Tonight we’ll be closing out the 2018 season in style. Just in time for Turkey Day, it’s Studs Lonigan. This movie and score are a major reason I wanted to do this podcast in the first place.
It’s a nice 2+ hours to tide you over our impending holiday break.
Pssssssst. Hey, pal. You know Studs, right? Studs Lonigan? No? You must be new around here. I mean, Studs is… ah, but why am I telling ya? You should hear it directly from his pals. Head down to the pool hall and look for three guys named Jens, Yavar, and Clark. If you see some shady-looking characters arguing about motifs, that’s probably them. Anyway, they’ll tell you all about Studs, and the movie director Irving Lerner made about Studs back in 1960, and the score Jerry Goldsmith wrote for that movie, and probably some other nonsense you didn’t even ask about. Hey, they mean well. Have you heard that score, by the way? I bet they’ll play some of it for you. Hot stuff, that record. Hotter than Studs himself, if we’re being honest, but you didn’t hear that from me. Anyway, what are you still doing here? Get outta here and go see the boys. Scram!
Duration 02:12:30
The Work Stud Lonigan from Quartet Records (CD) Stud Lonigan from Varese Sarabande (CD) Stud Lonigan (DVD) (at Amazon.uk.co)
I just wanted to add that this is probably MY favorite episode of The Goldsmith Odyssey so far. Our conversation was so good and efficient, that editing it down even to this length was tough (it was not one of our longer recording sessions)...Jens has surpassed himself with his brilliant editing work on this one, in my humble opinion.
The film, while flawed, is quite interesting...and the music Jerry wrote for it is incredible, our favorite work of his to date! And for those of you who care about unreleased music, we were surprised to discover several examples of it in this film (we had all assumed the Varese/Quartet releases were complete), with two more substantial ones which I would LOVE to see rescued on a future release of this score, if they survive...
This was an enjoyable podcast. Part of me wants TCM to show the movie someday, because I'm curious about it. However, you three did point out its flaws while commending Goldsmith's score. Not sure I'd like the movie, but it is always nice to synch the score to the visuals.
I doubt that Goldsmith knew in 1960 that the piano player, John Williams, would someday become an amazing composer.
Love the various uses of the harmonica. (Noir to jazz to Americana.)
FYI, I went into IMDB to read about the movie. Studs played by a Christopher Knight was only in one more film. Doesn't sound like he could act all that well.
So glad you enjoyed this one, Joan. We are all really proud of it. I was a bit worried the length might be an issue for you, since this one was even longer than Gunsmoke #1. We actually didn't talk for longer than usual, but we were more efficient and a greater percentage of our conversation was kept in the final draft than ever before (and that was even with us cutting out some cool bits we really liked but were not as essential).
Obviously Jerry's next film score, Lonely Are the Brave, will not be possible to give this treatment since it's twice as long as his previous feature scores. As much as it pains me since it's my single favorite Jerry Goldsmith feature score, we will have no choice but to only discuss the highlights. Otherwise we'd be looking at a four hour podcast. No way.
Length can be an issue. Finding the time isn't easy; however, I listened to the first hour on one day, and then the second hour the next day. Helps to break it up.
Looking forward to Lonely Are The Brave. Love it. Highlights are just fine, but no way to 4 hours. I'm sure the podcast will be great.
Glad you found a solution so the length wasn't a problem for you. I just hope it wasn't boring at any point. I found it riveting all the way through but then it's hard to come at these from an outsider perspective. (You'd think if anything I'd have less patience with listening to something if I was there for the original conversation though.)
I gotta warn you...it's going to be almost a year before we get to Lonely Are the Brave, because contrary to our original plans, my cohosts actually decided they wanted to go through Jerry's epic TV year of 1961 at our normal pace, covering no more than two episodes of a series at a time (the recent Gunsmoke was a rare exception to this rule, because it didn't make sense to do it any other way). With 16 original scores written for Thriller alone, we'll be in TV land for quite a few months. Luckily Jerry's work for television was usually at the same high level of his work for film.
And for those of you who care about unreleased music, we were surprised to discover several examples of it in this film (we had all assumed the Varese/Quartet releases were complete), with two more substantial ones which I would LOVE to see rescued on a future release of this score, if they survive...
Banned in Ireland, England, United States, & Canada! Incomplete on both Varese Sarabande and Quartet Records!
Why didn't Robert Townson mention this in his liner notes? (I haven't listened to the Studs Lonigan podcast yet ... )
According to Quartet:
"Produced by Douglass Fake, who saved and restored the only surviving tapes in the mid-nineties. The 16-page booklet, lavishly illustrated with film stills, contains extensive liner notes (including track-by-track analysis) written by Jeff Bond."
So ... Townson, Fake & Bond all had 20 years to tell us that these master tapes were incomplete - and they still haven't told us!
Funny you should ask, as we will indeed have an end of 2018 treat for our listeners. Our next regular episode however (which we will record and drop in January) will finish our coverage of Jerry’s 1960 output...with the exception of his first Thriller score, written at the very end of that year.
I agree with Kimmel about his Goldsmith’s bias for his Sixties and Seventies output. Actually, I get interested in his music for his 1968 score Planet of the Apes to start with and his New Vienna School-oriented scores from the 1960’s. I feel indifferent by his music from the Eighties except for a minority of scores (Inchon, Outland, Night Crossing, The Challenge, First Blood, Under Fire).
Good show. I enjoyed hearing Bruce Kimmel’s stories. He said he was hooked on scores when he heard Tiomkin’s The High and the Mighty. What a grand theme. Then Yavar asked when he first noticed Goldsmith, and Bruce mentioned The Twilight Zone episodes. That made me ponder when I had first noticed Goldsmith. I never really noticed his TV scores. This program is really introducing me to his television scores. It was his scores in Lonely Are The Brave and Stagecoach that made me take notice of his music.
When Bruce said he’d go to movies that were scored by Goldsmith, I wanted to say, “Yep, me too.” I’d go to movies, even poorly reviewed movies if I knew Goldsmith or Bernstein had composed their scores. It was interesting to hear both of you talk about both composers. Also, glad to hear Goldsmith’s versatility mentioned. Who would have ever thought that the man who composed A Patch Of Blue would have also composed Planet Of The Apes.
I know the first time I noticed the NAME Jerry Goldsmith was with STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE.
But, if you pressed me hard, when was the first time I noticed the MUSIC of Jerry Goldsmith, really noticed it... it would have been the theme from THE WALTONS, and the movies THE FLIM FLAM MAN, THE SAND PEBBLES, and TWILIGHT'S LAST GLEAMING, possibly in that order. I just did not really put the dots together (hey, I was a kid) until STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE and became aware of the fact that this all was done by the very same guy. :-)
In any case, was very interesting interview, great to listen to. I usually listen to podcasts in my car driving to (or from) work.
Lots of good music here many Goldsmith fans are probably unfamiliar with...do check it out and let me know what you think? The cue Jerry wrote for Flaming Star (1960) in particular just keeps growing on me the more I hear it, and his score for "A Head of Hair" from Have Gun Will Travel I knew I loved, right off...
Of course I liked this podcast because it dealt with Goldsmith’s western sounds. During the first 35 seconds I thought, “Hey, are they doing Hour of the Gun?” No, it isn’t Hour of the Gun, but it sure sounds similar, especially in the theme’s rhythms. Different melody, but I heard some similarities.
Some things I learned were that Herrmann composed Have Gun Will Travel’s opening theme. I never knew that until you all mentioned it. Then I could hear his signature voice in that opening. Also, during cues for Head Of Hair, I found myself trying to link that score to other future scores, but I didn’t know which ones. Bingo! When you mentioned Masada and QB VII, the connection was made. Who would have thought his westerns would have some Jewish musical sounds. I also noticed that Goldsmith was hooking that neat main theme into his action music. That aspect I’ve always loved in his later westerns. Love how he dovetails his main themes into his action riffs like he does in “River Crossing” from Rio Conchos.
I know that final song is a bit corny, but I always liked that image, “A knight without armor.”
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