'' (
1942 ) was the second and last film to feature The
Glenn Miller Orchestra . The film is notable among the many
Swing Era musicals because its plot is more serious and realistic than the insubstantial story lines that were typical of the genre.
Ann Rutherford plays Connie Ward, a young woman who marries Bill Abbott (
George Montgomery ), a trumpet player in Gene Morrison's (
Glenn Miller ) swing band. She soon finds herself at odds with the cattiness and petty jealousies of the other band members' spouses. Her discomfort is exacerbated by a flirtation between Abbott and Jaynie (
Lynn Bari ), the band's female vocalist. When Ward eventually walks out on Abbott their split releases so many other tensions among the musicians that leader Morrison is forced to break up the orchestra. Ward and the band's pianist Sinjin (
Cesar Romero ) then work behind the scenes to reunite the band, which also produces a reconciliation between Ward and Abbot. The re-formed band has a series of hit recordings and all ends happily.
Orchestra Wives features a treasure-trove of songs by
Mack Gordon and
Harry Warren , the same team responsible for the hits featured in Miller's first film ''
Sun Valley Serenade '' (
1941 ). The main production number is
"I've Got A Gal In Kalamazoo" , an analogue of
"Chattanooga Choo-Choo" from the first film that features a folksy vocal and some gutsy tenor sax work by
Tex Beneke , backup singing by the
Modernaires , and a gravity-defying dance sequence by the
Nicholas Brothers . Other songs include the period piece "People Like You and Me", a breakneck performance of
"Bugle Call Rag" and the still-popular romantic ballads
"At Last" and
"Serenade In Blue" .
"I've Got a Gal in Kalamazoo" received a 1942
Oscars nomination as Best Song.
- "At Last" was originally composed and recorded for ''Sun Valley Serenade'' but was cut from that film's theatrical release. A new arrangement and recording were made for ''Orchestra Wives''. Both versions are now available on CD.
- Glenn Miller 's character (Gene Morrison) was given a name with initials that matched Miller's real-life name so that the band could use their monogrammed stainless-steel bandstands.
- Three future stars have uncredited appearances: Jackie Gleason portrays the band's bass player, and in the soda fountain scene, Harry Morgan is the soda-jerk and Dale Evans plays Ann Rutherford 's friend.
- Pat Friday dubbed Lynn Bari 's singing, as she had done in ''Sun Valley Serenade''.
