Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 06:13, 25 March 2020

Music for Millions
Directed by	Henry Koster
Written by	Myles Connolly Jimmy Durante June Allyson
Produced by	Joe Pasternak
Starring	Margaret O'Brien José Iturbi Jimmy Durante June Allyson Marsha Hunt Hugh Herbert Harry Davenport Marie Wilson
Cinematography	Robert Surtees
Edited by	Douglass Biggs
Music by	Michel Michelet
Production company	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Distributed by	Loew's Inc.
Release date	December 18, 1944 (1944-12-18)
Running time	115 minutes
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 and starring Margaret O'Brien, José Iturbi, Jimmy Durante, June Allyson, Marsha Hunt, Hugh Herbert, Harry Davenport, and Marie Wilson. It was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay in 1946.

Plot

"Mike", age 6, arrives in New York to stay with her pregnant older sister Barbara Ainsworth, who lives together with a group of young women, her co-players in a symphony orchestra. As the orchestra prepares to go on a tour of army camps, a telegram is received informing them of the death of Barbara's soldier husband in the Pacific war theater. The girls decide to keep the tragic news from her until after her baby is born. The orchestra is shown playing several classical standards before various military audiences. The talented Iturbi variously conducts the group as well as effortlessly plays difficult piano pieces, while Durante sings comically and acts as a grandfather figure to Mike. In a surprise ending, shortly before giving birth, Barbara receives a letter from her husband saying he is in good spirits and convalescing in a military hospital.

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

1. ^ The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
2. "Music for Millions". Turner Classic Movies. Atlanta: Turner Broadcasting System (Time Warner). Retrieved September 8, 2016.
3. Variety film review; December 13, 1944, page 8.
4. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037104/awards

External links

• Music for Millions at IMDb 
• Template:Amg title
• Music for Millions at the TCM Movie Database

• 1944 films
• 1940s comedy-drama films
• 1940s musical comedy films
• American comedy-drama films
• American musical comedy films
• American films
• American black-and-white films
• English-language films
• Films directed by Henry Koster
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films
• Films produced by Joe Pasternak
• Films scored by Michel Michelet
• Musical comedy-drama films