THE MUSIC MAN (1962)
Musical comedy in which professional swindler Harold Hill (Robert Preston) targets a small town in Iowa with his scam about forming a boys’ band. Really, he plans to get the town parents to give him money for instruments and uniforms which he will then run off with. This swindle usually goes without a hitch, but this town has a piano-teaching librarian (Shirley Jones) who will surely see that Hill knows nothing about music. Hill has no choice but to distract her by making her fall in love with him.
This movie is hilarious and cynical and moving. Robert Preston is old and not that good-looking, but so hot anyway. One of the hottest characters ever. The whole cast is amazing. And the music is mind-blowingly beautiful and clever. This takes place in the early 1900’s and yet has an amazing late 50’s early 60’s hip to it. Great early 1900s slang.
