Cast and Crew: Meredith Wilson (Writer); Buddy Hackett, Hermione Gingold, Ron Howard, Rance Howard, Hank Worden

What It’s About: Con man Harold Hill (Robert Preston) arrives in River City and proceeds to work his chosen scam:  setting up a  children’s marching band and selling lessons and instruments, planning to skip town with the money.  Things don’t go quite according to plan, however…

Why Watch it Today?: It’s Library Week, the ALA’s annual celebration of all things library.  The Music Man features Shirley Jones as Marian Paroo, the town librarian who becomes a thorn in Hill’s plans.  Early in my courtship with the Baroness Von Hellmold, she would sing the beginning of Marian the Librarian, Harold’s song to Marian.