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Orchestra Wives

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Orchestra Wives
Directed byArchie Mayo
Written byKarl Tunberg (screenplay),
Darrell Ware (screenplay),
James Prindle (story)
Produced byWilliam LeBaron
StarringGeorge Montgomery,
Ann Rutherford,
Lynn Bari
and Cesar Romero
Distributed byTwentieth Century Fox
Release date
1942
Running time
98 min
LanguageEnglish

Orchestra Wives was the second and last film to feature The Glenn Miller Orchestra. The film is notable among the many Swing Era musicals because its plot is more serious and realistic than the insubstantial story lines that were typical of the genre. Ann Rutherford plays Connie Ward, a young woman who marries Bill Abbott, (George Montgomery), a trumpet player in Gene Morrison's (Glenn Miller) swing band. She soon finds herself at odds with the cattiness and petty jealousies of the other band members' spouses. Her discomfort is exacerbated by a flirtation between Abbott and Jaynie {Lynn Bari), the band's female vocalist. When Ward eventually walks out on Abbott their split releases so many other tensions among the musicians that leader Morrison is forced to break up the orchestra. Morrison and the band's pianist Sinjin (Cesar Romero) then work behind the scenes to reunite both the band and the two newlyweds. The re-formed band has a series of hit recordings and all ends happily.

Songs

Orchestra Wives features a treasure-trove of songs by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren, the same team responsible for the hits featured in Miller's first film, Sun Valley Serenade (1941). The main production number is "I've Got a Gal in Kalamazoo", an analogue of "Chattanooga Choo-Choo" from the first film that features a folksy vocal and some gutsy tenor sax work by Tex Beneke, backup singing by the Modernaires, and a gravity-defying dance sequence by the Nicholas Brothers. Other songs include the period piece "People Like You and Me", a breakneck performance of "Bugle Call Rag" and the still-popular romantic ballads "At Last" and "Serenade in Blue".

Awards

"I've Got a Gal in Kalamazoo" received a 1942 Oscars nomination as Best Song.

Cast listing

Actor/Actress Role
Ann Rutherford Connie Ward / Connie Abbott
George Montgomery Bill Abbott
Lynn Bari Jaynie
Glenn Miller Gene Morrison
Cesar Romero Sinjin
Virginia Gilmore Elsie
The Nicholas Brothers Themselves
Glenn Miller Orchestra Themselves
The Modernaires Themselves

Trivia