The Music Man (1962)
- Starring:
- Robert Preston, Shirley Jones, (more)
- Director(s):
- Morton Da Costa
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- G
- Format(s):
- DVD
|
Blu-ray
| Digital SD
View All Versions to rent and buy
Synopsis of The Music Man
Meredith Wilson's hit 1957 Broadway musical was transferred to the screen in larger-than-life fashion in 1962. Robert Preston repeats his legendary stage performance as fast-talking con man Harold Hill, who goes from town to town selling citizens on starting a "boy's band," then extracts money from them by ordering instruments and uniforms, with the promise that he'll teach the kids how to be musicians. Once he's collected his bankroll, Hill skips town, leaving the kids in the lurch. Looking for new suckers in Iowa, Hill arrives in River City, where he declares that the only way to save the youth of River City from the lure of the poolroom is to organize a boy's band. He charms the mayor's wife Eulalie (Hermione Gingold) into forming a "ladies' dance committee" and sets his sights on winning over local music teacher Marian Paroo (Shirley Jones). Marian rightly considers Hill a fraud, especially when he espouses the "Think System" of learning music: if you think a tune, he claims, you can play it. But Marian becomes Hill's staunchest ally when her young brother Winthrop (Ronny Howard), sullen and withdrawn since the death of his father, exuberantly comes out of his shell at the prospect of joining Hill's band; and Marian's budding romance with the charming but unreliable Hill ultimately brings her out of her own shell as well. Marion Hargrove's script uses most of the original play, with a handful of amusing expansions, especially in the roles played by Gingold and by Buddy Hackett as Hill's comic sidekick. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Theatrical Feature Running Time:
- 181 mins
Complete Cast of The Music Man
- Robert Preston - Harold Hill
- Buddy Hackett - Marcellus Washburn
- Ronny Howard - Winthrop Paroo
- Paul Ford - Mayor Shinn
- Harry Hickox - Charlie Cowell
- Mary Wickes - Mrs. Squires
- Delos Jewkes - Harley MacCauley
- Therese Lyon - Dolly Higgins
- Anne Loos - Stella Jackson
- Ronnie Dapo - Norbert Smith
- The Buffalo Bills - Jacey Squires; Olin Britt; Ewart Dunlo
- Timmy Everett - Tommy Djilas
- Percy Helton - Conductor
- Jesslyn Fax - Avis Grubb
- Peggy Wynne - Ada Nutting
- William Fawcett - Lester Lonnergan
- Shirley Jones - Marian Paroo
- Pert Kelton - Mrs. Paroo
- Hermione Gingold - Eulalie MacKechnie Shinn
- Susan Luckey - Zaneeta Shinn
- Charles Lane - Constable Locke
- Oliver Hix - Buffalo Bills
- Natalie Core - Truthful Smith
- Hank Worden - Townsman
- Monique Vermont - Amaryllis
- Milton Parsons - Farmer
- Rance Howard - Oscar Jackson
- Ray Kellogg - Harry Joseph
- Natalie Masters - Farmer's Wife
- Barbara Pepper - Feril Hawkes
- Roy Dean - Gilbert Hawthorne
- Director(s):
- Morton Da Costa
- Writer(s):
- Marion Hargrove
- Producer(s):
- Morton Da Costa
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- G
- Categories:
- Music & Performing Arts
- 1962 - Golden Globe - Best Picture - Musical
- 1962 - Hollywood Foreign Press Association - Best Picture - Musical
- Looking for special editions of The Music Man?
- See All Versions
- Subtitles:
- Check All Versions
- Closed Captioning:
- Check All Versions










