REMAKE SCORES, PART SEVEN

Parts One, Two, Three, Four, Five, and Six of this series are accessible on the website. Titles in quotation marks denote television programs. Corrections, suggestions and additions are always welcome.

1956 - AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS - Victor Young
1989 - "AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS" - Billy Goldenberg

1939 - BEAU GESTE - Alfred Newman
1966 - BEAU GESTE - Hans J. Salter
1977 - THE LAST REMAKE OF BEAU GESTE - John Morris
1983 - "BEAU GESTE" - Stephen Deutsch

1941 - SUSPICION - Franz Waxman
1987 - "SUSPICION" - Larry Grossman

1964 - 36 HOURS - Dimitri Tiomkin
1989 - "BREAKING POINT" - J.A.C. Redford

1940 - THE BISCUIT EATER - Frederick Hollander
1972 - THE BISCUIT EATER - Robert F. Brunner

1949 - THE BLUE LAGOON - Clifton Parker
1980 - THE BLUE LAGOON - Basil Poledouris

1944 - THE CANTERVILLE GHOST - George Bassman
1975 - O CACADOR DE FANTASMA - Stefan Wohl
1986 - "THE CANTERVILLE GHOST" - Howard Blake
1996 - "THE CANTERVILLE GHOST" - Ernest Troost

1937 - CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS - Franz Waxman
1977 - "CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS" - Allyn Ferguson
1994 - CABIN BOY - Steve Bartek
1996 - "CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS" - Claude Desjardins, Eric N. Robertson

1957 - THE DEERSLAYER - Paul Sawtell, Bert Shefter
1978 - "THE DEERSLAYER" - Andrew Belling, Bob Summers

1975 - ESCAPE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN - Johnny Mandel
1995 - "ESCAPE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN" - Richard Marvin

1947 - AN IDEAL HUSBAND - Arthur Benjamin
1980 - AN IDEAL HUSBAND - Edison Denisov
1999 - AN IDEAL HUSBAND - Charlie Mole

1952 - THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST - Benjamin Frankel
1986 - "THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST" - Ilona Sekacz
2002 - THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST - Charlie Mole

1935 - THE LAST DAYS OF POMPEII - Roy Webb
1948 - THE LAST DAYS OF POMPEII - Roman Vlad
1959 - LAST DAYS OF POMPEII - Angelo Francesco Lavagnino
1984 - "THE LAST DAYS OF POMPEII" - Trevor Jones

1932 - THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS - Lee Zahler
1936 - THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS - Roy Webb
1965 - THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS - Francesco De Masi, Peter Thomas
1965 - THE FALL OF THE MOHICANS - Angelo Francesco Lavagnino, Bruno Canfora
1992 - THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS - Trevor Jones, Randy Edelman

1933 - LITTLE WOMEN - Max Steiner
1949 - LITTLE WOMEN - Adolph Deutsch
1978 - "LITTLE WOMEN" - Elmer Bernstein
1994 - LITTLE WOMEN - Thomas Newman

1956 - LOSER TAKES ALL - Alessandro Cicognini
1990 - STRIKE IT RICH - Cliff Eidelman, Shirley Walker

1937 - THE MAN WITHOUT A COUNTRY - Howard Jackson
1973 - "THE MAN WITHOUT A COUNTRY" - Jack Elliott, Allyn Ferguson

1962 - THE MIRACLE WORKER - Laurence Rosenthal
1979 - "THE MIRACLE WORKER" - Billy Goldenberg
2000 - "THE MIRACLE WORKER" - William Goldstein

1954 - PHANTOM OF THE RUE MORGUE - David Buttolph
1971 - MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE - Waldo de los Rios
1986 - "MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE" - Charles Gross

1950 - NIGHT AND THE CITY - Franz Waxman
(European prints scored by Benjamin Frankel)
1992 - NIGHT AND THE CITY - James Newton Howard

1934 - THE OLD CURIOSITY SHOP - Eric Coates, Herman Finck
1975 - MR. QUILP - Elmer Bernstein
1995 - "THE OLD CURIOSITY SHOP" - Mason Daring

1959 - ON THE BEACH - Ernest Gold
2000 - "ON THE BEACH" - Christopher Gordon

1945 - THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY - Herbert Stothart
1970 - DORIAN GRAY - Peppino De Luca, Carlos Pes
1973 - "THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY" - Robert Cobert
1977 - LE PORTRAIT DE DORIAN GRAY - Anne-Marie Fijal
1983 - THE SINS OF DORIAN GRAY - Bernard Hoffer

1971 - PLAZA SUITE - Maurice Jarre
1987 - "PLAZA SUITE" - Peter Matz

1940 - REBECCA - Franz Waxman
1978 - "REBECCA" - Ron Grainer
1997 - "REBECCA" - Christopher Gunning

1961 - THE ROMAN SPRING OF MRS. STONE - Richard Addinsell
2003 - "THE ROMAN SPRING OF MRS. STONE" - John Altman

1964 - SEVEN DAYS IN MAY - Jerry Goldsmith
1994 - "THE ENEMY WITHIN" - Joe Delia

1968 - PRETTY POISON - Johnny Mandel
1996 - "PRETTY POISON" - Pray For Rain

1948 - SORRY, WRONG NUMBER - Franz Waxman
1989 - "SORRY, WRONG NUMBER" - Bruce Broughton

1972 - SOUNDER - Taj Mahal
2003 - "SOUNDER" - Lee Holdridge

1956 - A TOWN LIKE ALICE - Matyas Seiber
1981 - "A TOWN LIKE ALICE" - Bruce Smeaton

1954 - 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA - Paul Smith
1997 - "20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA" - John Scott
1997 - "20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA" - Mark Snow

1967 - VALLEY OF THE DOLLS - John Williams, Andre Previn
1981 - "JACQUELINE SUSANN'S VALLEY OF THE DOLLS" - Fred Karlin

1953 - THE WAGES OF FEAR - Georges Auric
1977 - SORCERER - Tangerine Dream

1969 - MISSISSIPPI MERMAID - Antoine Duhamel
2001 - ORIGINAL SIN - Terence Blanchard

1937 - THE PLAINSMAN - George Antheil
1966 - THE PLAINSMAN - John Williams

The score, awful though it was, for D-DAY.THE SIXTH OF JUNE, was, unfortunately, composed by Lyn Murray, not the similarly mediocre Leith Stevens.

FROM: "Henk Abrahams" <Secr.CLS@let.kun.nl>

If I'm not mistaken you missed the following titles in your list of re-make scores:

1954 - PRINCE VALIANT - Franz Waxman
1997 - PRINCE VALIANT - David Bergeaud

FROM: "Greg Bryant" <gabryant@fuse.net>

I would suggest adding:

THE TIN STAR, by John W. Cunningham

1952 - HIGH NOON - Dimitri Tiomkin
2000 - "HIGH NOON" - Allyn Ferguson

1981 - OUTLAND - Jerry Goldsmith

and

SHE, by H. Rider Haggard

1935 - SHE - Max Steiner
1965 - SHE - James Bernard
1985 - SHE - Rick Wakeman

1969 - THE VENGEANCE OF SHE - Mario Nascimbene

FROM: "Jeff Haise" <LAUSD@maile.maile>

As far as "quasi-remakes" go, you might want to consider A BUG'S LIFE (Randy Newman) as another version of THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN. Just a suggestion.

Similarly, SKIN GAME (David Shire, 1971) had its premise reworked twice in 1996 - as DRAGONHEART (Randy Edelman) and THE FRIGHTENERS (Danny Elfman)

FROM: "Karl Scott" <karlcharlotte@earthlink.net>

SUBJECT: Tarzan
 
There was also a version of Tarzan the Ape Man starring Denny Miller. It had a fine, driving jazz score by flugelhornist Shorty Rogers and saw an LP release. The cover of the LP has Denny Miller holding Shorty Rogers like he was Jane.

SUBJECT: Remake Scores - Stalin
 
I don't know if it counts (but I think it does and any excuse to mention Shostakovich is good enough for me), but what about The Fall of Berlin by Shostakovich? Great score. More columns about Shostakovich and Prokofiev's film music please!

Under your series of remake scores for history and biography, I would like to add the following. Noah's Ark (1929), Alois Reiser and Louis Silvers. This part-talkie was released with an original score. The Carpetbaggers (1964), Elmer Bernstein. Harold Robbins' take on Howard Hughes. Day Of Triumph (1954), Daniele Amfitheatrof. This was the first talkie to feature Jesus as the central character. Besides, you have to love a film featuring old Western villain actor James Griffith as Judas.

SUBJECT: John F. Kennedy

For future reference, PT 109 also has tracked music by Max Steiner and Franz Waxman.

SUBJECT: Additions & a comment.
 
Scott, in today's list of "History and Biography" scores, you forgot to include the following :

John F. Kennedy:
FOUR DAYS IN NOVEMBER (1964)-Elmer Bernstein
EXECUTIVE ACTION (1973)-Randy Edelman

Michelangelo:
THE ARTIST WHO DID NOT WANT TO PAINT (Prologue to THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY) (1964)-Jerry Goldsmith

And concerning "Abraham Lincoln", hmm, does Fred Steiner's THE SAVAGE CURTAIN from the original STAR TREK series qualify?

Oh, and finally, in last week's "Oscar! Oscar! Oscar!" column, you wrote:

"I did find it odd that the Frida song was introduced by Y Tu Mama Tambien star Gael Garcia Bernal -- only because his Y Tu co-star, Diego Luna, was not only in the audience but was actually in Frida, unlike Bernal."

The Frida song, "Burn It Blue", was a duet performed in part by famous Brasilian musician Caetano Veloso; if memory serves, Garcia Bernal, in his introduction, presented the singer as "a friend of mine". Could it just be that Diego Luna simply doesn't have that privilege?

And, as Steve Martin said about Bernal, "I would do anything to look like him. Except exercise and eat right."

FROM: "Kirk Henderson" <kirksworks@attbi.com>

Hi Scott,

Oops! Yes, you're right, Lord of the Rings and The Phantom of the Opera were included in the first and second Remake list. The question is -- is this a list that will ever find an end? I mean, there are so many. As for the unexpected remakes like Zhivago and Liaisons -- it's interesting to see how many obscure ones there are. Probably we never see or hear of some of the more obscure ones for the simple reason they aren't very good. Still, it would be interesting to at least see or hear something from these films, to see what how another director viewed the same material and to hear how a different composer approached the score. For example, I have seen many versions of Les Miserables, and although none of them are definitive, they all offer something unique from the original Hugo novel (and many of them have fine scores). The Canadian version from 1978, like most others is a very condensed version of the story, but it is still the most emotionally rich version I've seen thus far. The 1957 Jean Gabin film, which is about 6 hours long, retains much of the book, but a lot of it is so lifelessly told, it becomes paint by the numbers. Longer isn't always better, but it doesn't mean the kiss of death either. I saw the 1956 War and Peace which seemed long at 3 hours, and wondered why anyone made such a big deal out of such a story until I saw the 8 hour Russian film from 1968 and was blown away. Fine score by Ovchinnikov too. (Now there's a score that deserves a CD release!). In the end, no matter how one feels about remakes, it can be said the great quantity of them has given composers the opportunity to generate some memorable work.

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