‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ Season 5 Star Explains Why the Gordon Ford Writers Sang ‘The Army Goes Rolling Along’
“Over hill, over dale, as we hit the dusty trail, and those caissons go rolling along. In and out, hear them shout, counter march and right about, and those caissons go rolling along.”
Catchy tune, isn’t it? The war tune, “The Army Goes Rolling Along” was belted out on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel every time someone used the bathroom in Gordon Ford head writer Alvin’s office. God forbid anyone in the writers’ room hear someone pee.
But this was the ’60s when modesty and manners were still important. So singing the catchy song was an added quirk to tickle the audience’s funny bone.
Why was ‘The Army Goes Rolling Along’ chosen for ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ Season 5?
Even choosing the right tune for the writers’ room scene was a bit for Maisel writers and creators Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino. “The funny story is Dan Palladino wrote that episode. He’s one of the executive producers and directed that episode. The joke was it was one of five songs that he knew that he didn’t have to buy the rights,” laughed actor Austin Basis, who plays head writer Alvin in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 5.
“So we could sing it as many times as we needed to,” he added. Just a single round of “The Army Goes Rolling Along” can easily get stuck in the listener’s head to the point where it seemingly plays on a loop.
“I mean we sang two verses, which led into a third, but I don’t know if there was. third,” he recalled. “Or that we were ready to learn it. But it was very specific how we needed to sing it. And we only had one professional singer in our crew.”
“So he was very helpful in guiding us,” he said. “And I figured if I just sing loud, that would do the trick.”
How did Austin Basis build his Gordon Ford writer character on ‘Maisel’?
Basis’s character Alvin is stuck between his team of writers and the executives at The Gordon Ford Show. To prepare for the role, he studied comedy writers from the era, including the greats like Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks. “Just understanding what writers’ rooms of that time were like,” Basis said. “Stuff was referenced in the show that my character worked on The Sid Caesar Show, with people like Mel Brooks and, [Larry] Gelbart and Neil Simon, Carl Reiner. He worked with all these people.”
“And so to use those people as an inspiration for this character, because they exist in the world, but they don’t exist in the show,” he continued. “But also a writer like Mel Tolkin, who was the head writer for The Sid Caesar Show. I actually watched the interview reunion, probably like a 25-year reunion special where they interview the entire writers’ room from The Sid Caesar Show.”
“Neil Simon and his brother were there because his brother was also a writer. Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Mel Tolkin. And it’s funny, the one lady writer couldn’t make it,” he laughed.
Which comedy writer inspired Alvin?
Basis did a deep dive to build his character, taking characteristics from famous comedy writers of the era. “I found that Mel Tolkin was the most serious and took comedy the most seriously. He wasn’t really trying to make jokes and entertain the audience that was watching. It seemed like he sort of thought of comedy as an art. And a lot of what my character does is listen to the joke and not necessarily see if it’s funny like he’s getting that from the room. Also, see if there are any ways to improve it.”
Alvin was the go-between in the middle of his team of writers, but also Gordon Ford’s mood swings and tantrums when he’d shred the jokes, sending the writers back to the drawing board.
Episodes of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 5 are currently streaming on Prime.
