviewer pointed out, it didn't do well in the USA. At a guess I'd put this down to the non-melodramatic but seemingly realistic performances - unusual at the time. Having been a fan of Ann Rutherford since enjoying her in the 'Andy Hardy' movies, I was struck by her excellent but out of character performance. Once again the Nicholas Brothers provide the most memorable scene but all in all, it's a fine screenplay with great production values.

You gotta hand it to GLENN MILLER AND HIS ORCHESTRA. Their leader may lack acting charisma but he's got a band that plays great tunes with that unmistakable Miller sound and some good band singers to do the tunes justice. And the producers of this movie were wise to use The Nicholas Bros., an acrobatic dance trio that do outstanding routines to "I've Got A Gal in Kalamazoo".

But the plot, well that's another story. It's one of those catty backstage plots about a group of orchestra wives and the jealousy that erupts when an innocent young girl (ANN RUTHERFORD) joins the group only to discover that her husband's ex-flame is still carrying the torch for him, and will stop at nothing to win him back. What happens among the group is pretty hard to swallow, but it's just a device to make way for hearing Miller and his band in their glory days.

As in SUN VALLEY SERENADE, it's the musical numbers that knock the film out of pedestrian and into the winner's circle with numbers like "Serenade in Blue", "At Last", "I've Got a Gal in Kalamazoo", and "People Like You and Me". It's also a pleasure to rediscover singers like Marion Hutton, Tex Benecke, Ray Eberle and The Modernaires.

Pretty ANN RUTHERFORD and handsome GEORGE MONTGOMERY do nicely in the romantic leads and it's s fun way to spend time listening to Miller and his boys. CAROLE LANDIS, MARY BETH HUGHES and LYNN BARI sharpen their claws on some sassy dialog. It's fun!

Coming back to this after a long gap I was surprised how much I remembered of it and basically how good it was. The glue and the title refer to some of the band's spouses and their overall bitching and attempts to go better over the others. This film sums up womankind as seen by Golden Age Hollywood - after watching it I feel more in touch with my feminine side. Maybe not! But I wouldn't wanna play in the same band with Buddy either!

Ignoring the above, the key to enjoying this movie lies in the marvellous and plentiful music (although mimed to) by Glenn Miller & his Orch. Some glorious 40's standards are captured here, "At last" but especially the sublime "Kalamazoo" sung by Tex Beneke definitively, where the Nicholas Brothers wrap it up in their usual laid back and reflective style.

The atmosphere is great, not quite in the Andy Hardy vein for Ann Rutherford, but I take my impressions of what small town America might have been like in the 40's from this film (along with "Shadow of a doubt").

Glenn Miller certainly helped create a unique and unforgettable sound with his music and his band - but his acting left something to be desired!