I've seen this so many times on stages and, of course, in this most pleasant of films. It's hard sometimes to know if the movie works because it was so much fun as a stage play, or is there something magical in the presentation on screen. All I know is, like with many musicals, I look for the vignettes which lead to the songs. The opening scene with the chorus imitating the sound of a train rocking on the tracks, the "You've got trouble" scene, the barbershop sequences, "Marion the Librarian (I personally think the best number in the show), the pretty ballads, "Good Night, My Someone," and the finale. The fact that the plot is kind of slow and never goes much of anywhere (sort of like Iowa, probably perceived by Meredith Wilson), doesn't really bother me. When the Wells Fargo Wagon comes to town, what could be better? Of course the band plays, even though they shouldn't be able to, and Harold Hill meets his match. Then, of course, there is our wonderful contemporary director, Ron Howard, with his lisp and his shyness, stealing scenes that would be him permanency on the Andy Griffith Show. There are just a few things that are around to make us feel good; this is one of them.
Watch it when you're feeling bad.
Watch it when you're feeling bad.