--- product_id: 4810456 title: "The Music Man (BD)" price: "€ 25.08" currency: EUR in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.be/products/4810456-the-music-man-bd store_origin: BE region: Belgium --- # The Music Man (BD) **Price:** € 25.08 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The Music Man (BD) - **How much does it cost?** € 25.08 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.be](https://www.desertcart.be/products/4810456-the-music-man-bd) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description The Music Man (BD) This joyful film of the 1,375-performance Broadway smash remains an irresistible skyburst of Americana. Robert Preston recreates his Tony-winning Broadway triumph as con artist Harold Hill, arriving in River City, Iowa, to form a boys band, much to the disapproval…and later delight of town librarian Marian Paroo (Academy Award winner* Shirley Jones). Buddy Hackett, Hermione Gingold, Paul Ford and 7-year-old Ron Howard co-star. Meredith Willson’s sassy, brassy score – featuring the unforgettable Seventy-Six Trombones and Till There Was You among other marvelous melodies – is orchestrated to brilliant Oscar-winning* effect by Ray Heindorf. Review: An absolutely endearing musical about America's heartland - Director Morton DaCosta spent most of his career acting and directing on the New York stage, doing only two other movies. This one – his version of the Broadway hit – is as charming a screen musical as you are likely to see. It’s great fun and a treat for all ages. Robert Preston stars as Professor Harold Hill, an alias the character uses as a traveling salesman and small-time hustler of band uniforms and instruments. Hill’s trade brings him to the little town of River City, Iowa, where he meets his comeuppance but also finds love and happiness. And as Hill, Preston reprises to perfection the Tony Award-winning role he played for several years on Broadway. But the real stars are composer Meredith Willson’s songs. They’re wonderful, including the sweet ballad “Goodnight, My Someone,” the gorgeous “Till There Was You,” and the grand finale “76 Trombones,” which gives the cast a rousing curtain call. Some of the songs are among the most unusual ever written, including “Rock Island,” in which traveling salesmen aboard a train mimic its rhythm en route from one town to the next; “Piano Lesson,” where the sung lyrics follow the notes of a keyboard exercise; the rapid-fire “Trouble;” the charming “Pick a Little, Talk a Little,” sung by a chorus of the town’s dowagers who flock together like barnyard hens; and the crisply choreographed “Marian the Librarian,” as subtle a portrayal of romance and sexual awakening as ever presented on the screen. In a sense, The Music Man might be the most musical musical ever, because even the dialogue, or much of it, is spoken with a rhythmic cadence – and delightfully so. There’s also the happiest of happy endings, one that is sure to leave you smiling and humming the theme song for days. Shirley Jones co-stars as “lovely Marian,” the aforementioned librarian, and the great supporting cast includes Buddy Hackett as a pixie-ish fellow huckster, Paul Ford as the dotty mayor of River City, and eight-year-old Ron (Ronny in the credits) Howard at the beginning of his acting career as Marian’s brother, Winthrop. Review: Get this DVD, but buy the Broadway version's CD - There aren't many DVDs that I want to own, i.e., not many movies I'd care to watch more than once, but this is definitely one of them. I first saw this wonderful Meredith Willson musical as a child, and have loved it ever since. It's one of America's answers to a Puccini opera (which I also find sublime). (Another might be "Guys and Dolls".) The DVD has a lovely extra, about the making of the musical, hosted by Shirley Jones (who, one learns, was pregnant during the filming of the movie). One disappointment is that they morphed my favorite song from the Broadway show - the great "My White Knight" - into the mediocre "Being In Love." I have no idea why they did that, other than possibly they felt it fit better with the dialog, though if the latter played on Broadway for 1375 performances, I don't know why they couldn't have fit it into the movie. I can't imagine that it was out of Shirley Jones' range. (And, I doubt there was any racial political correctness involved, back in 1962.) Just a bad choice, I guess. Also somewhat disappointing is that the movie version of my other favorite song from this show - "Till There Was You" (covered famously by the Beatles) - is inferior to the Broadway version, which has it as a lovely duet with Robert Preston, while the movie has Shirley Jones singing it alone. On the plus side, the Barbershop quartet songs, and especially the Buffalo Bills' duet with Shirley Jones ("Lida Rose" and "Will I Ever Tell You?"), are top notch. I LOVE it when two melodies are woven together richly and seamlessly (another prime example being "Moonglow" and "Theme from Picnic"), and Willson does it in this musical several times. It's a subtle but genuine tour de force. A bit of trivia: one of my favorite bands from the late 1960s, Spanky and Our Gang, recorded their own, delightful version of "Ya Got Trouble". So, between them and The Beatles, you know that Meredith Willson came up with some memorable tunes and lyrics here. I can't end this review without also mentioning the stellar performance by Pert Kelton in the role of the widow Paroo. Her acting, voice, and intonations are perfect, which makes it understandable why she played the role both on stage and in the film. The way she sighs and looks off into the distance after one of her encounters with the spell-binding Professor Harold Hill is unforgettable. If you're a music-lover, you can't regret owning this DVD. But for the CD, don't buy the movie soundtrack, but get the Broadway version. It also stars the incomparable Robert Preston, but features a flawless performance by Barbara Cook, singing the role of Marian (Madam Librarian) Paroo. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Contributor | Buddy Hackett, Hermione Gingold, Morton Dacosta, Paul Ford, Robert Preston, Shirley Jones | | Customer Reviews | 4.8 out of 5 stars 7,994 Reviews | | Format | Blu-ray, Color, Multiple Formats, Subtitled, Widescreen | | Genre | Comedy, Musicals & Performing Arts/Musicals | | Initial release date | 2010-02-02 | | Language | English | ## Product Details - **Contributor:** Buddy Hackett, Hermione Gingold, Morton Dacosta, Paul Ford, Robert Preston, Shirley Jones - **Format:** Blu-ray, Color, Multiple Formats, Subtitled, Widescreen - **Genre:** Comedy, Musicals & Performing Arts/Musicals - **Initial release date:** 2010-02-02 - **Language:** English ## Images ![The Music Man (BD) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/818jykx3QAL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ An absolutely endearing musical about America's heartland *by P***I on July 18, 2016* Director Morton DaCosta spent most of his career acting and directing on the New York stage, doing only two other movies. This one – his version of the Broadway hit – is as charming a screen musical as you are likely to see. It’s great fun and a treat for all ages. Robert Preston stars as Professor Harold Hill, an alias the character uses as a traveling salesman and small-time hustler of band uniforms and instruments. Hill’s trade brings him to the little town of River City, Iowa, where he meets his comeuppance but also finds love and happiness. And as Hill, Preston reprises to perfection the Tony Award-winning role he played for several years on Broadway. But the real stars are composer Meredith Willson’s songs. They’re wonderful, including the sweet ballad “Goodnight, My Someone,” the gorgeous “Till There Was You,” and the grand finale “76 Trombones,” which gives the cast a rousing curtain call. Some of the songs are among the most unusual ever written, including “Rock Island,” in which traveling salesmen aboard a train mimic its rhythm en route from one town to the next; “Piano Lesson,” where the sung lyrics follow the notes of a keyboard exercise; the rapid-fire “Trouble;” the charming “Pick a Little, Talk a Little,” sung by a chorus of the town’s dowagers who flock together like barnyard hens; and the crisply choreographed “Marian the Librarian,” as subtle a portrayal of romance and sexual awakening as ever presented on the screen. In a sense, The Music Man might be the most musical musical ever, because even the dialogue, or much of it, is spoken with a rhythmic cadence – and delightfully so. There’s also the happiest of happy endings, one that is sure to leave you smiling and humming the theme song for days. Shirley Jones co-stars as “lovely Marian,” the aforementioned librarian, and the great supporting cast includes Buddy Hackett as a pixie-ish fellow huckster, Paul Ford as the dotty mayor of River City, and eight-year-old Ron (Ronny in the credits) Howard at the beginning of his acting career as Marian’s brother, Winthrop. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Get this DVD, but buy the Broadway version's CD *by H***I on February 16, 2006* There aren't many DVDs that I want to own, i.e., not many movies I'd care to watch more than once, but this is definitely one of them. I first saw this wonderful Meredith Willson musical as a child, and have loved it ever since. It's one of America's answers to a Puccini opera (which I also find sublime). (Another might be "Guys and Dolls".) The DVD has a lovely extra, about the making of the musical, hosted by Shirley Jones (who, one learns, was pregnant during the filming of the movie). One disappointment is that they morphed my favorite song from the Broadway show - the great "My White Knight" - into the mediocre "Being In Love." I have no idea why they did that, other than possibly they felt it fit better with the dialog, though if the latter played on Broadway for 1375 performances, I don't know why they couldn't have fit it into the movie. I can't imagine that it was out of Shirley Jones' range. (And, I doubt there was any racial political correctness involved, back in 1962.) Just a bad choice, I guess. Also somewhat disappointing is that the movie version of my other favorite song from this show - "Till There Was You" (covered famously by the Beatles) - is inferior to the Broadway version, which has it as a lovely duet with Robert Preston, while the movie has Shirley Jones singing it alone. On the plus side, the Barbershop quartet songs, and especially the Buffalo Bills' duet with Shirley Jones ("Lida Rose" and "Will I Ever Tell You?"), are top notch. I LOVE it when two melodies are woven together richly and seamlessly (another prime example being "Moonglow" and "Theme from Picnic"), and Willson does it in this musical several times. It's a subtle but genuine tour de force. A bit of trivia: one of my favorite bands from the late 1960s, Spanky and Our Gang, recorded their own, delightful version of "Ya Got Trouble". So, between them and The Beatles, you know that Meredith Willson came up with some memorable tunes and lyrics here. I can't end this review without also mentioning the stellar performance by Pert Kelton in the role of the widow Paroo. Her acting, voice, and intonations are perfect, which makes it understandable why she played the role both on stage and in the film. The way she sighs and looks off into the distance after one of her encounters with the spell-binding Professor Harold Hill is unforgettable. If you're a music-lover, you can't regret owning this DVD. But for the CD, don't buy the movie soundtrack, but get the Broadway version. It also stars the incomparable Robert Preston, but features a flawless performance by Barbara Cook, singing the role of Marian (Madam Librarian) Paroo. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ One of the greatest movie musicals ever! *by J***F on October 12, 2015* An amazing thing happened when I first saw The Music Man in its first run in the summer of '62. I won't be giving away any plot points to say that the end credits are handled by showing the actors alone or in groups, in costume, above or below their names. Instead of just sitting there, the audience responded as if they were at a live stage version when the various actors come out at the end, wildly applauding each group until they were cheering for Shirley Jones and Robert Preston. That's the kind of enthusiastic response this movie usually creates in people. The Music Man is one of the very best film versions of a stage musical, in this case, opened up in a (seemingly) real town, an improvement over any stage version I've ever seen. The look of the sets is perfect for Meredith Willson's fond recollection of his boyhood in Mason City, Iowa. The score he wrote for it is one of the most accomplished, loved and well-known. The acting from everyone involved is really good, though being a musical you must consider that some of the comic characters are played over-the-top. This is 10/10, five stars, thumbs up all around. Enjoy it! THE ACTUAL MASON CITY BOYS" BAND OF 1912_PICTURE BELOW. While hunting around the internet I found this picture of the real Mason City Boys' Band. They seem to be from an orphans' home and sponsored by the International Order of Odd Fellows, a fraternal order like the Elks or Shriners. In their uniforms they would fit right in the movie. Just thought some people would like seeing them. EXTRA NOTE-SOME SPOILERS! The one controversial note that has plagued The Music Man from its very beginning has been about the character of Harold Hill. He is, after all, a con man. But consider a few things before you rush to judgement. The story requires some kind of tension. If a nice guy goes to a nice town and meets a nice girl...well, that's all fine in real life but it doesn't do much for a theatrical presentation. So he can't be a totally nice guy. Also, deep down, the story is about the redemptive power of love. Thus he has to need some redemption. At the same time, we're supposed to like this con man. As con men go, he's not really a bad one, in fact, as cons go his is pretty inept. He comes to town, sells everybody on the boys'band and then collects for uniforms and expensive instruments. Now here's where a true con man skips town. But no, the instruments and uniforms are delivered. The only real con is that he can teach music; there he is at fault, but at least he attended the band's "Think Method" practices. He didn't run away with everyone's hard earned money, so you can't really hate him. ## Frequently Bought Together - The Music Man [Blu-ray] - My Fair Lady - Fiddler on the Roof (BD) [Blu-ray] --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.be/products/4810456-the-music-man-bd](https://www.desertcart.be/products/4810456-the-music-man-bd) --- *Product available on Desertcart Belgium* *Store origin: BE* *Last updated: 2026-05-23*