"The Glenn Miller Story" question

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by RetroSmith, Dec 28, 2002.

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  1. RetroSmith

    RetroSmith Forum Hall Of Fame<br>(Formerly Mikey5967) Thread Starter

    Location:
    East Coast
    The Glen Miller Story

    Since I'm a huge fan of this move, and its soundtrack (done in STEREO, and won an emmy for sound in 1954) I was thrilled to see that the movie has been restored.

    It was on TMC tonite and it looked GREAT, the best dub I have ever seen of this flick.

    Funny thing is that its STILL not available on DVD.

    My real question, tho, is, what didn they master the soundtrack from?
    I wonder if they went back to the 35mm tracks and transferred those, or if the simply used the master tape from the soundtrack LP.
     
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  2. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host

    I don't understand your question, Mikey. You mean the actual soundtrack of the movie? They used the ragged old 35mm four-track mag print master.

    Is that what you mean? It has the music "dipped" on it. The Decca album was made from the "pre-mixed" music mags, long since dumped in the trash.
     
  3. RetroSmith

    RetroSmith Forum Hall Of Fame<br>(Formerly Mikey5967) Thread Starter

    Location:
    East Coast
    Ahh...so they DID trash the 4 track mags. Thats what I was afraid of.

    So, then, they have to use the stereo master tapes of the soundtrack LP.

    I hope THOSE are in decent shape.

    At least its stereo. I would cringe if the DVD comes out with a Mono soundtrack. Those versions of the Miller songs are just incredible.
     
  4. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host

    You mean the four-track "Music score" mags? Sure, those were dumped (erased, probably). All the studios did this after holding on to them for about 10 years. They still have the 35mm mag print master though. That's the one with the dialogue, effects and music, mixed left, center, right and surround.

    The 1959 reissue of the Glenn Miller Story album on Decca was taken from the Film music score mags (dubbed from them to 1/2" two-track recording tape. Of course the Louis Armstrong segment no longer existed in stereo form (pre film mixing) so Louis re-recorded his part directly onto 1/2" tape for Decca in 1959 as a personal favor to Milt Gabler.
     
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  5. RetroSmith

    RetroSmith Forum Hall Of Fame<br>(Formerly Mikey5967) Thread Starter

    Location:
    East Coast
    Gee, I didnt know that about Louis Armstrong. Thats a nice part also. Gene krupa is on that also.

    I really wanna hear a good version of that soundtrack. Moonlight Serenade sends chills up your spine.
     
  6. lsupro

    lsupro King of Ignorers

    Location:
    Rocklin, CA
    Very interesting. Glad to learn that about the movie. Steve, is there anything you don't know? Perhaps the volume of a sphere?

    :)
     
  7. sgraham

    sgraham New Member

    Location:
    Michigan
    Hang on, I'm sure that I remember that the movie was re-released (to theaters) a few years ago after the multi-track (whatever format) masters, long thought lost, had been found again. I meant to go and see it, but didn't.
     
  8. JonUrban

    JonUrban SHF Member #497

    Location:
    Connecticut
    This is a great film, I wish they would do the DVD and get it out there!!

    :-jon
     
  9. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host

    Bumped by request.
     
  10. BradOlson

    BradOlson Country/Christian Music Maven

    The movie is on DVD but the print isn't the best quality and it has been issued on Blu-Ray overseas.
     
  11. JamieC

    JamieC Senior Member

    Location:
    Detroit Mi USA
    Just as an update for new readers, The Glen Miller Story has been out for some time now. I have had it for years.
     
  12. JonUrban

    JonUrban SHF Member #497

    Location:
    Connecticut
    Me too! My post was from 2002!!!
     
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  13. Steve, please forgive my ignorance, but are you saying that the music was recorded in stereo in December 1953 for the film, and then from those film elements they transferred the soundtrack to two-track for the 1956 Decca release?

    I'm just sort of trying to figure out how they recorded it in 1953 and then made it into stereo in '56 without some sort of trickery involved. I mean, 1953 is pretty damn early for American stereo. I know this is a landmark album, so I was thinking about picking it up. But, if it's anything like this wackadoodle Billie Holiday set of all her recordings in stereo, I wouldn't want to have it. (I got the Holiday set for free, so no flaming! Ha!)

    I've heard bits of this recording through my laptop speakers, and it sounds pretty wonderful. I would like to get the real deal for my hi-fi setup, if it's worth it, that is.
     
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  14. MLutthans

    MLutthans That's my spaghetti, Chewbacca! Staff

    1953 is early for "music studio" stereo, but the movie industry was way ahead of the curve on that stuff. For instance, This is Cinerama played in 7-track stereo in 1952.
     
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  15. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host

    Recorded in stereo in 1953, yes. Mag dubbed to recording tape for mono and then in 1959 dubbed to 1/2" stereo tape for stereo LP release. Louis song re-recorded.
     
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  16. Sam

    Sam Senior Member

    Location:
    Rochester, NY
    Good movie! It pulls me in whenever I catch it on AMC or TCM. Shame on his "disappearance" over the English Channel. Didn't it come out years later that a British bomber pilot was returning from a bombing run over Germany and dumped the bombs he didn't use over the English channel? And, as fate would have it, Miller's plane was below. Story went something like that.
     
  17. andybeau

    andybeau Forum Resident

    Location:
    Coventry, UK
    Or maybe not
    Glenn Miller book clears RAF of accidentally killing band leader
    Great film
     
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  18. Sam

    Sam Senior Member

    Location:
    Rochester, NY
    Last edited: Jan 10, 2018
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  19. Carl Swanson

    Carl Swanson Senior Member

    Fantasia.
     
  20. antoniod

    antoniod Forum Resident

    My Aunt had this idea that part of GLENN MILLER STORY was filmed in Massachusetts, but I think there's something wrong with her brain!
     
  21. Dr. Pepper

    Dr. Pepper What, me worry?

    Can't both things be true?
     
  22. MLutthans

    MLutthans That's my spaghetti, Chewbacca! Staff

    Sure, but those are optical tracks, a format that rarely found use in the music recording studio. Later titles, such as the one I mentioned, were multi-track magnetic recordings (on full-coat 35mm film stock), more akin to magnetic tape used in recording studios. It's amazing how many movie titles were actually exhibited with multi-channel, magnetic soundtracks between, say, 1952 and 1956, while most professional recording studios were still "cutting edge" if they had 2- or 3-track tape machines, and many (most?) were still "mono only."
     
  23. Right, but in the end, it doesn't matter how the stereo was captured, only that it was.

    I'm reminded of my stereo recording of Mozart's "Jupiter" symphony, conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham at Abbey Road studio, by Alan Blumlein in 1934. On the same CD is Beecham conducting Mozart's symphony no.39 in 1936, but this time in Germany, recorded at the BASF chemical company's headquarters, on AEG equipment, a magnetic tape machine, being first unveiled the year before, in 1935.

    I snatched a pic of the very gear:
    [​IMG]

    Fidelity, in this case, takes a backseat to historicity. Not that these recordings are total dogs; nevertheless, just the fact that they were saved is fascinating in itself. I wouldn't care if they were recorded on pie plates. :righton:

    I'm not an expert on early stereo by any means...but I'm learning, and I love to listen. Right now I'm listening to Beethoven's "Emperor" piano concerto, recorded in January 1945 in Berlin. It's a lot higher fidelity, this one. This is the one that you can hear the British bombs falling in the background.
     
  24. Carl Swanson

    Carl Swanson Senior Member

    . . . the "usefulness" of which was discovered when the technology developed to the point where it became useful as a source.
     
  25. So, I ordered The Glenn Miller Story today, in brilliant stereo. I think it's neat that the lion's share was actually recorded in late 1953. This will go great with some of my Living Stereo stuff, recorded as early as 1954. God, I love that 60 CD set!
     
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