Orchestra Wives
by Archie Mayo
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Ann Rutherford, George Montgomery, Glenn Miller, Lynn Bari, The Glenn Miller OrchestraDirector: Archie Mayo
Cinematographer: Lucien Ballard
Editor: Robert Bischoff
Producer: William LeBaron
Writer: Darrell Ware
Writer: James Prindle
Writer: Karl Tunberg
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Dubbed)
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Dubbed, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 98 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-11-01
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Movie Reviews of Orchestra Wives
Movie Review: Note on DVD vs VHS audio
Summary: 3 Stars
This film rates a 4/5 for the music. I own the DVD and VHS versions, and just want to confirm what some others have posted here:
DVD 'Mono' is 100% mono
DVD 'Stereo' is 100% fake stereo (and it sounds lousy)
VHS is mono in the dialogue and what appears to be the original stereo in the musical numbers plus some of the bridging dialogue
I can't speak for the Laserdisc, but the musical numbers on the VHS version sound MUCH better than either track on the DVD. If you like this movie's music enough to listen to it on its own, you owe it to yourself to find a copy. Quite an amazing blunder (cost decision?) that the original stereo is not on the DVD.
Summary of Orchestra Wives
A new bride faces the strain of life on the road in this musical romance that features the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Miller is featured as band leader Gene Morrison, who embarks on a whirlwind national tour with his orchestra. While on the tour, trumpeter Bill Abbott (George Montgomery) impulsively marries one of his many ardent fans, a na?ve young women named Connie (Ann Rutherford). At first Connie is more than willing to put up with such problems as not spending time with her new husband and the malicious gossip of other wives. But when she comes to believe that Bill is still involved with an old flame, the ensuing quarrel threatens to end both the new marriage and the entire band."It's Hep! It's Hot! It's Hilarious!" reads the tagline for Orchestra Wives, a frothy slice of celluloid made in 1942 and featuring the great Glenn Miller Band. And that tagline is, well, sort of true. As is often the case with films of this genre (musical comedy with the occasional touch of drama), the story is largely superfluous: a na?ve, smalltown girl (Ann Rutherford) falls for a fast-talking, smooth-playing trumpeter (George Montgomery); he proposes after spending, oh, about fifteen minutes with her (and before he even knows her name); she joins the band on tour, where the female members of the troupe, wives and singers alike, while away the downtime gossiping and rumor-mongering; trouble ensues, but all ends happily (and predictably). The main attraction here is seeing Miller (going by the nom du cinema Gene Morrison), then at the height of his popularity, and some of his fine musicians in action. Though not an innovator on the level of Benny Goodman and some of his other peers, Miller had a band that could swing like mad, and performances of tunes like "At Last," "Kalamazoo," and the rockin' "Bugle Call Rag" are a definite gas. The musicians are virtually all uncredited, but they include singer Marion Hutton, saxophonist-singer Tex Beneke, singer Ray Eberle, and the great drummer Moe Purtill (also look for Jackie Gleason, the Great One himself, in a substantial role as the band's bass player), as well as the Nicholas Brothers, an amazing dance team. The black & white transfer is nice, the music has been remastered in stereo, and the fact that Miller disappeared during a plane flight over the English Channel in late 1944 makes Orchestra Wives (which includes a commentary track by Rutherford and Fayard Nicholas, along with a photo gallery) something of a collector's item. --Sam Graham
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