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boys clothing: depictions in U.S. movies--The Music Man
The Music Man - (US, 1962)
Figure 1.--This is a dance scene in the town library showing the high school boys with knee pants and long stockings. Two boys wear knickers buckled below the knee with black stockings. The colors of their shirts are quite fanciful--based on a
choreographer's and director's desire for spectacle rather than historical accuracy.
The costuming is somewhat stagey and in some instances quite untrue to the decade of the 1910s. Not only are the colors here not what boys would have worn. Some older boys did wear kneepnts although knickers became more common in the 1910s. And older boys like this would not have worn white stockings.
'The Music Man' is a nostalgic look at Midwest America about 1910. The 1962 film was based on the popular broadway musical. A con man romping through Iowa charms all in his path until he meets a suspicious librarian. One of the characters, Winthrop, the librarian's little brother is usually dressed in a knickers suit or sailor suit. He sings the song "Gary, Indiana" with a lisp. Ronny Howard, Oppie from the "Andy Griffith Show," plays Winthrop who is unhappy because he lisps. Winthrop wears a knee pants suits. The boys all wear knickers. There is also a scene where they sing the song about the pool hall. Boys are shown in knickers peering into the pool hall. One of the tell tale signs of corruption is for a boy to rebuckle his knickerbockers below the knee, to look older, after he leaves the house. A young culprit is caught and his parents yank his knickers up exposing his knees. Here's that memorable quote from the Music Man, in the song "Trouble" sung by the bogus Professor Harold Hill, warning the River City parents of the need to set up a boys' band in order to stop their sons going off the rails: "The minute your
son leaves the house, does he rebutton his knickerbockers BELOW THE KNEE?" (A sure sign of incipient delinquency!)
Filmology
The 1962 film was based on the popular broadway musical of the same name. It is one of the classic American broadway musicals.
The film starred Robert Preston as the charlatan Professor Howard Hill, who takes in the town of River City, Iowa. It is the film for which Preston is most famous. Professor Hill gets the citizens of River city to invest in a boys' brass band. He is aided by an old friend played by Buddy Hacket. The female lead is the librarian Marian Paroo who is played by Shirley Jones. Jones makes Marion the best rememnbered librarian in American movies. The film also stars a 7-year-old child actor, Ron Howard. He charminly plays Winthrop, Marion's sister, who is unhappy because he lisps. Ron of course is Oppie from the "Andy Griffith Show". Americans in the 60s and 70s grew up with Opie and later Richy Cunningham on "Happy Day". Ron is now a very successful Hollywood producer.
Plot
The Music Man is a nostalgic look at Midwest America about 1910. A con man romping through Iowa charms all in his path until he meets a skeptical librarian. The story is set in the 1910s. And towns at the time did often have boys' bands or at leat town bands that included boys. The bands were an important civic institution. The con-man, Professor Hill, intends to leave town with the money once he has got River City to form a boys' band (supposedly to preserve the boys from the modern trend toward loose morals). But his plans go awry when he falls in love with the
town librarian, Marian, who is also a piano teacher. She is on to his scheme but fails to expose him because she responds to his charm, and she finally converts him into becoming an honest man.
One of the characters, Winthrop, the librarian's little brother is usually dressed in a knickers suit or sailor suit. He sings the song "Gary, Indiana" with a lisp. Winthrop wears a knee pants suits. The boys all wear knickers. There is also a scene where they sing the song about the pool hall. Boys are shown in knickers peering into the pool hall. One of the tell tale signs of corruption is for a boy to rebuckle his knickerbockers below the knee, to look older, after he leaves the house. A young culprit is caught and his parents yank his knickers up exposing his knees. Here's that memorable quote from the Music Man, in the song "Trouble" sung by the bogus Professor Harold Hill, warning the River City parents of the need to set up a boys' band in order to stop their sons going off the rails: "The minute your
son leaves the house, does he rebutton his knickerbockers BELOW THE KNEE?" (A sure sign of incipient delinquency!)
Actually the costuming is somewhat stagey and quite untrue to the decade of the 1910s. But many of the boys do wear knickers with black stockings. However, in the famous scene where Professor Hill warns the town about the danger of letting boys buckle their knickerbockers below rather than above the knee, some worried relatives pull up the bottom of their boy's knickers to expose black stockings that reach only to the knees
and not above (which, of course, is a historical mistake, since all boys of the period wore long stockings with their knickers suspnded by some kind of sticking supporter). Another scene shows a highschool boy wearing knee pants with long white stockings--another anachronism since white long stockings were almost always reserved for very young boys if they were worn at all. Another
false note in the costuming occurs when we see the lead little boy (played by Ron Howard) wearing a short pants suit with knee socks and a British-style peaked school cap. Short pants suits of this sort were a later development (the 1920s-40s) and tended to be a style worn mostly in the eastern United States by boys from rather affluent families in imitation of British schoolboy dress.
Figure 2.--As far as clothing is concerned, the best known scene is the one where Professor Hill warns the parents the parents about pool and points out that the boys are pulling their knickers down below the knee. Here mom and dad have pulled this boy's knickers back up above his knees. Note the black stockings that reach only to the knees and not above (which, of course, is a historical mistake, since all boys of the period wore long stockings with their knickers suspnded by some kind of sticking supporter).
Music
The music, which became very popular, is by Meredith Wilson. The song in Music Man that relates to boys clothing is of course "Ya Get Trouble" about declining moral standards of the town's youth. Professor Hill focuses on the pool hall (not knowing it is owned by the mayor), and as an example of the decliing factors points out that the boys are pulling down their knickers and buckeling them below the knees. Here is the lyrics of the song and the accompanying stage instructions.
PROFESSOR HILL: Well either you are closing your eyes to a situation you do not wish to acknowledge... Or you are not aware of the calibre of disaster. Indicated by the presence of a pool table in your community.
Weeellll, ya got trouble my friend. Right here, I say, trouble right here in River City.
Why sure I'm a billiard player, certainly mighty proud to say
I'm always mighty proud to say it
I consider that the hours I spend with a cue in my hand are golden
Help you cultivate horse sense, and a cool head and a keen eye
'Jever take and try and give an iron clad leave to yourself from a 3 rail billiard shot?
Well, just as I say it takes judgement, brains and maturity
To score in a balkline game
I say that any boob can take and shove a ball in a pocket
And I call that sloth! The first big step on the road to the depths of degreda[tion].
I say first, medicinal wine from a teaspoon
Then beer from a bottle!
And the next thing you know, your son is playin'
Fer money in a pinchback suit
And list'nin to some big out-a-town Jasper
Hearin' him about horse race gambling
Not a wholesome trottin' race, no, but a race where they se' down right on the horse!
Like to see some stuck up jockey boy sittin' on Dan Patch?
Make your blood boil? Well I should say!
Now friends, let me tell ya what I mean:
Ya got 1 2 3 4 5 6 pockets in a table
Pockets that mark the diff'rence between a gentlemen and a bum
With a capital B and that rhymes with P and that stands for Pool!
And all week long, your River City youth'll be fritterin' away!
I say your young men'll be frittern'!
Frittern' away their noontime, suppertime, chore time too!
Get the ball in pocket, never mind gettin' dandelions pulled
Or the screen door patched, or the beefstake pounded
Never mind pumping any water till your parents are caught with the cistern empty on a Saturday night-and that's trouble!
Yes, you got lots and lotsa trouble!
I'm thinkin' of the kids in the knickerbockers, shirt-tailed young ones, peekin' in the pool hall winda after school.
Ya got trouble folks! Right here in River City!
Trouble with a capital T and that rhymes with P and that stands for pool!
Now, I know all you folks are the right kind of parents
I'm going to be perfectly frank.
Would ya like to know what kind of conversation goes on while they're loafing around that hall?
They'll be tryin' out Bevo
Tryin' out Cubebs
Tryin' out tailor mades like cigarette fiends!
And braggin' all about how they're gonna cover up a tell-tale breath with Sen Sen.
And one fine night
They leave the pool hall, headed for the dance at the armory
Libertine men and scarlet women-and ragtime!
Shameless music that'll grab your son, your daughter
In the arms of a jungle animal instinct-massteria!
Friend, the idle brain's the devil's playground! Trouble!
REFRAIN CHORUS SINGS: Oh, we got trouble
HILL: Right here in River City! (Chorus echoes him) With a capital T and that rhymes with P and that stands for pool!
CHORUS: That stands for pool!
HILL: We've surely got trouble! (Chorus echoes)
HILL: Right here in River City!
CHORUS: Right here!
HILL: Gotta figger out a way to keep the young ones moral after school!
CHORUS: Our children's children gonna have... (chanted afterward: trouble, trouble, trouble in the background of Hill's speech)
HILL: Mothers of river city: heed that warning before it's too late.
Watch for the tell-tale signs of corruption:
The minute your son leaves the house, does he rebutton his knickerbockers BELOW THE KNEE?
Is there a nicotine stain on his index finger? A dime novel hidden in the corn crib?
Is he starting to memorize jokes from Cap'n Billy's Whiz Bang?
Are certain words...creeping into his conversation?
Words like...like swell?
And so's your old man!
Trouble crescendoes on every 6th beat as swell and old man are mentioned).
Well, if so my friends-ya got trouble!
REFRAIN IS REPEATED, but replace "Gotta find a way to keep the young ones moral after school" with "Remember the Maine, Plymouth Rock, and the Golden Rule!"
CHORUS THEN CHANTS TROUBLE IN THE BACKGROUND AS HILL CONTINUES
Oh, ho we got trouble
We're in terrible, terrible trouble
That game with the 15 numbered balls is the devil's tool!
CHORUS: Devil's tool! Oh yes we got trouble-trouble-trouble
CHORUS: Oh yes, we got trouble here, we got big big trouble!
HILL: With a capital T! CHORUS ECHOES HILL: And that rhymes with P!
CHORUS ECHOES HILL: And that stands for pool!
CHORUS ECHOES, HOLDING THE NOTE. WOMEN SOAR TO A HIGH NOTE.)
Figure 3.--This is the dance scene in the River CityHigh School gym. Professor Hill is trying to sell the idea of a boy's marching band. Girls were allowed to participate, I guess as long as they bought an instrument.
"The Music Man" was a musical and like many other American nusicals, there were several notable dance scenes. The two I recall best are scenes in the school gym and another in the library. The gym scene includes children of all ages. The library scene is done by the older students. There is also a major scene at the end, but this seems more a parade than a dance scene. The children begin in their regular clothes, but them are transformed into a wonderful uniformed marching band. Perhaps readers who know more about sance will be able to tell us more.
Remake (2003)
We always wonder why film meakers set out to remake movies thatwere so well done to begin with. Almost always they are going to come off as ceating an infrior product. It is hard to see how the original 1962 film can be improved upon. I can understand remaking the old black and white film as many young people now adays don't want to watch black and white films. But of course the original version of "The Music Man" was in color. There is nothing wrong with this version. The music of course is great. It would be difficult to create a bad film with the glorious music of Meredith Wilson. And the actors turn in creditable performances, but the remake adds nothing new. Some remkes are useful because they provide a new interpretation of the original. There is no effort to do this here, or for that matter is it needed. And overall the remake is just not as good as the original. The supporting actors in prticular are not nearly as fun, especially Winthrop and the mayor and his wife.
