Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

hyped garbage

Highly Overrated But Still Good

The acting in this movie is really good.

The only reasons to see "Orchestra Wives" is to see and hear some great musical acts. Unfortunately, this film sinks when it comes to the plot and is not especially enjoyable overall.The film is about a fictional band led by Gene Morrison. Why they called the guy Gene Morrison is beyond me, as the guy was actually Glenn Miller. Why not just say this is Glenn Miller?! Plus, I loved being able to not only see and hear Miller and his music but also see him act. Unfortunately, despite being billed third, he was really only a supporting actor--in support of a very weak story. In addition to seeing him, I was THRILLED to see the Nicholas Brothers near the end-- and the film is worth seeing just for them. They were, perhaps, the greatest tap dancers ever--and when you see them, at first, you might not believe it. Just watch--as the routine heats up, their acrobatics become INSANE!!As for the story,..well, it stank. One the band members (George Montgomery) meets and marries a woman (Ann Rutherford) he barely even knows. However, soon he dumps her back home with the other orchestra wives and the catty wives do their best to make the wife doubt her new husband's faithfulness--and they do a great job of it. However, she really DID have reason to suspect him, as the hubby seemed like a total jerk. Yet, after she catches him in a hotel room with another woman, HE behaves as is SHE is a nagging wife and should have trusted him. It makes absolutely no sense at all--and infuriated me. He was hopelessly unlikable and frankly the whole notion of 'love at first sight' is pretty stupid. As a retired psychotherapist, I must point out that marriages based on this are generally doomed! All in all, a sticky story that seemed pretty unimportant and poorly written. But at least the music was very nice. And, if you do choose to see the film, look for Jackie Gleason, Caesar Romero, Harry Morgan and Dale Evans in various supporting roles.

Unlike his fellow big band leaders Glenn Miller resisted the call of Hollywood because he felt that in too many cases the bands of his peers were just grafted into a film. He need not have worried about Orchestra Wives because his band was an integral part of the story.Orchestra Wives is a grand musical film with a great score of original songs written by Harry Warren and Mack Gordon. They include Serenade In Blue, People Like You And Me, and the Oscar nominated I've Got A Gal In Kalamazoo. All of them best sellers for the Glenn Miller Band.The plot as it were is about trumpet player George Montgomery who when the Miller Band is doing a gig in a small Michigan town has a whirlwind courtship with Ann Rutherford and marries her. She goes off to live and travel with her husband and the band. Ann's a naive kid who was not ready for the general cattiness among all the other wives who include such people as Carole Landis, Mary Beth Hughes, and Virginia Gilmore.But her biggest problem is with the band singer Lynn Bari who Montgomery was going with and who is determined to break up that marriage. She slings a lot of gossip around and does some considerable damage, so much so that the band nearly breaks up.Although Miller had the difficult role of playing himself under an alias, he handles his dialog reasonably well. Jackie Gleason plays a bass fiddle player and I wish we saw more of him. He was under utilized terribly in his early Hollywood films. Cesar Romero is the band's piano player and a wolf at heart, but someone who turns out to be a real pal to Montgomery and Rutherford.I have to single out the Nicholas Brothers who did a really great dance number after the band played I've Got A Gal In Kalamazoo for the finale. Also note a young Harry Morgan who is a soda jerk, accent on the last word, who Rutherford was originally going out with. He and Rutherford do a mean jitterbug and Morgan does make with the Forties jive talk.Orchestra Wives is a fine view of the early Forties big band era with a great score of music played by the one and only Glenn Miller.

George Montgomery, Anne Rutherford, Glenn Miller and his Orchestra, Lynn Barrie, Cesar Romero, Carole Landis, Mary Beth Hughes, Harry Morgan, Jackie Gleason, and the Nicholas Brothers all star in "Orchestra Wives," a 1942 musical film.Montgomery plays Bill Abbott, and one night, he meets a fan, Connie Ward, and invites her to see the orchestra the next night. She can't get into the concert because she doesn't have an escort, but he spots her when he comes outside. Her bus is about to arrive, and to keep her from leaving so soon, he proposes. She accepts. The next day, the band goes on tour, and Connie accompanies him.Connie's a nice, sweet young woman and isn't prepared for the other wives, who are pretty horrid. The worst isn't a wife, she's the group's singer, Jaynie (Lynn Bari), who used to date Bill and is determined to get him back. She befriends Connie. One evening, the orchestra has a concert in a nearby town, and all the wives stay back. One of the wives lets it slip that Jaynie and Bill used to date. Connie leaves in tears, and the wives call Jaynie to tell her that Connie is en route. Jaynie arranges to have Bill come to her room and lend her some money.When Connie arrives, she sees what looks like a compromising scene. She and Bill fight, and Connie leaves. As a result of a fight Connie has with the other women, in which she reveals how they all talk behind each other's backs, the entire orchestra breaks up, and Connie goes home.Very slight story with some wonderful music and singing. Miller's orchestra is interspersed with actors Gleason, Montgomery, and Romero. This was my parents' era and made me think of them -- the film was released in 1942 and made before Pearl Harbor, so the music and dancing has a joyous feel to it. Interesting that in those days the audience wasn't a passive one attending a concert. They got up and danced! Really delightful, with a lovely performance by the pretty Rutherford. Montgomery made mostly westerns; it's nice to see him out of the western garb. At the end of the film, the Nicholas Brothers do a spectacular number. (Once I asked my father if he'd ever heard of them and he said, "No, I couldn't afford the musicals.") A final thought: was M*A*S*H's Harry Morgan ever really that young? Guess so.

I had never heard of this movie, but I just came across it on a movie channel on TV. Wow! I was in 7th heaven with all the wonderful music! I've always been curious about the big band era and have listened to quite a few of the bands (or orchestras, as they were apparently called back then), and the sweetest sound by far comes from The Glenn Miller Orchestra. This movie has the actual Glenn Miller Orchestra and Glenn Miller himself playing the band. The interaction among the wives is interesting in that it seems that at least that part of life hasn't changed. Women were always their own worst enemies and still are. You can see updated versions of the back-biting and gossiping in the current (2011) reality shows on TV. And the parts of the movie set in Connie's home town show a glimpse into 1942 small-town America.This movie is well worth watching for the amazing music.