The Music Man (1962)

All Critics (21) | Top Critics (3) | Fresh (18) | Rotten (1) | DVD (9)

A treat to re-watch, almost 50 years from its original production date.

July 21, 2012 Full Review

Kevin Carr

7M Pictures

Glorious production, with gorgeous music, dancing.

December 28, 2010 Full Review

Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

...pure Iowa corn: Sentimental, nostalgic, gentle, and innocent. (Blu-ray Edition)

January 22, 2010 Full Review

John J. Puccio

Movie Metropolis

...a quintessential slice of Americana, featuring wonderful music, engaging characters, and an uplifting story.

January 22, 2010 Full Review

John J. Puccio

Movie Metropolis

The music is glorious, but as a movie, this is a photographed play, a nostalgic evocation of small-town American that was congruent with Kennedy's New Frontier; within a year, though, Kennedy would be assassinated and the optimistic mood would vanish

January 31, 2007 Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

One of the most obnoxious musicals ever to be staged for movie cameras.

September 29, 2006 Full Review

Michael W. Phillips, Jr.

Goatdog's Movies

Robert Preston is note-perfect in a bright musical even non-fans of the genre will enjoy.

August 16, 2003

Nick Davis

Nick's Flick Picks

Too stagey and too gooey, but it preserves Preston's classic performance

July 30, 2002

Ken Hanke

Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Robert Preston shines in one of the sunniest ol' musical classics under the sun.

July 25, 2002

Scott Weinberg

eFilmCritic.com

• 1. Zaneeta Shinn: Ye gods!
  – Submitted by Christine W (11 months ago)
• 1. Harold Hill: We got trouble! Right here in River City! With a capital T that rhymes with P that stands for pool!
  – Submitted by Christine W (11 months ago)
• 1. Eulalie MacKechnie Shinn: One Grecian urn... [pick-a-little ladies pose]
  2. Eulalie MacKechnie Shinn: Two Grecian urns... [different pose]
  3. Eulalie MacKechnie Shinn: And a fountain! [yet another pose]
  – Submitted by Christine W (11 months ago)
• 1. Zaneeta Shinn: It's indecent to meet boys at the footbridge!
  2. Tommy Djilas: he answers Zaneeta: First thing after supper?
  3. Winthrop Paroo: she answers Tommy: All right! Ye Gods!
  4. Harold Hill: Mothers of River City, heed that warning before it's too late! Watch for the telltale signs of corruption! The minute your son leaves the house, does he rebuckle his knickerbockers below the knee? Is there a nicotine stain on his index finger? A dime-novel hidden in the corncrib? Is he starting to memorize jokes from Captain Billy's Whiz-Bang? Are certain words creeping into his conversation? Words like 'swell' and "so's your old man"? If so my friends, ya got trouble!
  5. Winthrop Paroo: No, thank you, AMARYLLITH! [Winthrop had an embarressing lisp]
  6. Harold Hill: Ladies and gentlemen, either you are closing your eyes to a situation you do not wish to acknowledge, or you are not aware of the caliber of disaster indicated by the presence of a pool table in your community!
  7. Marcellus Washburn: Well, ain't no call for a boys' band in this town. Anything these Iowa people don't have already, they do without.
  8. Tommy Djilas: Mayor Shinn, your honor, your daughter and I have been going steady behind your back.
  – Submitted by rick b (13 months ago)
• 1. Harold Hill: Oh, my dear little librarian. You pile up enough tomorrows, and you'll find you are left with nothing but a lot of empty yesterdays. I don't know about you, but I'd like to make today worth remembering.
  2. Mrs. Paroo: It's a well-known principle that if you keep the flint in one drawer and the steel in the other, you'll never strike much of a fire.
  3. Marcellus Washburn: I heard you was in steam automobiles. (to Harold Hill)
  4. Harold Hill: answers: I was... till someone actually 'invented' one!
  5. Harold Hill: 'Brooklyn'? Marce, this isn't even *Dubuque*!
  – Submitted by rick b (13 months ago)
• 1. Harold Hill: A man can't turn tail and run just because a little personal risk is involved. What did Shakespeare say? 'Cowards die a thousand deaths, the brave man... only 500'?
  2. Mayor Shinn: It's as clear as a buttonhook in the well water!
  3. Mayor Shinn: You watch your phraseology!
  4. Mrs. Paroo: When a woman's got a husband, and you've got none, why should she take advice from you? Even if you can quote Balzac and Shakespeare and all them other high-falutin' Greeks.
  5. Mrs. Paroo: I know all about your standards and if you don't mind my sayin' so there's not a man alive who could hope to measure up to that blend of Paul Bunyan, Saint Pat, and Noah Webster you've concocted for yourself out of your Irish imagination, your Iowa stubbornness, and your li'berry full of books!
  6. Harold Hill: The sadder but wiser girl for me.
  – Submitted by rick b (13 months ago)

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