This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

This fictionalized biography of the titled arrangement composer, trombone player and famed band leader won Leslie I. Carey an Academy Award for Best Sound, Recording. The Joseph Gershenson-Henry Mancini Score was also nominated (the first nominations for either) as was the Story and Screenplay by Valentine Davies and Oscar Brodney, his only Academy recognition. Shot in Technicolor, the story (which contains the usual struggling artist that finally finds success plot-line) is sugary sweet and a bit slow in places.It was directed by Anthony Mann, features James Stewart in the title role, and June Allyson as Glenn Miller's supportive wife, the former Miss Helen Berger. Henry Morgan plays Miller's lifelong friend, pianist Chummy MacGregor; Charles Drake his business manager Don Haynes. George Tobias plays Si Schribman who, according to the film, was a theater manager that invested in the band leader before he'd found his unique sound that included hits like: Moonlight Serenade, String of Pearls, Pennsylvania 6-5000, Chattanooga Choo Choo, In the Mood, and Tuxedo Junction. Barton MacLane plays General Hap Arnold, who apparently enabled enlisted Captain Miller to assemble his band members that were in the service to boost morale for the soldiers abroad during World War II, which cost the band leader his life when his plane went down during the tour. Sig Ruman appears as a pawnshop owner that Miller knew in his early days in California, before he'd found success. Irving Bacon plays Miller's father.Appearing as themselves are several who knew Miller in his heyday including singer Frances Langford, trumpeter Louis Armstrong, band leader Ben Pollack, and drummer Gene Krupa (among others).

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 primary goal of a good biopic is to educate the audience about a man's life, and to perhaps offer a unique insight into the personal life, ambitions and motivations of a relatively well-known personality. 'The Glenn Miller Story (1953)' accomplishes only one of these objectives. The straightforward title of Anthony Mann's picture already offers a hint at the nature of the film itself, which is a rather pedestrian retelling of the life of jazz musician Glenn Miller. As far as biopics go, the film is undemanding and, in terms of storytelling, dwells well within the lines of conventionality, but the sheer charisma of James Stewart, in addition to an absolutely incredible jazz soundtrack, makes it a far better film than it has any right to be. Aside from his long-unexplained disappearance, which the film doesn't explore in any detail, the life of Glenn Miller is arguably no more exciting than any other successful musician, but perhaps director Anthony Mann simply made the decision to enable him to play "Moonlight Serenade" on no less than three occasions. However, it's such a perfect musical composition that I don't blame him.Talent is certainly an important ingredient for success, but even the most talented musicians must rely on dedication and sheer luck before they become famous. Glenn Miller (1904-1944) spent the first few years of his musical career in virtual anonymity, the public seemingly finding nothing in his work to distinguish him from the thousands of other aspiring musicians. However, after charmingly tempting his ex-college sweetheart (June Allyson) into a New York marriage, and spending years chasing a seemingly unreachable dream, Miller finally struck fame and success, his musical arrangements and Miller band performances making him a very rich and popular man, indeed. In 1942, at the peak of his career, Miller voluntarily joined the Armed Forces to, in his own words, "put a little more spring into the feet of our marching men and a little more joy into their hearts." One of the film's most heartwarming sequences concerns Miller's attempts to modernise the traditional military marching song, with his "St. Louis Blues March" tossing some blues and jazz into the mix. The resulting broad smiles of the parading soldiers alone make the film worth watching.Jimmy Stewart, as always, brings his characteristic charm and cheerfulness to the role. In real life, Miller was said to possess a stern and think-skinned personality that sometimes alienated his musicians, but the picture doesn't even attempt to explore this issue, and, with Stewart in the leading role, it couldn't possibly have worked, anyway. The chemistry between Stewart and June Allyson differs little from what we've seen before, but it does succeed in being genuinely touching at times. Of course, the real star of the film is the music, and the audience is treated to a well-selected succession of memorable jazz tracks, most notably "Moonlight Serenade," which I find to be a perfect piece of music. Other songs include "Little Brown Jug," "We Must Be Vigilant," "In the Mood," "Pennsylvania 6-5000" and even Louis Armstrong turns up to perform "Basin Street Blues."

"The Glenn Miller Story" is quite a charming musical biography starring my favorite actor James Stewart as the famous bandleader/trombonist Alton Glenn Miller (1904-1944). To have Mr. Stewart portray Mr. Miller was a wise decision, not only because Stewart was himself a musician (although not a trombonist) but also because he worked hard at his craft. In order to make his trombone playing appear authentic, Stewart learned all the slide positions of each tune he performed, and although he did not produce any sounds from the horn, he learned the proper formation of the lips (called an embouchure) as they connect to the mouthpiece. Needless to say, that's a lot of work! Portraying Glenn's caring, faithful, lovable, thrifty wife Helen is the wonderful June Allyson. Helen, after a WHIRLWIND marriage to Glenn, completely supports him in his quest to form his own band, even to the point of stealing money out of his pockets and putting it aside for such a purpose! Directing this fine motion picture is Anthony Mann, who is better remembered for the rough and rugged Westerns Stewart made under his direction during the first half of the 1950s.Highlights from "The Glenn Miller Story" include the following (if you haven't yet seen this film, DON'T read any further). Glenn's friend Chummy MacGregor (Henry Morgan) performs a fine stride piano audition for bandleader/drummer Ben Pollack (playing himself) and then deceptively allows Pollack, who initially rejects Glenn's band arrangements, to hear one of them. At Connie's Inn in Harlem, Glenn joins some of the most famous of all jazz giants such as trumpeter/singer Louis Armstrong, drummer Gene Krupa, clarinetist Barney Bigard, tenor saxophonist Babe Russin, trombonist Trummy Young, and drummer Cozy Cole (all playing themselves) during the exciting jam number "Basin Street Blues." Glenn and part of his band perform a comfortable rendition of "Over the Rainbow" while the rest of the band arrives late (due to severe weather) and scurries onto the stage. As Glenn's band rehearses a nice arrangement of "I Know Why and So Do You," the lead trumpet player splits his lip open, forcing Glenn to stay up all night and rewrite the arrangement with a clarinet lead; the end result is the band's signature tune: "Moonlight Serenade." The military band led by Capt. Glenn Miller plays a great swing arrangement of W.C. Handy's "St. Louis Blues," which stirs up the wrath of one of Miller's superiors. The tune "American Patrol" accompanies some exciting World War II footage. And finally, at the closing of this film on Christmas Day 1944, Helen, well aware of her husband's sudden death while flying across the English Channel, is overcome with tears as she listens to a live Parisian radio broadcast of Glenn's band performing "Moonlight Serenade"; Helen is then pleasantly surprised to hear an arrangement of "Little Brown Jug," one of her favorite tunes that Glenn had never really cared for, and the surprise puts a tearful smile on Helen's beautiful face."The Glenn Miller Story" is a top-notch film, one of James Stewart's biggest moneymaking films from the 1950s in fact, and he and June Allyson worked so wonderfully together. I as a jazz musician am a big fan of Glenn Miller's music, which is very well performed in this biopic. As the film depicts, Glenn Miller was a man of humble origins who had one big dream: to form his own band that performs his own kind of music. After a lengthy period full of struggles, Miller finally realizes his band's distinct sound in "Moonlight Serenade." True, this film may contain some historical inaccuracies (e.g., the real Glenn Miller was a stern disciplinarian, apparently far removed from the "nice guy" screen image of Jimmy Stewart, and supposedly Glenn utilized a clarinet lead in his orchestra simply because he couldn't find a trumpet player with a high-enough range, NOT because his lead trumpet player busted his lip), but for myself, these factual alterations do not really matter. "The Glenn Miller Story" is a fine representation of not only Glenn Miller's music but also James Stewart's craftsmanship as an actor who strove for authenticity.