The Music Man (1962 film)  The Music Man is a 1962 American musical film starring Robert Preston as Harold Hill and Shirley Jones as Marian Paroo. The film is based on the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name by Meredith Willson. The film was one of the biggest hits of the year and highly acclaimed critically. The film opens in July 1912, with a traveling salesman being chased onto a train just about to depart. As the train gets underway, the salesmen on the train get into a rhythmic conversation about credit that veers off to discussion of the con man 'Professor' Harold Hill ("Rock Island"). After the train arrives in River City, Iowa, 'Professor' Harold Hill (Robert Preston) reveals himself to the others on the train before getting off, ready to swindle the famously stubborn citizens ("Iowa Stubborn"). Masquerading as a band instructor, Hill plans to con the townspeople into paying him to create a boys' marching band. Once he has collected their payment and the instruments and uniforms have arrived, he will hop the next train out of town, leaving them without their money or a band. With his associate Marcellus Washburn (Buddy Hackett), Hill incites concern among River City’s parents that their boys are being seduced into sin and vice by the town’s new pool table ("Ya Got Trouble"). He convinces them that a marching band is the only way to keep the boys out of trouble, and begins collecting their money ("76 Trombones"). Anticipating that Marian (Shirley Jones), the town's librarian and piano instructor, will attempt to discredit him, Hill sets out to seduce her into silence. Also in opposition to Hill is the town's Mayor Shinn (Paul Ford), owner of the billiard parlor, who orders the school board to obtain Hill's credentials. When they attempt to do so, Hill avoids their questions by teaching them to sing as a barbershop quartet via "sustained talking". Thereafter, Hill easily tricks them into breaking into song whenever they ask for his credentials ("Sincere", "Pick-a-Little, Talk-a-Little/Goodnight Ladies", and "Lida Rose"). Hill’s attempts to woo Marian, who has an extreme distrust of men, have little effect ("Marian the Librarian") despite his winning the admiration of her mother (Pert Kelton) by singing ("Gary, Indiana") and his attempts to draw out her unhappy younger brother Winthrop (Ronnie Howard).