Main Cast: Clifton Webb, Debra Paget, Robert Wagner, Ruth Hussey, Finlay Currie
Release Year: 1952
Country: US
Run Time: 89 minutes
Plot
Stars and Stripes Forever is the highly fanciful filmed biography of "march king" John Philip Sousa. Clifton Webb does a fine job as Sousa, while Ruth Hussey is equally good in the less-demanding role of Sousa's wife. The problem faced by screenwriter Lamar Trotti (who adapted the film from Sousa's autobiography Marching Along) was that, outside of Sousa's early travails in organizing his own band after leaving the Marine Corps, there just wasn't much drama in the great composer's life. Thus, a secondary (and wholly fictional) romance involving young musician Willie (Robert Wagner) and ex-chorus girl Lily (Debra Paget) is given special emphasis. Willie invents the Sousaphone on behalf of his mentor, and upon returning from the Spanish American War minus one of his legs, Willie makes an inspirational solo appearance with the Sousa band. The best scenes include Sousa's ongoing efforts to break free from the "march king" onus and write romantic ballads, and Lily's high-kicking rendition of the music-hall ballad "Father's Got 'Em." When first telecast on NBC's Saturday Night at the Movies in 1962, Stars and Stripes Forever was accompanied by a short newsreel clip of the real John Philip Sousa in action. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Though it falls short of biography -- and what Hollywood biopic doesn't? -- Stars and Stripes Forever succeeds marvelously as a spirited and tuneful musical film. The plots -- one involving both famed composer John Philip Sousa and his wife, the other involving a fictional "young love" couple -- are predictable and, truth be told, fairly trite; but their stories are told with conviction and professionalism. They're also told swiftly, allowing Stars to dispense with them as often as necessary to get to the real business of the film -- Sousa's music, especially his marches. Stars does pay lip service to its subject's oft-stated desire to have his ballads more appreciated, but it's the marches that really make the film come alive, and they're delivered impeccably under musical director Alfred Newman's precise supervision. There are also a couple of non-march numbers that stand out, especially Debra Paget's rollicking, high-energy "Father's Got 'Em." Holding the picture together is Clifton Webb as Sousa; the part doesn't require a tremendous range, but Webb makes an asset of that, enjoying the chance to explore new ways to deliver a wisecrack or to combine bewilderment and disdain in one quick glance. Paget is simply gorgeous and adorable, and Robert Wagner is handsome and engaging; as Sousa's wife, Ruth Hussey has too little to do, but does it so well that she seems to play a much bigger role than she actually does. The costumes are lovely, the color is yummy, and Henry Koster directs as if this were simply the nicest Fourth of July picnic in existence -- which it pretty much is. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Roy Roberts - Maj. Houston; Benay Venuta - Mme. Bernsdorff-Mueller; Lester Matthews - Mr. Pickering; Maudie Prickett - Maid; Erno Verebes - Organ Grinder; Richard Garrick - Secretary of the Navy; Romo Vincent - Music Professor; Florence Shirley - Navy Nurse; Delos Jewkes - Bass Singer; Norman Leavitt - Purvis; Roy Gordon - President Benjamin Harrison; Helen Van Tuyl - Mrs. Harrison; Walter Woolf King - President's Aide; Roger Moore - President's Aides; Thomas E. Jackson - Senator; Maude Wallace - Nora; William Vedder - Prof. Estaban; Olan Soule - Glove Salesman; Aileen Carlyle - Mme. Liebling; Paul Maxey - Mr. McCaull; Frank Ferguson; Thomas Brown Henry - David Blakely; Nicholas Koster - John Philip Sousa, Jr.; Jack Rice
While loosely based on Sousa's autobiography Marching Along, the film takes considerable liberties and dramatic license, often expanding and extrapolating on themes and passages in the book. Much of the film is devoted to a romance between fictional characters Willie Little (Robert Wagner), a musician who joins the U.S. Marine Band under Sousa (Clifton Webb), and Lily Becker (Debra Paget), an aspiring concert singer. In the film, Willie is credited with designing the Sousaphone and naming it after his mentor, while in real life, Sousa himself designed the instrument. The film follows Sousa from his days as head of the Marine Band to his leaving the Marine Corps to form his own band in 1892 (taking Willie and Lily with him) and the ups and downs of his band. A mention in the book that Sousa discouraged the married men in the band from bringing their wives on tour is expanded into a subplot where Willie and Lily elope and keep the marriage a secret to continue touring together. An episode where Sousa's Band plays at the Atlanta, GeorgiaCotton States and International Exposition (1895),despite the sponsors' attempt to renege on their contract, the Civil War only over 30 years. The Colonel is concerned about a "Yankee" band; Sousa proceeds to tell of his selections with Dixie played after each piece. The crowd cheers each time for Dixie. This stays relatively close to fact.
The inspiration for the title march is depicted with a voiceover of Webb quoting Sousa's actual description of the event while at sea; however, the sea voyage in real life was due to Sousa and his wife rushing back to the U.S. from a vacation in Europe upon the sudden death of his manager, while in the film he takes the voyage to recover from illness contracted while attempting to resume military service during the Spanish-American War of 1898. Sousa then produces his operettaEl Capitan with Lily as one of the castmembers, while Willie reenlists in the Marines but serves as an infantryman rather than as a musician. Willie loses a leg in a friendly fire incident in Cuba, but while recovering at the Brooklyn Navy Yard Hospital, he is called upon to rejoin Sousa's band in a surprise concert, where the band plays the title march in public for the first time. (In real life, the march was first played publicly at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia on May 14, 1897, much earlier than depicted.)
Thomas Browne Henry as David Blakely (as Tom Browne Henry)
References
Listen carefully during the scene backstage while rehearsing "El Capitan"; while Sousa reads of the friendly fire incident, you can hear two rarely heard lyrics: one to "El Capitan", the march, and a lovely ballad.
