Orchestra Wives

Coming back to this after a long gap I was surprised how much I remembered of it and basically how good it was. The glue and the title refer to some of the band's spouses and their overall bitching and attempts to go better over the others. This film sums up womankind as seen by Golden Age Hollywood - after watching it I feel more in touch with my feminine side. Maybe not! But I wouldn't wanna play in the same band with Buddy either!

Ignoring the above, the key to enjoying this movie lies in the marvellous and plentiful music (although mimed to) by Glenn Miller & his Orch. Some glorious 40's standards are captured here, "At last" but especially the sublime "Kalamazoo" sung by Tex Beneke definitively, where the Nicholas Brothers wrap it up in their usual laid back and reflective style.

The atmosphere is great, not quite in the Andy Hardy vein for Ann Rutherford, but I take my impressions of what small town America might have been like in the 40's from this film (along with "Shadow of a doubt").

Glenn Miller certainly helped create a unique and unforgettable sound with his music and his band - but his acting left something to be desired!