One of the beauties of Meredith Willson's masterpiece is that the AUDIENCE is in on the con from the very beginning, rooting for Harold in a perverse way, and hoping he gets away with it. We are also thrilled that he is redeemed by love, and that his wild "Think System" really works, and he CAN lead a band. Look at all lthe GOOD he brings to River City. Being that we were ALL in on the scheme, what does that make us, the audience?
shareBasically I agree with what you're saying, but just to be a stickler for accuracy (I'm a notorious stickler), the "Think System" doesn't really work all that well. All the River City people care about is that their children in the band and they're tooting horns. Whether or not it sounds good is beside the point. Doting parents hear what they want to hear.
shareDoting parents hear what they want to hear.
You just proved my point for me in that the parents DID hear what they wanted to hear, and thought they were hearing their kids playing a concerto, lol. It did sound like a very pathetic version of the Minuet in G. So, the "Think System" worked up to a point. Harold was vindicated, and then in the next scene, we see him in his fabulous red bandleader's uniform, leading a VERY professional 300 man band, again showing us that the "Think System" had done its job. The whole hilarious ending made the townspeople, especially the parents, in on the con, as was Harold, Marian, Marcellus, and the audience, from the beginning. Another reason why the "Think System" worked. When Marian horrified, screamed to her mother that she had told Harold she would meet him at the footbridge in 15 minutes, Mrs Paroo said, "glory be and saints preserve us, IT WORKS. I've been using the "Think System" on you from the parlor!!!! So, it worked in more than one area, not just music, in the fantasy world of musical comedy. Meredith Willson had a keen understanding of people, didn't he? Maybe we all ALL Harold Hills to a point....
I never thought of the ending in that way before. You bring up some interesting points. My take on the ending was that we were seeing what the townspeople imagined their boys' band to be like, and left it at that. I think I just never took it to its logical conclusion. What starts out as imagination actually becomes reality, which means that the think system really does work.
shareIt was made clear throughout the movie, that Harold really wanted to be a bandleader. Remember him conducting an imaginary band at the Footbridge, just before Marian arrives? It was a much deeper piece that what it appeared to be. Too bad Willson didn't write a sequel showing Harold and Marian getting married, ditto Marcellus and Ethel, Tommy and Zaneeta, and eventually Winthrop and Amaryllis, and have Harold and Marian's kids be as weird as they are, but most importantly having Harold make good on all the towns that he defrauded, and putting all the boys in the 102 Illinois counties into something like an "All Wabash Boys Band,"...provided the law doesn't catch up with him first. I don't think he will be jailed as he DID prove the "Think System" works, lol, and this IS musical comedy, not harsh reality.
shareI don't think a sequel was necessary. The story ends right where it's supposed to end. I also have a theory about Marecellus. Someone mentioned on another board that it doesn't make sense that if he's gone legit and likes his life in River City, he's helping Harold Hill with his con game. I think that Marcellus has his own agenda. He wants Harold/Gregory to settle down just like he has. He also knows that Harold/Gregory really does want to be a bandleader, and he knows the people in River City. He also knows that if anyone can win Harold's heart, it's Marian Paroo. I think he helps with the con, knowing full well that Harold will fall in love with Marian and the town the way he has, and that the River City people will accept a boys' band no matter how it sounds.
shareNo, a sequel was not necessary, but we can have fun and speculate. You are quite right about Marcellus. He was not as dumb as we thought, and he wanted Harold, his old partner, to stay in River City, and also knew Harold wanted to REALLY be a bandleader. He knew something else, that Harold was tired of running, and had been running cons for over 20 years, and was looking to finally stop.... and to finally find love and to end his loneliness. Marcellus also knew that Marian desperately needed love, too. Harold ended Marian's loneliness... and sexual represssion forever, and ended his OWN loneliness, too.
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Morfiwien, I have read some of your stories and they are marvelous. You've got to think that Harold became famous for the revolutionary "Think System," in the world of fantasy. In reality he would be behind bars, lol. And remember, in the cold harsh light of day, we are ALL in on Harold's con. Thank you Meredith Willson.
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we'd like to think we're Marians
We would ALL like to think we were Marians, in more ways than one, especially if we are women. We would ALL love for Preston in his gorgeous white suit to open-mouth kiss US on the footbridge, too. We would also like to think a man like that would risk being tarred and feathered on account of being in love with us, too. The psychological aspects of this movie are many. We are ALL also Harold Hills, too being in on the con with him from the beginning. And, to top it off, we ALL get redeemed, as Harold does, lol. Gotta love it.
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