Best line in the movie from "Sadder Buy Wiser Girl For Me".
A Hilarious allusion to the Scarlet Letter. I had to rewind it to make sure I heard what I thought I heard. Brilliant.
When there are two, one betrays-Jean-Pierre Melville
Every song is an A. This is one of the best musicals Ive seen.
my favorites are Harlow and Garbo. I guess I'm just an old fashion guy
A couple of thoughts-
1) OP,this must be the first time you've watched the film. That line is REALLY
noticable,it's kind of a key plot tie-in.
2) Responder- that's NOT the kind of 'A' Willson was referring to. I hope you
were joking. If not, check out 'The Scarlet Letter'(Hester Prynne,10 commandments,classic American literature, etc.)
And YES- it is one of the BEST musicals EVER.
No I have seen it a million times BUT it was when I was young like 8-11. Although I've always been an avid reader The Scarlet Letter didn't cross my path till junior high. So while I heard it, it had no reason to register.
When there are two, one betrays-Jean-Pierre Melville
Actual lyric:
I hope ...and I pray / for Hester TO WIN JUST one more A!
Isn't it odd that for all the wholesomeness of these old musicals, there is such a strong (sometimes dark) undercurrent of sex running through them? This song is one example. Others include:
1.Marion's feelings for Harold Hill are clearly very sexual.
2. His pursuit of her is very sexually aggressive.
3. Much is made of Hill's past conquests.
4. The women of the town gossip about Marion being easy.
5. The anvil salesman's crude pursuit of Marion.
6. Hill's willingness to seduce the mayor's wife when he thinks that she is the piano teacher.
6. Marion is finally revealed as a trembling virgin (in opposition to the town harlot of gossip or the ice queen that she pretends to be).
I was watching _Oklahoma_ a few weeks ago and noticed the same thing--Lori has a dream that appears to take place inside a brothel, the attempted rape of Lori, Ado Annie's vacillation between Will and the Ali Hakim (and her love of kissing--PG, but suggestive of stronger desires). . .
It's an odd combination, the way these movies promote quaint, old-fashioned America and the triumph of "good" over "evil," yet there exists a sense of sexual danger and a very real question of whether the women will give in to the wrong man.
infinty8: much of this is outdated assumptions about sexuality written by men. Gone with the Wind actually has a rape in it, and the vicitm wakes up smiling and fulfilled the next morning. This is not the current understanding of a rapes aftermath.
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Ah, MisterEggman, would that more posters had your wisdom and insight! Some of you people really need to lighten up and just go with the flow! Don't go looking for the dark side that might lurk beneath. This is a truly wonderful musical. The lyrics are clever, witty and literate. the music is far more sophisticated than a first listening might suggest. Consider how "SeventySix Trombones" and "Goodnight, My Someone" are sung in counterpoint near the end. It is clear that theses songs, introduced much earlier in separate scenes, were composed to complement one another. Just try to enjoy, folks!
shareYes, the music/book of TMM is far more sophisticated than you think at first glance. In fact, TMM (the original musical) is considered by MOST Musical Theater aficianadoes to be one of the five most perfect examples of the art form.
shareI read that 76 Trombones and Goodnight My Someone are actually the same melody, just played at different tempos, which would explain how the two went together so well at the end.
I really loved Shirley Jones belting out a line of 76T, and wish she got to sing more of it.
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Yeah. When I was little I loved this movie, and *just* recently I thought I'd watch it again. Now that I'm older, I'm able to catch everything they're singing about and so forth. I had a moment of, "Ohmygosh, did he really say that?" and then laughed.
Definitely different when you're older, but still a great movie. And now it makes me want to read Balzac.
"I shall slip unnoticed through the darkness like a dark, unnoticable slippy thing."
And, how about this one for another "Ohmygosh, did he really say that?" moment, when Marcellus has interrupted Harold and Marian during their beautiful clinch on the footbridge: "Now listen, Buster Brown, I came up through the ranks on this skirmish, and I'm not resigning without my commission." COMMISSION???!!! And here's another one from Charlie Cowell to Marian: "That guy has got a gal in every county in Illinois, and he's taken it away from every one of them – and that's a hundred and two counties!" TAKEN IT AWAY FROM EVERY ONE OF THEM???!!! Whoa! Meredith Willson wrote a very sexy piece, that went right over the heads of kids. I loved it even more as an adult, for this very reason.
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