Stars and Stripes Forever (1952)
December 22, 1952Release Date
Stars and Stripes Forever (1952)
December 22, 1952Release Date
Plot.
Where to Watch.
Cast & Crew.
Clifton Webb
John Philip Sousa
Debra Paget
Lily Becker
Robert Wagner
Willie Little
Ruth Hussey
Jennie Sousa
Finlay Currie
Col. Randolph
Roy Roberts
Maj. George Porter Houston
Thomas Browne Henry
David Blakely (as Tom Browne Henry)
Helen Van Tuyl
Mrs. President Harrison
Frank Ferguson
Mr. Wells
Dorinda Clifton
Dancer (uncredited)
Jack Rice
Mr. Jones
Henry Koster
Director
Aladdin
Orchestra Conductor
Lamar Trotti
Screenplay / Producer
Alfred Newman
Music Director / Music
Joseph C. Wright
Art Direction
Roger Heman Sr.
Sound
Lyle R. Wheeler
Art Direction
Dorothy Jeakins
Costume Design
Gaston Glass
Unit Production Manager
Sam Benson
Wardrobe Assistant
Lyman Hallowell
Assistant Editor
Ken Darby
Vocal Coach
Glenn "Skippy" Delfino
Props
Media.
Details.
This Movie Is About.
Wiki.
Stars and Stripes Forever is a 1952 American Technicolor film biography of the late-19th-/early-20th-century composer and band leader John Philip Sousa. This 20th Century Fox feature was produced by Lamar Trotti, directed by Henry Koster, and stars Clifton Webb, Debra Paget, Robert Wagner, and Ruth Hussey. The film's title is taken from Sousa's "The Stars and Stripes Forever", which has become the best known of his military marches. The film was released twenty years after Sousa's death.
While the film's storyline is loosely based on Sousa's autobiography Marching Along, the film takes considerable liberties and dramatic license, often expanding and examining themes and passages from Sousa's book. Two examples: In the film, Private Willie Little (Robert Wagner), is credited with inventing the Sousaphone and naming it after his mentor, but in reality James Welsh Pepper designed the instrument at Sousa's request. The inspiration for the film's title march is depicted in a scene with a voice over by Webb quoting Sousa's actual description of its creation while he was aboard ship recovering from typhoid fever. In reality, having learned of the sudden death of his band's manager, Sousa and his wife canceled their European vacation and were returning to the U.S. by steamship when the march came to him.