Clifton Leads the Band

Beginning during his tenure as leader of the Marine Corps Band, and continuing through the end of the Spanish-American War, the life of composer and band leader John Philip Sousa (Clifton Webb) is the subject of our movie this week, the biopic Stars and Stripes Forever (1952).

This is a fun movie, primarily because of fine performances by Clifton Webb, Robert Wagner (Willie Little) and Ruth Hussey (Jennie Sousa), and the interspersion of Sousa's rousing marches. Much of the story about Sousa himself is accurate (the dates of the creation of certain of his marches are changed (The Great Composers Portrayed on Film, 1913 through 2002 by Charles P. Mitchell)), though the Lily Becker (Debra Paget)/Willie Little story is completely fictitious. It was inserted to add some romance to the plot, and probably because Mr. Sousa's life was not in the least tumultuous. After a successful period in the Marines, he went on to a hugely renowned career as a bandleader. He was happily married to his wife for 53 years (until his death in 1932), and had three children.  As pointed out by Jeanine Basinger in I Do and I Don't: A History of Marriage in the Movies "a marriage story is a screenwriter's nightmare.... Marriage had no story arc..." Thus, the Sousas relatively trouble-free union had little for the screenwriters to build on.

To give the story some spice, we have the insertion of Lily and Willie. Willie is an eager beaver who pursues everything - a job with Sousa, his relationship with Lily - with verve. He invents the Sousaphone to get a position with the Marine band (the Sousaphone was actually invented by J.W. Pepper, with input from Sousa, as a means of marching with a tuba. It was lighter and smaller, and the sound went OVER the heads of the other musicians, resulting in better music for the audience, and less chance of deafening the other marchers), pursues the career-driven Lily even when told that his wife cannot travel with him while he is with the band, and convinces Sousa that Lily is an asset to the band as a singer. Robert Wagner is delightful in the part. This was a huge role for him. He'd come to the attention of the public that same year with a small part in With a Song in My Heart, which resulted in his being cast here (Rory Calhoun had been an early choice.) (AFI catalog)

The women in the film - Debra Paget and Ruth Hussey - don't get a lot of screen time. Certainly Ruth Hussey is hardly present, but she makes the most of the screen time she is given. One particular scene, in which she plays piano for her husband's latest ballad, was delightful. Mr. Sousa wanted to write successful ballads (TCM articles), but he was obviously much better at marches; so, his wife begins to play his latest ballad to a much catchier march beat. Another scene involves Mr. Sousa observing Willie sneaking into Lily's train cabin. Ms. Hussey's blasé response is perfect. 

We weren't as impressed with Ms. Paget, who is okay as the volatile Lily. Most of the time, we really wanted her to relax a bit. However, a scene between her and Ms. Hussey is excellent, as the two women discuss men and marriage. June Haver was first choice for the part, but we suspect it is more the way the character is written than the actress' performance.

Which brings us to the star of the film, Clifton Webb. As always, he is excellent. We get to see him dance and sing (which is always a pleasure. As we mentioned in a prior post, Mr. Webb began his career as a professional ballroom dancer, and he had lost none of his ability in that area). Mr. Webb very much wanted this part, and the reviews and the success of the film must have been gratifying to him. There is a strength and warmth to his performance that makes Sousa quite endearing. (Sitting Pretty: The Life and Times of Clifton Webb by Clifton Webb)

We discovered that George Chakiris has an uncredited role as a Ballroom Dancer; blink and you'll miss him (we did). Stars and Stripes Forever was a critical and financial success, and propelled both Mr. Webb and Mr. Wagner into Titanic the following year. We'll leave you with this trailer from the film. It's certainly worth a viewing.