in Sousa's lifetime (and since) was Victor Herbert. As a result the leading operetta composer from the U.S. Unfortunately Sousa never had another librettist/lyricist like Klein, and spent the rest of his career seeking his "Gilbert". Gilbert, but his libretto was serviceable. However, EL CAPITAN had a book by Charles Klein, a major dramatist of the 1890s - 1915 (he drowned in the Lusitania disaster). He would do a successful operetta (which is still revived) called EL CAPITAN, which starred DeWolf Hopper (we hear an actor as Hopper singing a tune at a rehearsal during the movie).
At the start Clifton Webb, as Sousa, does play the melody of "Semper Fidelis" for his wife Jenny (Ruth Hussey) as a tune to be sung.
#Sousa stars and stripes forever movie#
The movie does touch, once or twice, on Sousa's attempts to broaden his musical ability by doing Broadway shows (operettas). His band would go around the world performing, not only his own pieces, but also other composers as well. When he left the Marine Corps, he formed his own band, which he developed with a perfect balance of brass, stings, percussion, and woodwinds. He began composing pieces for the Marine Corps Band, such as "Semper Fidelis", "The Washington Post March", "Manhattan Beach", and he tried to expand his abilities into other fields. Sousa followed in his father's footsteps, but played several instruments and rose to be the bandmaster. Sousa came from a musical family (his father was a musician in the Marine Corps band). Marches were originally meant for troops to walk in step either on a training field or on the battlefield (music was used until the end of the 19th Century to keep up the spirits of the soldiers, and even to help orchestrate the speed they were to fight at when running across the battlefield). There is a sense of fun and spirit in Sousa's marches that transcend what a march is usually supposed to do. But this really does not explain why he remains the "March King". Like Johann Strauss the Younger, Alexander Scarlatti, and Scott Joplin, he is recalled for his domination of a single area of music: marches in this case, rather than waltzes, sonatas, or "rags". Others have composed great marches (the English composer Edward Elgar with his four "Pomp and Circumstance Marches" for instance, two of which are memorable), and such major composers like Wagner and Mendelsohn. John Philip Sousa's position in American (and World) music is set in stone by now. Stars and Stripes Forever is an admirable film and of course the finale does have several bands and marching armed forces personnel playing and marching to Sousa's most famous composition. Even Clifton Webb does make you forget you're watching Clifton Webb and you do think you are seeing the real Sousa. Ruth Hussey is cast in the Myrna Loy type role of the perfect understanding mate for her genius husband and she fulfills the role admirably. The Marine Corps Band was playing at a White House reception and the Harrison who was not the most social of presidents ordered Sousa to speed up the tempo so the receiving line would move at a brisk pace. The Marine Corps official march, Semper Fidelis, was composed by Sousa and the incident involving President Benjamin Harrison as depicted in Stars and Stripes Forever is somewhat true.
Though he composed all kinds of music, it is his marches that have come down today and have given him his reputation. But our story concerns Sousa the March King. After leaving the Marine Corps band, Sousa formed his own orchestra which became world famous and toured the globe well into the Twenties. In that beard with those pince nez glasses, Clifton Webb looks remarkably like John Philip Sousa in that period and by reputation, Sousa was as much a dilettante as Webb normally played on screen which made him perfect casting. Also included is a romance between fictional characters played by Robert Wagner and Debra Paget. It is rather a portrait of the era known as the Gay Nineties in America where Sousa first achieved his reputation and prominence.
#Sousa stars and stripes forever full#
What should be understood is that Stars and Stripes Forever is in no way a full biography of the famous March King which was the nickname given to John Philip Sousa.
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