The Music Man, 1962

River City smells trouble with a capital T when a con man arrives to cheat the town out of hard-earned money. Marian the librarian won’t be scammed by this man, but she’s having trouble convincing everyone else that Harold Hill cannot be trusted. Harold’s a charmer, but it’ll take a lot more than charm to leave town with their money. He falls in love, and that changes everything.

I love the opening song, well most of the songs. I love the rhythm of the dialog. I love the courtship. I love Ron Howard’s performance. Kids should grow up singing these tunes. I would’ve given it every available award, but the only Academy Award it went home with was for Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment. It was also nominated for 5 other Oscars, including Best Picture.

This musical made Robert Preston a stand-out star. I also enjoyed his performances in Mame and Victor/Victoria.