The Rat Race

Over the years Hollywood's portrayal of musician's lives and the music scene in general is almost embarrassing.  You could almost bet on any of these old movies that the male star's wife would be June Allyson. (A bit of an exaggeration but it seems she was everyone's wife in these early films especially if it was called the "Such and Such" story.) They didn't seem to worry about over exposure in those days.

Some of these biographical attempts were The Glenn Miller Story, The Benny Goodman Story, and The Gene Krupa Story. Other examples of Hollywood "schlock was the movie The Waltz King the life of Johann Strauss. (Now here is a piece of work that is so bad it's almost ... oh well.)

Perhaps the actual events that comprised the real life of these musicians most likely weren’t all that interesting and had to be "sugared" up when made into a movie.

The story line in these movies bares no relationship to actual biographical documentation that we know regarding the musician's or composer's life.

Casting directors would choose an actor that vaguely resembled the musician. Jimmy Stewart wore glasses and did look a bit like Glenn Miller but his speaking mannerisms (complete with drawl) was still Jimmy Stewart.

Sal Mineo came close to at least emulating Gene Krupa (a drummer) as Sal actually could play drums and had enough technique to make it look believable.

In 1960 Tony Curtis and Debbie Reynolds appeared in a movie called "The Rat Race."   I thought at the time it was the best depiction of what the music business was or could be like. It had a great story line and featured two very talented actors.

The movie even featured cameo-acting bits by actual Jazz musicians, Joe Bushkin  (pianist) Gerry Mulligan (Baritone sax artist) and Sam Butera (who was featured on tenor in a group called The Witnesses) a band that backed Louis Prima.

These jazz players added an element of authenticity to the scenes rather than having a bunch of no-body actors pretending they were playing these instruments.

The story centres around Tony Curtis who is a jazz sax player that arrives in New York to seek fame and fortune.  He's right out of middle America complete with little understanding of the sleaziness and corruption that pervades the "under belly" in that big city at a given time. He becomes an easy "mark" for guys that want to take advantage of him.

The musicians he meets subsequently rip him off and they steal all of his saxes. He does the only thing he can do to try and get his horns back and that is to register (report) with the police that he lost his horns in this manner.

A couple of weeks later he gets a call from a Police Precinct that they have his "musical" instrument. He's delighted thinking that at least they have retrieved one of his horns.   He goes to the station and signs a form for the sax.  The sergeant that's on duty accepts his signature on the release document and comes out with his horn...  a "string bass".  

Tony naturally gets into a bit of a dispute with the cop who is annoyed that Tony signed the document when in fact it wasn't his lost horn.   Eventually the sergeant makes him take the bass rather than having to deal with forms that have to be altered. In New York everything apparently seems to be a bother.

In an amusing New York (big city) logic the officer points out .... "You lost a musical instrument?"   Tony says, "yes."  "This is a musical instrument, right?"  Tony again has to agree. 

"Then this is your instrument.” I guess to a New York cop a horn is a horn even if it looks like a Bass.

"He comes home to his girl friend (Debbie Reynolds) and tries to explain this ludicrous situation and how he acquired the Bass.

The producers didn't try to gloss over the story line in the movie and the "sleaziness" is in tact. The film has some interesting moments and the cop's handling of the "found" instrument is strictly New York.

Like the line in the song (from the movie "ON THE TOWN").... "New York, New York, It's a hell of a town."

Web space donated by Encore...The Concert Band www.encoretheconcertband.ca