It's the two-year anniversary of this excellent release. A pity that we've had no movie scores since.
Anyway, that's not why I posted. First of all, I watched The Gunfighter trailer on Youtube to see how the music was incorporated. The trailer music sounds familiar, with a heroic/patriotic kind of feel, like it might have been written for a military film. Anyone know if this trailer music is recycled from some other Newman score?
Second, I watched the film credits for the terrific Main Title music on Youtube and was surprised to see Helen Westcott's name in the credits. I remember her best as beautiful Lady Diana, alongside Errol Flynn in Adventures of Don Juan. When I was a schoolboy I had a big crush on her (maybe it was the way she gave Flynn a good slap across the chops that grabbed my attention) but in The Gunfighter, she plays a much less glamorous school teacher. I also saw her in the Rawhide TV series recently. Sadly, I learned she passed away in 1998.
I watched The Gunfighter trailer on Youtube to see how the music was incorporated. The trailer music sounds familiar, with a heroic/patriotic kind of feel, like it might have been written for a military film. Anyone know if this trailer music is recycled from some other Newman score?
The music used in that trailer for THE GUNFIGHTER originally was Newman's main theme for BRIGHAM YOUNG (1940); but it also got recycled as the main title for the Fox Westerns YELLOW SKY (1948) and RAWHIDE (1951). (The latter bears no relation to the TV series of the same title.)
The music used in that trailer for THE GUNFIGHTER originally was Newman's main theme for BRIGHAM YOUNG (1940); but it also got recycled as the main title for the Fox Westerns YELLOW SKY (1948) and RAWHIDE (1951). (The latter bears no relation to the TV series of the same title.)
Now you mention it, I think I recall hearing that. A pity then he didn't reuse the Main Title of The Gunfighter in another film which would have allowed a full score development of the theme (which they chose not to do with The Gunfighter). It's one of my favorite western titles and I'd have liked to hear how he would have developed an underscore around it.
Kritzerland's release of this Henry King CD box set along with the music of Alfred Newman is one I truly treasure. Where else could I have gotten that marvelous heroic music from such a short score as THE GUNFIGHTER ? I'll answer my own question... Nowhere ! For all the scores that were on that box set, I thank Bruce from the bottom of my heart. I also would like to see the good old days of golden age scores make a return, but there has to be a lot more fans than what there are now buying them. So my gratitude will rest with what Kritzerland has given us in the past. Great ones like A PLACE IN THE SUN, IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND,etc.
I watched The Gunfighter trailer on Youtube to see how the music was incorporated. The trailer music sounds familiar, with a heroic/patriotic kind of feel, like it might have been written for a military film. Anyone know if this trailer music is recycled from some other Newman score?
The music used in that trailer for THE GUNFIGHTER originally was Newman's main theme for BRIGHAM YOUNG (1940); but it also got recycled as the main title for the Fox Westerns YELLOW SKY (1948) and RAWHIDE (1951). (The latter bears no relation to the TV series of the same title.)
It was also used in THE SILVER WHIP; a wonderful piece of music.
A pity then he didn't reuse the Main Title of The Gunfighter in another film which would have allowed a full score development of the theme (which they chose not to do with The Gunfighter). It's one of my favorite western titles and I'd have liked to hear how he would have developed an underscore around it.
It was reused in HOW THE WEST WAS WON (in a more stately and processional arrangement) as the music for the river pirates episode, and re-recorded specifically for the soundtrack LP as "The River Pirates."
That it appeared on the LP demonstrates that Alfred Newman regarded it significant enough to preserve -- on a 40-minute album with a truncated main title yet crammed with three Debbie Reynolds songs.
