CAN’T STOP THE MUSIC
Shirley Jones looks back on an American classic
THE MUSIC MAN Tuesday, 1:15 a.m., TCM
EVERYBODY loves a parade — even one that’s been marching through town for 55 years. That’s Shirley Jones’ take on her 1962 movie “The Music Man,” a star-and-songspangled adaptation of Meredith Willson’s Broadway show. Jones, who played Shirley Partridge in the 1970-74 ABC sitcom “The Partridge Family,” calls the film’s music and sense of patriotism “timeless.”
“The combination of the two made everybody want to be a part of it, and when they did see it they wanted to see it again,” says Jones, 83. “I still love watching it [and] singing it. The combination works so perfectly.”
Robert Preston reprised his Broadway role of huckster Harold Hill, who swindles money from gullible small-town Iowans with a promise to form a marching band in time for their July 4, 1912, celebration. Jones plays mousey librarian Marian Paroo, who doubts Hill’s intentions and fights off his flirtations. The movie showcases dance numbers and classic songs such as “76 Trombones,” “Ya Got Trouble” and “Wells Fargo Wagon.”
Jones — who won the 1961 Best Supporting Actress Oscar for playing a prostitute in “Elmer Gantry” — recently spoke by phone with The Post from her home in Sherman Oaks, Calif.
Why were the 1960s the right time to make “The Music Man”?
I don’t know, to tell you the truth. It was a musical but it had something to say, and that was the thing that made it so wonderful. The Robert Preston character starts out as a bad guy, trying to steal money — and it turns out he remakes the town and it becomes a loving place to be. All the characters were so unique that everybody loved each one of them. They were real people.
Did you have to do a lot of takes for the dance sequences?
Doing two or three or four or five takes was nothing. I sang with my own voice, so it had to be perfect.
The Hill character railed against the decline of youth culture; interestingly, The Beatles covered “Till There Was You,” a ballad you sang in the movie. What did you think of it?
Amazing. I couldn’t believe they did it. It was a beautiful score; to have The Beatles do it was ironic.
Movie musicals are rare today. Do you think they can come back, or are of a different era?
I thought about that myself because I’m a singer and still singing. When somebody steps up and sings a song instead of talking, they say, “What the hell is that?” I love musicals. “Oklahoma!” was my first and for me, at age 18, being able to do a movie like “Oklahoma!” was extraordinary. I would hope they continue doing things like that, but I’m not sure they will.
Then-7-year-old Ron Howard played Marian’s little brother, Winthrop. What was it like working with him?
As a child star, he was brilliant. Now when I see his work I understand why he’s so successful in everything. He was smart — he knew what the business was about.
Netflix rebooted “One Day at a Time.” Would you like to see a new “Partridge Family”?
I just wonder if “The Partridge Family” is a little too happy and wonderful these days. They’re not doing things like that anymore. They don’t believe it’s real.
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