You’d think there be a month that went by that I didn’t think about the Oscars. Alas, I’m just that shallow. Even though an Academy Award is no indication of quality, the Oscars are how I taught myself about the history of film music and I don’t like holes in my Oscar collection. Yet after 35+ years of burdening myself with such a foolish obsession, my collection is still minus too many excellent Oscar scores. I doubt the collection will ever be complete when it comes to nominated scores. There are too many B- and C-films from the early years in which either A) the tracks no longer exist or B) the scores simply don’t deserve any notice whatsoever so why bother obtaining the music.

I still hold out hope that I can at least those Oscar-winning scores that are still missing will eventually be plugged up. There are some major names in the list below and some major scores that are deserving of a release, either in their original form (if they even exist) or in a rerecording. I count a total of 13 scores still in need of a release. So rather than break my “9 on the 9th” rule, I eliminated four for various reasons.

• Michel Legrand’s SUMMER OF ’42 (1971) is basically a monothematic score of that famous tune and probably doesn’t justify a full release, though I’d gladly take it.
• The ballet from Brian Easdale’s THE RED SHOES (1948) has been recorded numerous times, but the only release of the full score is an awful pressing on the Soundtrack Factory label that basically pulls the cues off the video, complete with dialogue and sound effects. Considering that most of the score outside of the ballet concerns source cues and snippets of the ballet music, I doubt we’ll ever see a commercial release of this. Still, it would be nice to have Sir Adrian Boult’s recording of the ballet, the main title, the Heart of Fire sequence and a couple of others unencumbered properly remastered.
• I recently discussed Miklos Rozsa’s excellent score for A DOUBLE LIFE (1947), so I won’t repeat myself so soon after that post.
• And given the ire on the message boards, I doubt many film music fans want a full copy of Gustavo Santaolalla’s BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (2005). For most fans, the instrumental tracks on the compilation soundtrack are enough. Still, I’d like to see the complete score that was supplied to Academy members released.

BYU’s recent release of Max Steiner’s SINCE YOU WENT AWAY (1944) checked another winning score off the list. As for the rest of the nine (listed in chronological order), all are worthy scores that are deserving of future release, for history’s sake…if not for my collection.

ANTHONY ADVERSE (1936)

Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s first Oscar actually was awarded to Warner Bros. music director Louis Silvers, due to some funky Academy ruling at the time. (Because, you know, the composer has nothing to do with the music.) The film was a big hit in 1936 but has yet to be released on any format beyond VHS. Korngold’s score was rerecorded on Varese Sarabande years ago in a lackluster performance with John Scott and the Berlin Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra and a couple of tracks were incorporated in the Erich Wolfgang Korngold: The Warner Bros. Years anthology. As to be expected, Korngold’s music is glorious and needs to be heard either in Korngold’s sparkling original performance or hopefully William Stromberg and John Morgan will tackle it on a future Tribute Film Classics rerecording.

ALL THAT MONEY CAN BUY (1941)

Bernard Herrmann’s only Oscar came from this adaptation of Stephen Vincent Benet’s THE DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER, the title by which the film is more commonly known today. While perhaps not quite as groundbreaking as CITIZEN KANE (which Herrmann was also nominated for that same year), Herrmann’s ironic twist on Americana is arguably more enjoyable. Herrmann’s suite has been recorded numerous times. (Seek out Herrmann’s performance for the liveliest recording of the suite.) While some of the unique audio techniques from the original score would be difficult (if not impossible or pointless) to replicate on a rerecording, the score deserves to be better known. The folks at Tribute were working on recording the score, but for reasons I can’t remember the project had to be scrapped. Here’s hoping it gets revived in the future.

NOW, VOYAGER (1942)

Max Steiner’s second of three Oscars (which included 1935′s THE INFORMER and 1944′s SINCE YOU WENT AWAY) is the epitome of his melodic, melodramatic style. Bette Davis’s spinster gains self-esteem and exchanges cigarettes with Paul Heinreid thanks in no small part to Steiner’s famous love theme. The DVD contains four cues from the scoring sessions, which whets my whistle to hear the entire score. If it’s ever released, it will be on the BYU label, who now have exclusive access to Steiner’s archive. But the acetates are in rough shape and I’m not even sure an engineering whiz like Ray Faiola could clean them up enough. Perhaps this is another chance for the folks at Tribute to shine.

THE HEIRESS (1949)

Unlike his scores for OF MICE AND MEN and OUR TOWN, Aaron Copland never pulled any music from his Oscar-winner to incorporate in a concert work. He felt the score couldn’t stand on its own. Or perhaps director William Wyler’s tinkering with his main title music had something to do with it. Copland was so incensed by Wyler’s treatment of his music that he tried to get his name removed from the credits. He never even picked up his Oscar statuette. In 1994, Leonard Slatkin and the St. Louis Symphony recorded a new suite from the film arranged by Arnold Freed, but the suite and the performance leave much to be desired. The original acetates (which includes the original main title) are housed at the University of Texas in Austin. If you can get past the scratches and groove noise, Copland’s distinctive voice shine through. Copland was wrong. The score stands on its own and is ripe for rerecording.

A PLACE IN THE SUN (1951)

The original tracks for Franz Waxman’s second Oscar (following his earlier win the year before with SUNSET BOULEVARD) are reputedly lost, though a bootleg of them has floated around for years. Waxman’s lush, romantic music completely envelopes the love affair between Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift and numerous excellent performances of various suites from the score exist. Director George Stevens mangled Waxman’s efforts, calling in other composers such as Victor Young to supplement and rewrite certain cues. Like Copland, Waxman wanted his name taken off the credits. The dirt and the dynamics behind the score are fascinating and deserve to be preserved in their entirety.

THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY (1954)

Love him or hate him, Dimitri Tiomkin knows how to crank out a tune, note his soaring, majestic main theme for this John Wayne disaster-in-the-sky flick. The score is a cornucopia of the Tiomkin’s highs and lows—from thickly orchestrated, nail-biting action cues to ridiculous Mickey Mousing—which, if not to everyone’s taste, is oddly endearing. A bootleg of this exists as well, but I’m sure clearances with Wayne’s production company (who I assume own the rights) would be a nightmare. Still, Screen Archives seems to have a good relationship with the Tiomkin estate. (I’m particularly looking forward to the upcoming release of THE FOURPOSTER.) So if anyone gets their hands on it, I bet it’s them.

THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE (1967)

Most film music fans see Elmer Bernstein’s Oscar as a consolation prize for not having won for THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD or HAWAII, all of them richly deserving but beat out by far more popular “tunes” (Ernest Gold’s EXODUS, Maurice Jarre’s LAWRENCE OF ARABIA and John Barry’s BORN FREE, respectively). But Bernstein’s work on MILLIE is far more than just silent movie pastiche surrounding the musical numbers. Bernstein brings real wit and musical invention to the score. Putting the score on CD would probably require some creative combining of the cues, many of which are short, and I’m sure clearing the rights to the original MCA album would be a bitch. Still, I keep hoping an expanded version with the score and songs comes our way in the future.

LIMELIGHT (1952/1972)

Charlie Chaplin’s tale of a washed-up music hall comedian is arguably his most personal. In 1952, the film only played in New York and was eventually pulled from theaters because of Chaplin’s political problems during the McCarthy era. When the government denied to renew his visa, Chaplin was locked out of the country when he went abroad and the star never returned to the U.S. except to pick up an honorary Oscar in 1972. That year, LIMELIGHT finally opened in Los Angeles, thereby qualifying it for the Oscar. With Nino Rota’s score for THE GODFATHER disqualified due to pre-existing music, voters had no problem awarding the Little Tramp his third and only competitive Oscar. The score is anchored by one of Chaplin’s most famous tunes, “Eternally.” And while the score is fragmented and unabashedly sentimental, it deserves to be preserved for posterity. The DVD of the film contains an isolated score extra that plays the entire score on its own without syncing to the film. A new way to experience the score. As with many of these titles on this list, I’m sure releasing the score would be a rights nightmare. For now, the DVD as close to a CD release as we’re bound to get.

THE MILAGRO BEANFIELD WAR (1988)

Dave Grusin was my choice for the Oscar in 1988 but I didn’t think he stood a chance in hell for Robert Redford’s sophomore directing effort. The haunting, Mexican-flavored score is one of Grusin’s best and only exists commercially in a truncated 5-movement suite on the composer’s 1989 Migration album. While that performance is fine, it misses the delicacy of the film’s original tracks. The score is quite short and would probably need to be paired with something else. Bob Townson at Varese Sarabande seems to have a good relationship with Grusin, so I’d look for it on that label if it ever happens.

Alfred Newman—my guide, guru and guardian angel, at least when it comes to film music. Why? Three words—the Newman strings. Nearly everything you want to know about Newman’s film music can be found in his treatment of the string section of the orchestra. And no string section ever sounded quite like the one that Newman perfected over his 20-year career at 20th Century Fox.

What made the Newman strings so exceptional? No doubt, it had a great deal to do with Newman’s talent as a composer. But kudos should also be shared by his orchestrators, particularly Edward Powell. But arguably Newman’s greatest effect on the strings came from his position on the podium.

By all accounts, Newman was one of Hollywood’s finest conductors. And his position as head of the Fox music department gave him unprecedented power to shape and mold his studio’s orchestra to his liking. Like the orchestras of rival studios M-G-M and Warner Bros., the Fox orchestra had a unique sound, and the lion’s share of the praise rightfully goes to Newman.

For this month’s “9 on the 9th” post, I wanted to look at the ways in which Newman worked with the strings—whether conducting his own music or that of another composer—and how his use of violins, violas, celli, and basses defined the musical timbre over at Fox. There are many more examples than the nine I’ve listed here, but it’s a good place to start. The scores are listed in alphabetical order.

ALL ABOUT EVE (1950)

Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s skewering of the stage contains some of cinema’s finest dialog and arguably Bette Davis’ finest hours on film. Because the dialog zings along with one great line after another, Newman stays out of the way for much of the film, choosing instead to focus on those rare moments of the characters’ internal reflection. In the finale of the film, Newman takes Eve’s (Anne Baxter) tender theme from the beginning of the film and supplies it with as much ferocious drive as the character has shown over the last two hours as she tramples over her “friends” on her way to the top. The theme begins with a reminder of Eve’s earlier sweetness and innocence in the violin solo. As the entire violin section takes over the melody, the theme becomes bolder and a bit desperate as another young ingenue arrives on the scene to take Eve’s place.

ANASTASIA (1956)

The fate of Russia’s Romanov dynasty is one of the great tragedies of the 20th century. And the fate of young Anastasia, who supposedly escaped from her family’s fate at the hands of a firing squad, provided even more drama. In this adaptation of Marcelle Maurette’s play, Yul Brynner plays a Russian businessman who tries to pass off a mysterious woman as the Grand Duchess. The film brought Ingrid Bergman back into Hollywood’s good graces (and copped her an Oscar) after she ran off with Roberto Rossellini years earlier. In this haunting cue, “Anastasia” walks the banks of the Seine in despair. The first four notes of Newman’s famous theme are passed between the woodwind solos before the violins take over a full statement of the theme proper. Using one of his trademarks, Newman utilizes the entire string section, with all four instruments handing off sections of the theme and countermelody.

THE BEST OF EVERYTHING (1959)

I first fell in love with Newman’s music hearing the “London Calling” cue on Charles Gerhardt’s Classic Film Scores compilation devoted to the composer. Newman’s beautiful melody quite simply broke my heart, and still does to this day. The film is Hollywood soap at its slickest in this glossy tale of Madison Ave, but Newman’s music blows away the suds to give the film real emotion. Johnny Mathis’ crooning of the title song is equally smooth, but the melody is even more effective as an instrumental piece. Gerhardt’s handling of the cue is stellar, but next to Newman’s prowess on the podium, it’s sounds like syrupy soup. Forgiving the disparities in sound quality, Newman’s version downplays the sugary orchestrations and still captures the Fox sound, even without Edward Powell’s participation as orchestrator. No one, not even Gerhardt, has been able to replicate that unique quality that Newman brought to the conducting of his own music. While other conductors have performed other Golden Age greats like Korngold, Steiner, Waxman, and even Herrmann in some facsimile of their original recordings, Newman has by and large eluded modern conductors. These two examples show us just how important Newman’s position as a conductor was.

DAVID AND BATHSHEBA (1951)

The two sides of the Biblical character of Bathsheba (Susan Hayward)—lover and seductress—are given musical voice in this cue. Minor keys and chromatic intervals slink side by side. Flute, oboe and tambourine seductively ooze their way under King David’s (Gregory Peck) skin, but as his passion takes over, the violins bring a yearning desperation to his love. The cue is an excellent example of Newman’s trademarks weaving of woodwind and string solos with sectional work, each one seamlessly building on the other until the entire orchestra reaches an intense, passionate climax.

THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK (1959)

In 1956, playwrights Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett turned Anne Frank’s famous diary into a Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning stage hit, which they later adapted for George Stevens’ 1959 film version. Since Steven wanted to escape the subject’s doom and gloom, Newman’s music “attempted to evoke the memory of a happier past, the hope for a happier future, the longings of oppressed people and the love of family, one for the other, and most of all, the great dignity and courage of the Frank family and their friends in the face of disaster.” Arguably, the most emotional moments occur between Anne (Milly Perkins) and Peter (Richard Beymer) as they explore young love. Knowing what we do about their outcome makes those scenes painfully poignant and Newman’s music wrings every last tear out of us in the process. In the heartbreaking climax, the two young lovers kiss as the strings yearn heavenward to a full-blown statement of “Anne and Peter’s Theme,” and the French horns seem to cry out a gut-wrenching “Peter, Peter” as approaching Nazi sirens cut off all hope of a future together. In moments such as these, Newman extends the original melody into new thematic and harmonic territory, prolonging our pain and empathy into an orchestral cry of frustration and anger at the senselessness of it all. If any film embodies the best of the Newman strings, this is it.

THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD (1965)

The filming of George Stevens’ big-cast telling of the life of Christ was not a happy one. Weather conditions made filming difficult, the film moved from Fox to United Artists, Stevens spent the entire budget before filming even began and it eventually became the most expensive movie ever filmed in the U.S. up to that time. Stevens, who had so famously maligned Franz Waxman’s music on A PLACE IN THE SUN, created even more havoc for Newman and choral supervisor Ken Darby on this film. (Check out Darby’s fascinating memoir of the experience, Hollywood Holyland, for all the inside dirt.) By this time, Newman was no longer at Fox and the sound of the orchestra, particularly in the hands of orchestrators Jack Hayes and Leo Shuken is decidedly different. Arguably more attuned to today’s contemporary ears than some of Newman’s earlier work, the strings perform the passionate main theme in a typically straightforward manner with Newman, by and large, eschewing excess emotion and grandiose religiosity. Instead, the music, no matter how many instruments are performing it, conveys one man’s personal vision of the story—intimate and non-judgmental, as all religious feeling should be.

A MAN CALLED PETER (1955)

Whether biblically based (DAVID AND BATHSHEBA, THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD) or fictional (THE SONG OF BERNADETTE, THE ROBE), Newman scored his share of religious films over the course of his career. PETER is a religious biopic based on the life of preacher Peter Marshall (Richard Todd), who later served as chaplain of the U.S. Senate. Newman weaves in quotes of hymns and other period tunes among the lilting music for Peter’s Scottish upbringing. But it is the love theme for Peter and Catherine (Jean Peters) that embodies Newman at his best. Even when repeating the same thematic patterns, once again alternating between solo and tutti passages, Newman generates forward movement and passionate tension through his sudden modulations and subito pianissimo dynamics.

THE SNAKE PIT (1948)

While I’ve focused primarily on Newman’s more lyrical examples, occasionally the strings were asked to express something more mentally and emotionally challenging. In this raw look at one woman’s (Olivia de Havilland) experiences inside an insane asylum, Newman was called upon to portray the searing effects of electric shock in music. The harmonies are unsettled and the strings dig into their bridges, wailing at the top of their tessiture, while the woodwinds likewise scream in horrifying pain. The sound is mighty unpleasant, as it should be, and incredibly powerful when matched with the visuals. There must’ve been a run on rosen by the end of that recording session.

WILSON (1944)

Darryl Zannuck’s big-budget biopic of the controversial 28th President was a flop at the box office. But the larger budget gave Newman the opportunity to do prodigious research into recreating the period musical aura of Wilson’s (Alexander Knox) political campaigns. The score is chock full of arrangements of period tunes. But amid the expected political posturing of the brass sits an exquisite moment for the Newman strings. As Wilson’s wife (Ruth Nelson) lays on her deathbed, Newman arranges “By the Light of the Silvery Moon” into a heartbreaking elegy for the dying First Lady. In the hands of a master like Newman, even the happiest of tunes take on a whole new character—one of memory, pain and unbearable sadness.

WHAT ARE YOU FAVORITE NEWMAN STRING MOMENTS?

Because my quota of clever (such as it is) is already used up for the month, March’s “9 on the 9th” post celebrates, well, marches. (Oy.) Having spent more than my dues in marching bands back in high school, the strict 4/4 march tempo can make me break out in a cold sweat, as do the horrific memories of rehearsing in 100+ degree temperatures in the middle of August on Texas blacktop pavement. (You could literally feel the heat through your sneakers. But I digress…)

You’d think that pretty much everyone would have thrown up their hands in defeat following in the footsteps of John Philip Sousa. Yet film has provided the opportunity for many a composer to lockstep in musical harmony. As usual with these lists, I needed to set some ground rules for myself. Once again I’m forced to keep it to one march per composer or the entire list would have been made up Elmer Bernsteins and John Williamses (not that there’s anything wrong with that, to quote Seinfeld).

Even with those restrictions, this is a mighty hummable group of tunes that is sure to make you twirl your baton. (Interpret that as you will.)

9. VICTORY AT SEA (1952)

It’s not film music, but television, and not a film composer, but a Broadway legend. One of Richard Rodgers‘s rare forays into purely instrumental music was a big hit when this documentary series of naval warfare during World War II aired on NBC. Rodgers contributed short piano compositions of 1-2 minutes in length and Robert Russell Bennett, who orchestrated most of Rodgers’s stage shows, transformed these themes into a proper score, though he only received credit for arranging and conducting. The “Guadalcanal March” is pure Rodgers in its catchy, memorable simplicity, yet its orchestral flair is all Bennett.

8. THE GREAT ESCAPE (1963)

It’s hard for me to take Elmer Bernstein‘s classic march seriously after seeing the classic Simpsons ”Streetcar Named Marge” episode from 1992 in which Maggie tries to rescue her pacifier at the Ayn Rand School for Tots (brilliant name, by the way). Still, Bernstein’s music, whether taken straight or as parody, still works brilliantly—in context of the film and on its own.

7. SILENT MOVIE (1976)

This march simply makes me happy, which is more than I can say for the movie. Mel Brooks’s attempt to make a silent comedy has its occasional funny bits, but the greatest joy comes from John Morris’s music. Few scores put a smile on my face like this one and that sudden modulation at the final statement of the melody (at 2:19) never fails to lift my spirits.

6. EL CID (1961)

This film is one of those lumbering Samuel Bronston epics, with Charlton Heston as the Christian Castilian knight Don Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar—”El Cid”—who fought the North African Almoravides  in the 11th century and contributed to the unification of Spain. Beautiful to look at but interminably slow, the film is best experienced in terms of Miklós Rózsa‘s colorful music, one of his many masterpieces.

5. THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH (1952)

This Cecil B. DeMille piece of cinematic hokum (and inexplicable Best Picture winner) is still a lot of fun, thanks to Gloria Grahame and a host of campy performances. But it is Victor Young‘s march that bookends the film (in a Betty Hutton vocal version during the finale) and gives the film its rousing oom-pah-pah heart and a sense of childlike innocence.

 4. CAPTAIN FROM CASTILE (1947)

Alfred Newman‘s colorful score combines the robust energy of its Spanish and Mexican locales for the tale of Pedro De Vargas (Tyrone Power), a young Castillian aristocrat who runs afoul of the Inquisition and joins Cortez’s (Cesar Romero) adventures in the New World discovering Aztec treasures. Newman gave his justifiably famous “Conquest” march for the Conquistadors to the USC Trojan Band in 1950, where it has since become their battle cry during football games as well as a staple in pops concerts over the years.

3. THE CAINE MUTINY (1954)

This adaptation of Herman Wouk’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel stars Humphrey Bogart at his battiest best as the mentally unhinged Captain Queeg. Giving the film the proper military musical milieu is Max Steiner‘s rousing march, which anchors this Oscar-nominated score in a dramatic tale of intrigue and court-martial.

2. PATTON (1970)

Has any march in the history of film music been so essential to the psychological probing of a character as Jerry Goldsmith’s PATTON? I’d argue that not even John Williams’s “The Imperial March” gets to the soul Darth Vader (or what’s left of it). Those echoing trumpets, memorable piccolo melody, and ponderous lower brass by turns give George C. Scott’s controversial General bravery, humanity and gravitas. Forty-two years later, the theme is timeless.

1. 1941 (1979)

Oh, the many John Williams marches I could have chosen—”The Imperial March,” “The Raiders March,” and on and on… No one will ever be able to convince me that 1941 is anything more than a colossal waste of celluloid, one of the unfunniest movies ever made. But Williams, as usual, rises far above the material, creating one of the most infectious, joyous pieces of music in his career. Those other Williams marches may be far more dramatic. But for sheer musical oomph, nothing beats this crisp martial display. We played this incessantly my final year in high school (and rather badly, I might add). And those descending sixteenth notes at 2:21 (a clever answer to the ascending low strings sixteenths a few seconds earlier) are the one and only time in my life I’ve ever wanted to play trombone.

What are your favorite film music marches?

As always, with so many great scores to choose from, narrowing down a list to nine is a typically foolish task. Some composers specialized in Westerns, so to make this list more equally balanced, I only allowed one score per composer. Otherwise, I could have populated the entire list with scores by Elmer Bernstein and Dimitri Tiomkin. So strap on some spurs and saddle up for a wild ride across the rich, fertile ground of Western film music.

9. DANCES WITH WOLVES (1990)

By all rights, Kevin Costner’s directorial debut should have been a colossal flop. But if you can forgive the actor’s anachronistic mullet and Mary McDonnell’s inexplicable lack of personal hygiene, you will get lost in a truly moving story, beautiful cinematography and a stellar John Barry score. The music is occasionally a tad too lethargic and elegiac, and we’ve heard these rhythms and chord progressions in nearly every late-period Barry score. But Barry’s long-flowing melodies were made for the endless vista of the American plains.

8. HIGH NOON (1952)

Cinema’s answer to the McCarthy hearings set in the American West. Not a frame or word is wasted, all the while Dimitri Tiomkin endlessly recycles and dissects his theme song “Do Not Forsake Me (Oh My Darlin’)” to great effect in the underscore. When once asked how a real-life Slav could convey the American West so well in such classics as RED RIVER, GIANT, etc., Tiomkin replied, “Because a steppe is a steppe!” ‘Nuff said.

7. THE COWBOYS (1972)

The John Williams of today would probably take a different musical approach to a traditional Western such as this. But back in the early ’70s, with Westerns tanking at the box office, the Maestro combined the expected Western harmonies and rhythms with a little period instrumentation and some trademark sweeping Williams-isms to make a sound all his own. The main title is a staple on film music pops concerts and makes for a rip-roaring opener, closer or encore.

6. CHEYENNE AUTUMN (1964)

John Ford’s cinematic apology for his treatment of Native Americans in his earlier films doesn’t always succeed, as a film or an apology. But no one made Westerns like Ford and his firm, sure hand with the genre is evident once again in this film. Ford moved away from the traditional sounds of Max Steiner and Alfred Newman and let Alex North‘s biting harmonic language speak for itself. The music is as harsh as the story it accompanies, but there is a spare, simple dignity that underscores the long, humiliating trek of the Northern Cheyenne Exodus of 1878-79.

5. THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES (1976)

Only a star of Clint Eastwood’s stature would dare to make a Western at a time when cinema was focused on more gritty urban dramas. But Eastwood’s star power took the film to number one at the box office for two weeks in the weeks surrounding the country’s Bicentennial. Jerry Fielding‘s score mixes his own spare harmonic language with military musical quotes and Civil War-era tunes as Josey Wales, a peaceful Missouri farmer, seeks revenge for the brutal murder of his wife and son by a band of pro-Union Jayhawkers.

4. HOW THE WEST WAS WON (1963)

The American West was made for Cinerama and no film in that clunky photographic process was a bigger hit than HOW THE WEST WAS WON. The film follows four generations of a family as they move ever westward, from western New York state to the Pacific Ocean, between 1839 and 1889. Alfred Newman‘s rousing main title is one of the alltime great film music themes. Newman mixes typical underscoring with period vocal selections (arranged with the help of trusted collaborator Ken Darby) for a patchwork of musical Americana that is as awe-inspiring as some of the stunning visual set pieces throughout the film.

3. THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (1960)

This remake of Kurosawa’s SEVEN SAMURAI may be missing that film’s visual poetry, but is certainly entertaining in its own right, thanks in no small part of Elmer Bernstein‘s classic score. With one of the most famous themes in film music, fans of a certain age will remember the melody as the backdrop for Marlboro cigarette ads. But Bernstein’s score bristles with energy, rhythm and vitality that extends far beyond that famous theme. A pure classic from top to bottom.

2. SILVERADO (1985)

If the ’70s saw the dying of the Western, the ’80s were a veritable ghost town. Director Lawrence Kasdan failed to resuscitate the genre, but the film is a witty, tongue-in-cheek homage to the great Westerns of the past, and so is Bruce Broughton‘s fantastic score. Employing every tried and true trick in the book, Broughton creates a Western score that combines musical genre traditions with his own skill as a composer and orchestrator, all the while never once feeling like pastiche.

1. THE BIG COUNTRY (1958)

When it comes to Western film scores, there’s THE BIG COUNTRY and then there’s everything else. Jerome Moross‘ quintessential musical take on the American West is, like many others on this list, so much more than its classic main theme. The muscular score is never shy about stating its intentions, on its own or in the film, and the music bristles with energy and vitality, constant melodic invention and sly wit. One of the alltime great film scores…in any genre.

What are your favorite Western scores?

The questions I pose are my personal observations and the opinions I give are strictly my own. Agree, disagree, or don’t give a damn. Whatever your preference, I’d honestly like to hear your feedback.

ARE WE LEMINGS?

Most of us want to “belong,” to be a part of something, myself included. And one of the primary joys of the internet is the discovery and friendship of film music fans all over the world. Long gone are the days when we’d listen to our favorite film scores in relative seclusion, unable to discuss or share our passion with anyone else. Now that that barrier is gone, we can discuss film music to our heart’s content. But I don’t understand the herd mentality, never have. I don’t want to follow the crowd just to realize there’s a cliff ahead and I’ve got nowhere to go but plummeting into the ocean. Would it really make me feel better to know that 40 people I know love Jerry Goldsmith? Do I have to rush out and purchase GREMLINS because 30 people on Facebook said how good it was? Maybe, like Groucho Marx, I just never want to belong to any club that would have someone like me for a member. By all means, listen to the people you trust and admire, but make up your own mind.

DO YOU LIKE IT? DO YOU REALLY LIKE IT?

Because of what I do with film music on this site and elsewhere, I want to know what people think. I want to hear suggestions of scores I may have missed, as well as constructive debate about the merits of particular scores and composers. But that “like” you just clicked on Facebook? Sure, it’s great—if it’s directed my way, I appreciate it, truly—but it doesn’t mean squat. It’s like multiple “follow Friday” lists on Twitter or giving a gift card. It says, “I made the least amount of effort to show I care.” Express your appreciation for the work someone has done or what they have written (and I don’t necessarily mean me), but take the time and add something relevant to the discourse beyond a phatic response.

WHEN DID THE MESSAGE BOARDS BEGIN TO INFECT FACEBOOK?

While message boards can be excellent avenues for information and debate, we all know that they can bring out the basest of human behavior. The “privacy” of cyberspace and the relative cloak of a computer screen provides some users with more moxie than they might have in real life. We’ve all had run-ins with leeches and trolls who get their jollies raining on our parade. Slams and strikes on niche message boards get even more personal as more of the inhabitants communicate on a first-name basis with one another (even if they still hide behind foolish, decade-old screen names and gravatars). Over the last year those trolls seem to have migrated into the light, exhibiting their d-bag behavior on Facebook and other social media. It’s 2012. Haven’t we moved past this yet?

DO WE WEAR BLINDERS?

By not recognizing the good or ignoring the less pleasant aspects of a particular score or composer, we limit our own growth as we all hopefully continue to discover the wide range of film music. Take James Horner, for instance. Thousands of words over the years have been written about Horner’s self-plagiarism (that damn danger motif) and his lifting of melodies and chord progressions from classical composers like Prokofiev. I don’t mean that as Horner-bashing. By all means, enjoy Horner’s work (and any other composer) if you already do. But things like this matter. Dismissing them with a “yeah, but…” diminishes your argument and the impact of the composer’s work even further. Demand more…for yourself and for the artform.

WHAT IS THE OVERWHELMING LURE OF NOSTALGIA?

Maybe I’m just a cold-hearted snake (thank you, Paula Abdul)—or perhaps I’ve lost those particular brain cells by now—but I’m seldom afflicted with nostalgia for the past. Sepia-toned memories tend to revise history, giving far more prominence to certain films and scores than they might have otherwise, primarily due to the rose-colored glasses we all wear. Sure, I’m fond of films and scores from childhood and teenage years, like THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE, THE OMEN, STAR WARS, etc. But I’m not deluding myself that something like the 1978 Frank Langella DRACULA, for example, is a classic. Sure, it has its Gothic moments and an excellent score by John Williams. I’d love to see the score reappear on CD at some point (especially since my LP is long gone). But I’m not going to rewrite history and turn the film into something it’s not any more than I’m going to pine and whine for the CD. My life has gone on very well without it and it won’t make or break the rest of my existence if the score reappears or not. Perhaps it would profit the community more to appreciate the bounty we’ve been given and stop always wanting more, more, more. There will never be enough.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE GOLDEN AGE?

Yup, that tired old argument… Film music is still a relatively new artform that has remained basically unchanged since the early 1930s. Sure, the musical styles have morphed, but a composer is still writing for a film. If the tools with which they practice their craft have changed, the overall basic process has not. So if you love the artform, why wouldn’t you want to know more about it? Why would you exclude its creation and nearly 30 years of its history? Maybe my music education makes me more open to discovering all the various periods of film music, or maybe that’s just me acting uppity. You certainly don’t need training in music to appreciate film music, or any other genre of music. But limiting yourself to a set of composers, a sub-genre, or a specific period of film music, especially an artform with such a comparatively brief lifespan, stunts your knowledge and your enjoyment. Ageism seems to exist even in the arts.

DOES FILM MUSIC HAVE TO BE LISTENABLE ON ITS OWN?

Not necessarily. Its primary concern is to work within the scope of the film. That’s the job the composer was hired to do. To have the music survive as a stand-alone listening experience is icing on the cake. Ideally, film music should be good “music” as well within the context of what the composer is writing. But it doesn’t necessarily have to be enjoyable to listen to. Its effect on the ear—good or bad—should not diminish its quality.

SHOULD YOU HAVE TO WORK AT LISTENING TO FILM MUSIC?

By all means, yes. In my book, film music is important, above and beyond the simple joys of pure listening pleasure. I personally don’t want to be an innocent bystander just letting it wash over me. If that’s all it is good for, then I might as well use it like a warm bath and sit in my own liquid filth. A composer toiled to create that piece of music (probably under tight budgets and tough working circumstances). The least I can do is give it my attention. If it doesn’t deserve warrant the energy past that point, so be it. But lazy listening offends my ears.

WHAT IS OUR ROLE AS A COMMUNITY?

The way I see it, our job is to not only support the composers and record labels, but to educate and support each other. If we don’t take this artform that we love seriously, we can’t expect anyone else to either. We can engage in meaningful dialogue without patronization. But participating means more than chiming in with “I like that score too” (or not). For me, unless I asked, I don’t care. And maybe even then, I still don’t care. I want to know if you can tell me why. Be firm in your convictions and stand your ground. Your opinion is valid. Film music demands our respect. If we are not actively listening and participating, we are sitting on the sidelines. I’d rather be in the game.

And there endeth the soapbox. What do you think?

Part of Rota’s charm is the dated quality of his Fellini scores. With their ’60s instrumentation and vocals, the music instantly captures an influential period in Italian cinema. Rota’s classical training combined with his penchant gift for melody gives his music grandeur and gravitas that is occasionally absent from other composers forced to conform to the style of American film making. This is music that is not afraid to wear its heart on its sleeve.

Among film music fans, Rota is seldom ranked among the top tier composers. I don’t know if it’s a Hollywood bias or if he truly doesn’t belong there. That argument is up for debate. But there is no denying Rota’s influence on international film music and Italian cinema in particular. And most composers would kill for just one Fellini or GODFATHER in their musical canon.

9. LA STRADA (1954)

Fellini’s tragic story of traveling entertainer Zampanò (Anthony Quinn) and the waif Gelsomina (Giuletta Masina) he buys and beats is embodied in Rota’s heartbreaking main theme. The circus atmosphere of the music (a prevalent feature of the Fellini/Rota collaboration) is offset by the pervading air of sadness that hangs over the score.

8. AMARCORD (1973)

Fellini’s loving, nostalgic look at his hometown is tinged with a rose-colored, larger-than-life aspect that Rota perfectly captures in the many moods of his score. Anchored by its sweet main theme, Rota’s music delineates the lives and loves of the citizens of the small Italian town. If LA STRADA captured the poignant humanity of Fellini’s vision, AMARCORD gives it vibrant, carefree life.

7. DEATH ON THE NILE (1978)

In 1974, legendary mystery writer Agatha Christie became all the rage at the cinema with Sidney Lumet’s all-star MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS. The success of that film (with Richard Rodney Bennett’s classic score) started a franchise that included EVIL UNDER THE SUN, THE MIRROR CRACK’D, and many more. DEATH ON THE NILE brought a resurgence to Peter Ustinov’s career as the Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot, a role he would play five more times over the next decade in film and on television. For this second entry in the all-star cinematic formula, Nino Rota contributed a sweeping score that flows alongside the blood-tinted Egyptian waters. Like Bennett’s ORIENT EXPRESS score, Rota’s music doesn’t shirk from the murderous drama of the story, but it also captures period flavor and a regal yet romantic tone that is perfectly in keeping with the lush visuals and Anthony Powell’s rich, Oscar-winning costumes.

6. 8 1/2 (1963)

Fellini’s masterpiece stars Marcello Matroianni as a film director whose attempts to bring his new film to fruition keeps getting blocked by the many women in his life. Deliberately fragmented by the numerous female tangents, Rota’s score is not his most cohesive, but it suits Fellini’s fractured, fairy tale visions. Rota takes the memorable main theme through a whirlwind of musical styles, from swing and a lively gallop to the memorable circus atmosphere of the reunion finale.

5. JULIET OF THE SPIRITS

With its visions, memories and mysticism, Fellini’s skewed vision of infidelity is embodied by Giuletta Masina’s suffering wife Juliet. Rota’s score embodies the delightful ’60s instrumentation combined with his effortless gift for melody. From the wordless female vocals to the electric guitar and the ever-present Hammond organ, Rota’s music is a groovy ride infused with joy and life.

4. THE GODFATHER (1972)

If Francis Ford Coppola turned Mario Puzo’s potboiler bestseller into cinematic art, a good portion of that artistic success can be laid at Rota’s feet. From the lonely trumpet of the famous waltz to the even more famous love theme, Rota’s music helped inspire generations of film makers and influenced mob films ever after. Rota was a shoo-in for the Oscar until a scandal erupted surrounding the borrowing of themes from the 1958 Italian film FORTUNELLA.

3. THE GODFATHER, PART II (1974)

As good as the original GODFATHER was, the sequel was even better. With deeper characterizations and a richer political atmosphere, the film brings Al Pacino’s tortured Michael, now the head of the Corleone family, to the brink of heartbreak. Rota (along with director Francis Ford Coppola’s father, Carmine) finally won an Oscar for this rich musical tapestry, which owes its success in no small part to the themes he created for the original GODFATHER. Memorable musical set pieces include young Vito’s arrival at Ellis Island and a lovely theme for Diane Keaton’s Kay.

2. ROMEO AND JULIET (1968)

Franco Zeffirelli brought a new innocence and energy to Shakespeare’s overworn tale of youthful love and feuding families on the streets of fair Verona. Rota’s famous love theme gave him a number one hit, but there is much more to the score than that one famous melody. Combining modal harmonies with Renaissance rhythms, Rota gives this classic tragic love story a yearning core of (ahem) Shakespearean proportions.

1. THE LEOPARD (1963)

Director Luchino Visconti had no say in casting Burt Lancaster as the Prince of Salina, a noble aristocrat who tries to preserve his family and class amid the social upheavals of 1860′s Sicily. And no matter which version you watch, Burt in English or dubbed in Italian is odd casting. But this epic film gave Rota the chance to shine with arguably his strongest score. Based on his own neglected Symphony on a Love Song, written when Rota was a young man, the score has a wealth of beautiful themes and a not surprising classical elegance and depth (especially given its roots) that is rare and welcome. Conductor Ricardo Muti, one of Rota’s students and a champion of the maestro’s music, opened the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s subscription season this year with the suite from the score. A rarity for film music and a fine, well-deserved tribute to this legendary composer.

Perhaps it’s his Germanic roots or the post-war sensibility, but along with contemporaries like Alex North and Leonard Rosenman, Previn’s music is anything but traditional, presenting a dry mid-century harmonic challenges that eschewed the excesses of the Golden Age. So it’s ironic that Previn won his four Academy Awards for musical adaptations—GIGI, PORGY AND BESS, IRMA LA DOUCE and MY FAIR LADY—that follow along more traditional lines.

Much of Previn’s music wasn’t available on disc until Lukas Kendall and Film Score Monthly came along. The imminent demise of the FSM label (but not the FSMO magazine) next spring probably means that what has been released so far is all we’re going to get, unless someone like Bruce Kimmell at Kritzerland (who has released some of Previn’s music in the past) or some other label takes up the mantle. Previn’s output as composer isn’t massive, but there are still some delectable scores such as THE CATERED AFFAIR and DESIGNING WOMAN that deserve to see the light of day.

Hopefully, Previn’s contributions to film music will be properly appreciated one day. Until then, here are nine fantastic scores by a master of his craft.

9. THE 4 HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE (1962)

This WWII drama starring Glenn Ford, Charles Boyer, and Lee J. Cobb spans the globe from Germany and France to Argentina, giving Previn a chance to flex his musical muscles in a variety of styles. With a beautiful, memorable love theme, the score covers a lot of ground but comes across a bit scattered on album. Still, if you’re looking for one score that covers that breadth of Previn’s dramatic output (and if you can find the out-of-print Ryko CD), this is a good place to start.

8. IRMA LA DOUCE (1963)

The 1956 musical ran for four years in Paris, and in London’s West End for three. The Broadway incarnation ran for a year and a half in the 1960-61 season, and was nominated for seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical, winning a Best Actress Tony for its star Elizabeth Seal. When it came time for IRMA’s delightful star hooker to strut her stuff on the silver screen in the form of Shirley MacLaine, director Billy Wilder excised Marguerite Monnot’s songs, leaving only their delightful Gallic melodies for Previn to work with. Previn won his third Oscar for adapting this melodic romp. The old Ryko CD is long out of print and is more than due for a rerelease.

7. THE SUBTERRANEANS (1960)

Previn’s love of jazz riffs through the entire score of this adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s semi-autobiographical 1958 novella. Hollywood changed the book’s African American female love interest to French white girl Leslie Caron as she and George Peppard live and love down among the jazz clubs of the budding Beat scene in San Francisco. Jazz greats like Carmen McRae, Gerry Mulligan and Art Pepper lends their talents, adding to the score’s authentic, smoky atmosphere. With a haunting main theme, Previn’s music takes us underground with drive and drama. The FSM release expands the original LP to include the complete score.

6. BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK (1955)

Spencer Tracy plays the one-handed stranger who exposes the racism in a tiny railroad-side town in the middle of nowhere. With its harsh, minor-key harmonies, driving sixteenth notes, and belching brass, Previn supplies this tight, taut film with a score that is every bit as dramatic as the lean, mean story it accompanies. The Ryko CD is long out of print but well worth picking up.

5. DEAD RINGER (1964)

Bette Davis gets to ham it up once again in a dual role as a woman who murders her callous, wealthy twin sister and assumes her identity. Previn contributes a bit of delightful Grand Guignol with his use of harpsichord, while his theme for Edie showcases a typically lush melody and subtle French horn countermelody. The combination of a great actress and a great composer can accomplish by rising above such trashy material. The FSM CD is still in print.

4. THE SUN COMES UP (1949)

Best known today as the swan song of MGM songbird Jeanette MacDonald, the film (written by Pulitzer Prize winning Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings of THE YEARLING fame) is one of the weaker efforts in the Lassie franchise. Previn’s first film score, written when he was still a teenager, is surprisingly mature, with a main theme that tugs at your heartstrings without descending into sentimentality, unlike the film. Using seesawing harmonic progressions that would be a signature of Previn’s film and concert music, the score was an undiscovered gem until Lukas Kendall finally unearthed this musical jewel for the FSM Lassie box set. The music overcomes the silly story and Lassie’s incessant barking (and the sound effects inherent on the FSM CD) to signal the arrival of a major talent in Hollywood.

3. ELMER GANTRY (1960)

With one of the most explosive main titles ever written (and with shades of BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK), Previn’s main title literally leaps off the screen like Burt Lancaster’s Oscar-winning turn as a conning tent revival evangelist. Previn weaves in arrangements of traditional hymns throughout this spare, short score, making every musical moment count. Inexplicably, this is Previn’s only Oscar nomination for original music. Given its Oscar connection, not surprisingly this was my first exposure to Previn’s music and a score I’ve treasured for decades. Still in print on Kritzerland.

2. INSIDE DAISY CLOVER (1965)

This jaded look at Hollywood stardom during the 1930s combines the hurdy gurdy atmosphere of the boardwalk where Natalie Wood’s title character lives, along with a musical cynicism that has a Kurt Weill feel to it. Interspersed are deliberately overblown musical numbers and cues that send up and make mockery of the Hollywood world from which Previn came. Haunting, dark and emotional, Previn’s score is a rich musical tapestry of an era long gone. The FSM 2-CD set is highly recommended.

1. TWO FOR THE SEESAW (1962)

Robert Mitchum and Shirley MacLaine play two lonely losers unlucky in love adrift in the big city. Anchored by the haunting theme (and Oscar-nominated song), “Second Chance,” and once again mixing jazz with a more traditional orchestral underscore, Previn weaves the various styles into a brilliant musical portrait of solitude and the eternal search for connection. Loneliness never sounded so beautiful.

As with most “9 on the 9th” posts, the topic is so broad that I had to set myself some ground rules, basically boiling the list down to live action non-musicals and only score per composer. Otherwise, I could have peppered an entire list with music from John Morris and Elmer Bernstein. Some of my favorite comedy films, like WHAT’S UP, DOC? and PAPER MOON, have no original score. But I had no problem pulling together a list of nine, even though I had to leave off musical gems like SOME LIKE IT HOT, SILENT MOVIE and STRIPES.

Oddly enough, I don’t like all of the films listed below. (You’ll see.) While you may not necessarily laugh at the music, this month’s “9″ are guaranteed to make you smile.

9. SIDEWAYS (2004)

This thinking man’s comedy goes down like a fine Bordeaux (“no f***ing Merlot!”) and so does Rolfe Kent‘s gentle jazz score. A quartet of marvelous performers speak Jim Taylor and director Alexander Payne’s sparkling dialogue. Like the amber-colored drives through California wine country, Kent’s music never overwhelms the emotion in the story and lets the characters be the stars. Smooth and easy, this is a score to be savored.

8. 9 TO 5 (1980)

This larger than life spoof of women in the workplace by all rights should not have worked. But a smart script and three talented actresses (Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and newcomer Dolly Parton) overcome some of the story’s silliness to create flesh and blood characters, while still poking fun at corporate politics and having a damn good time in the process. Parton’s title song was an instant classic, but it was up to Charles Fox to musically keep up with the frenetic pace of the film. The score is light and breezy, yet never out of tune with the characters. From classic chase music to spot-on pastiches of country and western and a pitch perfect Disney spoof, Fox matches the actresses’ comic timing from 9 to 5 and everywhere in between.

7. BAREFOOT IN THE PARK (1967)

Neil Simon’s particular brand of sitcom one-liners has not aged particularly well. BAREFOOT IN THE PARK is a rare exception. Perhaps it’s the NYC apartment living that still rings true, or maybe it’s just the marvelous combination of Jane Fonda, Robert Redford, and especially Mildred Natwick who make it work. Adding a great deal of joy to the film is Neal Hefti‘s score. With its memorable main title waltz, Hefti composes a jazz paus de deux for newlyweds Fonda and Redford that keeps the stagebound locale dancing on air.

6. GHOSTBUSTERS (1984)

With ANIMAL HOUSE and AIRPLANE!, Elmer Bernstein gave his career new life scoring comedy films. What set Bernstein’s music apart from the run-of-the-mill comedies (which still holds true today) is his ability to play straight man under the most ridiculous of circumstances. In GHOSTBUSTERS, Bernstein got to combine sci-fi pastiche with dramatic elements that helped offset the foolish story at its core. I’m not a big fan of the film, not even after having to write the liner notes for the Varese Sarabande CD years ago. But having to research those notes did give me further respect for Bernstein’s talent.

5. PEE-WEE’S BIG ADVENTURE (1985)

One of the silliest movies ever made works primarily due to the inventiveness of Tim Burton and Paul Reubens’ unique talent. Because I grew up in Texas, the film’s down home humor poking fun at the Lone Star State, especially the hilarious Alamo scenes, still make me giggle. And Pee Wee’s tinge of mean superiority trapped within his childlike voice still hits the mark. But perhaps the film’s greatest achievement was bringing together Burton and Danny Elfman for one of the greatest director/composer collaborations in film. Elfman hit the ground running (or bicycling, in this case) in his first major film with his distinctive style that has now been copied and parodied but never equaled. Forget 1982′s FORBIDDEN ZONE, Elfman’s feature debut. It started here, folks.

4. YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (1974)

This film is just as funny as it was at age 14 when I literally slid out of my seat in the theater from laughing so hard. The slapstick elements may have been the funniest elements at 14. Delicious performances, a smart script, and pitch perfect cinematography and art direction blend together in this witty spoof that Mel Brooks never equaled before or since. But what truly elevates the film is John Morris‘ score, which veers between horror music pastiche and a sublime, memorable lullaby that gives the film heart.

3. 1941 (1979)

I detest this film. I truly do. Steven Spielberg was ripe for a fall after JAWS and CLOSE ENCOUNTERS, and, boy, did this overblown WWII spoof, ahem, tank. It wasn’t funny when I was 17 (the perfect age for such moronic humor), and a recent viewing didn’t change my opinion one whit. How John Williams captured such sparkling wit and joy in the music is beyond me. Williams anchors the score with one of the best marches ever composed for film. Whether it’s period , spoofing his own music, or composing something entirely original, the score constantly delights as the film crashes and burns, sometimes quite literally.

2. IT’S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD (1963)

MAD WORLD is the 1941 of 1963. Director Stanley Kramer got a little big for his britches, cramming all that comedic talent into an overlong windbag of a film that is painfully unfunny. Not so with Ernest Gold‘s marvelous score. Gold switches gears at the drop of a hat, combining action, ’60s period pop pastiche and inspired melodic content for a wild musical ride that gives the film a circus-like buoyancy that it so desperately needs. If you enjoy watching legendary stars mugging and embarrassing themselves for 154 minutes (it feels longer!), have at it.

1. BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S (1961)

The humor is more whimsical and nostalgic than thigh-slapping. And if you can overlook Mickey Rooney’s yellow face performance as Mr. Yunioshi, TIFFANY’S is an utter delight from its breakfast at dawn beginning to the classic rain-soaked finale. In addition to Audrey Hepburn’s iconic performance, much of the joy of TIFFANY’S comes from Henry Mancini‘s pitch perfect score. Far more dramatic and subtle than the classic LP will have you believe, Mancini’s music never overplays the comedic elements, while “Moon River” rips your heart out every single time. When oh when will someone release the original tracks to this?

What are some of your favorite comedic film scores?

Once again I was lucky to have discovered film music during a rather heady period of creativity. Though I discovered it on the eve of the STAR WARS boom that would signal a regeneration of film music a year later, 1976 strikes me as a particularly inventive and varied year. As always, the “chore” of whittling down the list to nine proved difficult. Leaving out such seminal scores (at least to me) as ROCKY, KING KONG, ROBIN AND MARIAN, THE MISSOURI BREAKS, RICH MAN POOR MAN, SWASHBUCKLER, THE SEVEN-PER-CENT SOLUTION, SILVER STREAK, MURDER BY DEATH, and LOGAN’S RUN seems foolish. But such are the challenges and drawbacks of making lists.

To give other scores a chance, and to actually see what would end up in the top slot, I’ve deliberately left off THE OMEN. For reasons that have been recounted numerous times throughout this site, Jerry Goldsmith’s classic horror score for me takes the top spot–for the year and, well, forever. So I decided to give other scores and composers a chance.

Needless to say, at age 14, I didn’t discover each and every one of these scores immediately. But, over time, they have become standard repertoire in my collection and have provided me countless hours of listening enjoyment.

9. CARRIE (Pino Donaggio)

No one should have to see CARRIE at age 14 with their mother. Yet that’s what I did. The opening shower scene made me wildly uncomfortable (for many reasons) and my mother and I screamed like 12-year-old girls at the shocking epilogue. In between, my attention never wavered from the intensitty of Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie’s performances. For all its shock value, the themes of adolescence and unfortunate bullying remain just as timely as ever. Pino Donaggio’s music captures all the horrific events of the story note for note. But I’ve never forgotten the haunting theme for Carrie’s innocence.

8. OBSESSION (Bernard Herrmann)

The first of Brian de Palma’s one-two punch of horror this year, though OBSESSION probably qualifies more as a mystery. Not nearly as successful a film as CARRIE, the main draw of OBSESSION is one of Bernard Herrmann’s final two Oscar nominations this year. With its Gothic use of organ and choir, and Herrmann’s oscillating chord progressions, the score is far more unsettling than the film. This is a score that is in dire need of expansion and reissue. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time.

7. BOUND FOR GLORY (Leonard Rosenman)

This biopic of Woody Guthrie is beautiful to watch with its amber-glow, dusty cinematography, courtesy of Oscar winner Haskell Wexler. Another asset is Leonard Rosenman’s Oscar-winning adaptation of Guthrie’s songs. Rosenman cleverly and subtly weaves the down-home familiar tunes into an effective dramatic underscore that rides the rails as Guthrie crisscrosses the country. After winning an adaptation Oscar for BARRY LYNDON the year before, Rosenman memorably quipped in his acceptance speech for BOUND FOR GLORY: “I write original music, too, you know.” Here’s another Oscar winner in need of a CD release. Let’s also get SYBIL, Rosenman’s Emmy-winning score that year, while we’re at it.

6. SILENT MOVIE (John Morris)

After YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, it was all downhill for Mel Brooks. His attempt to make a silent comedy has its occasional moments of funny bits, but the greatest joy comes from John Morris’s score. From its catchy main title march to ’40s pastiche and the delightful “Marty Fedlman Two Step,” Morris’s music is all lightness and fun, unlike the straining efforts of Brooks & Co. to instill humor onscreen. Few scores put a smile on my face like this one.

5. TAXI DRIVER (Bernard Herrmann)

One of the most unpleasant movies I’ve ever seen. The story and the characters are so unappealing that I simply cannot watch it. I don’t like what Scorcese is saying with the film, no matter how much he may think it needs to be said. But without the film, we wouldn’t have Bernard Herrmann’s penultimate score, and a classic it is. Herrmann died the night of final recording (Christmas Eve 1975), and what makes the score even more poignant is how Herrmann seems to be stretching himself in new directions–new  directions he would unfortunately never get to travel–while still retaining his trademark sound. What little shred of humanity and emotion is in the film comes from Herrmann’s music.

4. VOYAGE OF THE DAMNED (Lalo Schifrin)

The story of a cruise ship of Jewish refugees refused entry to Cuba and forced to return to Nazi Germany is a harrowing tale, though the film, with its all-star cast, is unfortunately far less dramatic than the story deserves. Lalo Schifrin’s score, however, captures a poignancy and overwhelming sadness that hovers over the doomed lives of the passengers. Most of the original LP has been released on a CD that included other Schifrin concert works, but the entire soundtrack has yet to make it to CD. Here’s yet another Oscar nominee in need of a proper release.

3. THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES (Jerry Fielding)

Clint Eastwood’s popular “revenge” flicks of the ’70s get moved back in time and the film could almost be named “Dirty Harry in the Civil War.” But the change in period gave Jerry Fielding the opportunity to stretch his musical muscles, combining his customary lean orchestrations and contemporary harmonies in a more traditional 19th century setting. The result is one of Fielding’s more accessible scores and a well-deserved Oscar nomination.

2. ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN (David Shire)

I’m not a particularly political person, but I’ve always been fascinated by the story of Watergate. Perhaps it’s the Shakespearean tragedy of it all, or maybe it’s just the ridiculous hubris of the government and what they thought they could get away with (a fact that has only gotten worse over time). Whatever the reason(s), this tale of Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein and their efforts to uncover the Watergate break-in makes for fascinating cinema. The script, direction, performances, art direction, sound design, everything all work together seamlessly for a nail-biting experience that is even more impressive considering that we know how the story turns out. What often gets overlooked in the praise for the movie is David Shire’s sparse and understated score. With its French horn theme echoing of fractured patriotism and a gentle, insistent guitar and four-note scale underneath, Shire creates a subtle musical mood of paranoia that only adds to the tension and fear of the story.

1. FAMILY PLOT (John Williams)

I had never seen Hitchcock’s final film or heard a note of this score until Varese Sarabande finally released this long-awaited soundtrack last year. (I’ve still never seen the film all the way through.) What an eye-opener this was! With that classic Williams mid-’70s sound and his trademark orchestrations, this is one of the few scores that I get what all the fuss was about. Listening to Williams’s gorgeous theme sends me into a trance each and every time. That Williams wasn’t an Oscar nominee, not even on the shortlist, is a shame, though this is one of those years where very score–THE OMEN, OBSESSION, THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES, TAXI DRIVER, and VOYAGE OF THE DAMNED–is a worthy nominee. Still, it’s a shame…

What are your favorites scores from the year you discovered film music?

So rather than wait for the 19th to roll around (hint, hint, mark your calendars all you non-Facebookers…triply pathetic), I’m celebrating my birthday a little early by devoting this month’s “9 on the 9th” post to my favorite scores from the year of my birth—1962. (Do the math…)

That year in particular saw a wealth of great film music. In addition to the nine listed below, I had to leave off such classics as BIRDMAN OF ALCATRAZ and WALK ON THE WILD SIDE (Elmer Bernstein); THE COUNTERFEIT TRAITOR (Alfred Newman); DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES (Henry Mancini); DR. NO (John Barry); JULES ET JIM (Georges Delerue), KNIFE IN THE WATER (Krzysztof Komeda); THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (David Amram); REQUIEM FOR A HEAVYWEIGHT (Laurence Rosenthal); TENDER IS THE NIGHT (Bernard Herrmann); and WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? (Frank DeVol).

If you don’t feel like celebrating my birthday from whatever corner of the globe you’re in (and I can’t understand why you wouldn’t!), then by all means celebrate this treasure trove of amazing music.

9. FREUD

Jerry Goldsmith’s first Oscar nominated score is probably better known today tracked in to ALIEN. But Goldsmith’s harsh—and at times tender—atonal music is the perfect backdrop for this biopic of the celebrated analyst. John Huston’s film has its own strange beauty, Montgomery Clift is a dead ringer for Freud, and Susannah York gives a lovely performance. The film is fascinating to watch, if not completely successful. If a troubled mind could be set to music, then this is it.

8. CAPE FEAR

Few films are as creepy as CAPE FEAR (both this version and the 1992 Martin Scorcese remake) and few composers could score fright with such dexterity as Bernard Herrmann. Those trademarks minor chords and repeated rhythmic and melodic cells send chills down my spine every time I listen to the score, all the while trying not to think about the classic Simpsons episode where Homer & Family go into the witness protection program to escape Sideshow Bob.

7. THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF THE BROTHERS GRIMM

The poor Brothers Grimm. The art direction and costumes are colorful, but the story is stagnant and uninteresting, with lead performances by Laurence Harvey and Karl Boehm that border on manic and narcoleptic, respectively. Thankfully, the film is chock full of delightful music courtesy of Leigh Harline (score) and Bob Merrill (songs). Merrill’s simple tunes are brightly orchestrated and arranged by Harline, who displays some lovely melodies of his own. A thoroughly charming score that is best heard outside of film. Guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

6. THE MIRACLE WORKER

Helen Keller’s heartbreaking story is given musical voice in a truly beautiful score by Laurence Rosenthal. Rosenthal filters his memorable themes through harmonies reminiscent of Aaron Copland and Samuel Barber, yet still retains his own distinctive voice. If you don’t shed a tear when Helen learns to “speak,” beautifully underscored by Rosenthal’s heartbreaking music, it’s a miracle you still have a soul.

5. TWO FOR THE SEESAW

Anchored by the memorable main theme based on the song, “Second Chance,” Andre Previn’s dramatic jazz score oozes early ’60s New York City. Robert Mitchum and Shirley MacLaine try to put their lives back together, all set to the mournful sound of a lonely trumpet. From finger-snapping jazz cues to yearning dramatic music, the score is still remarkably fresh and moving, thanks to Previn’s prodigious talent.

4. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA

One of the most famous themes in film history and a score that screams FILM MUSIC in big, bold letters. Maurice Jarre’s colorful orchestrations exude the arid dessert heat while his action cues are every bit as exciting as David Lean’s film and Peter O’Toole’s star-making performance. But Jarre’s Oscar—and the score’s classic status—deservedly rest on that phenomenal main theme.

3. TARAS BULBA

Gypsies and Cossacks and Poles, oh my! Franz Waxman’s score bristles with energy and the expansive beauty of the Ukrainian steppes. Filled with one exciting cue after another and a tender love theme, Waxman’s music is a stunning piece of composition, brimming with orchestral color and thrilling action cues. If “The Ride to Dubno” doesn’t get your pulse racing, nothing will.

2. MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY

While this waterlogged remake can’t hold a candle to the performances, direction and script of the classic 1935 film, this version is stunning to look at. Top-notch cinematography, art direction and costume design show why the film almost bankrupted M-G-M. But the real star of the film is Bronislau Kaper’s stunning dramatic score. The music pitches and rolls along the high seas, fleshing out the two-dimensional characters emotionally. Topped off by a haunting, exotic love theme and a majestic main theme, Kaper’s score is anything but dry-docked.

1. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

It seems anticlimactic to put Elmer Bernstein’s classic score in the top spot, but that’s where it belongs. A model of spare, emotional film scoring in which every note is perfectly rendered. From Harper Lee’s story to Gregory Peck’s Atticus Finch, MOCKINGBIRD is as emotionally powerful today as it was nearly 50 years ago. But I’d argue that much of the film’s classic status also rests on Bernstein’s equally timeless score.

What are your favorite scores from the year of your birth?