Hollywood Soundstage: Scores from the Golden Age of Hollywood

This new Chandos exploration of music from the Golden Age of Hollywood has something for everyone. I would be surprised if the track listing did not include someone’s favourite film made in the years between 1939 and 1965. From a personal point of view, my candidates are The Wizard of Oz, My Fair Lady and How to Marry a Millionaire.

The concert opens with the earliest film on this CD. The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex was released in 1939 and starred three of the Hollywood “greats”: Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland and Errol Flynn. The score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold is powerful, dynamic, brassy, and epitomises the late romanticism that would dominate the film industry for many years. 

Laura (1944) is not a movie that I have seen. It is film-noir, which is a genre I typically avoid. That said, the theme music, later made into a song, has been covered more than 400 times, including by Frank Sinatra, Robert Farnon and Glenn Miller. The liner notes explain that the director, Otto Preminger wanted to use George Gershwin’s unforgettable song Summertime from Porgy and Bess as the signature tune. This was not possible. Composer David Raksin was asked to produce a substitute. Seemingly, he wrote this “standard” over the weekend. The resultant piece majors on the “glamour” and “romance” of the story rather than its more sinister events. It is quite simply a gorgeous melody.

It is often claimed that The Wizard of Oz (1939) is the most watched film in the world. Truly, it is full of iconic characters and magical cinematic effects – and it was filmed in Technicolour. Musically, the songs were written by Harold Arlen to lyrics by Yip Harburg. However, it was Herbert Stothart who created the “underscoring” of the film by using material from these melodies. The liner notes give a couple of facts about this film that I did not know. Firstly, the MGM boss Louis B Meyer wanted Shirley Temple in the role of Dorothy. We all know that it was Judy Garland that starred. And, apparently, the song Over the Rainbow was cut by the studio during a preview! No one knows how it was reinstated. The Suite played here introduces music from the entire score. Appropriately, it ends with a magical reprise of Over the Rainbow.

I have always enjoyed My Fair Lady starring Rex Harrison, Audrey Hepburn and a cast of well-loved British actors. The film was based on the Broadway musical by Lerner and Loewe, in turn reworking George Bernard Shaw’s popular play Pygmalion. The Transylvanian March and Embassy Waltz accompany the moment of triumph when Eliza Doolittle manages to create the impression that she is a “lady.” It combines music that is brash with a “lush” waltz.

The longest piece on this CD is the Suite from Now, Voyager (1942). The basic plot according to the Internet Movie Database involves “A frumpy spinster blossom[ing] under therapy and becom[ing] an elegant, independent woman.” There is nothing “frumpy” about the star Bette Davis! The Oscar award-winning score is by Max Steiner. The present suite was arranged by the composer himself. The booklet notes explain that this romantic and often passionate music follows the chronology of the story. I have never seen this film, but I do know this: Jeremiah "Jerry" Duvaux Durrance (Paul Henreid) lights two cigarettes in his mouth and offers one to Charlotte Vale (Bette Davis). It is a trope that has been overworked in the film and TV industry.

An impressive cast plays out the torrid plot of The Sandpiper. Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton star alongside big names such as Charles Bronson. The main title theme features a sensuous and restrained solo trumpet that morphed into the hit song The Shadow of your Smile. It acts as a perfect counterbalance to the soap opera plot and mannered dialogue that critics have identified and criticised.

Drama, mystery and film noir make up the gothic horror Rebecca. It starred Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine and George Sanders. This adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s eponymous novel was directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The score, by Franz Waxman, successfully portrays the innocence of Mrs de Winter, the “sophistication” of her husband, Maxim and the cruelty of Mrs Danvers. And then there is Rebecca herself…in the shadows.

The final offering is taken from one of my all-time favourite films – the romantic comedy How to Marry a Millionaire (1953). This film stars three gorgeous actresses, Lauren Bacall, Marilyn Monroe and Betty Grable, who set out on a mission to find (ensnare) eligible millionaires. Naturally, all does not go quite to plan: in the end true love triumphs over mere financial gain.

Alfred Newman’s Street Scene began life as the score of an early talkie of the same title. It became a hit and was regularly played by bands and orchestras and was used in six other films during the 1940s. It finally ended up as the “overture” to How to Marry a Millionaire. It features a sequence highlighting the 70 piece orchestra conducted by Newman. One reason for this was to showcase CinemaScope’s newly developed four-track stereophonic sound in the cinema. The story then begins…

The music is influenced by George Gershwin: it is quite simply a wonderfully evocative tone poem describing a busy day in New York.

The liner notes by David Benedict are interesting and detailed: they are printed in English, German and French. There are some good historical photographs. Predictably, the recording is outstanding. These eight scores are played with love, affection and complete integrity. All can be enjoyed as “concert pieces” with all thought of the relevant movie removed. Hopefully, there is much more of this repertoire to follow.

Track Listing
Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897-1957)
Overture from The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939)
David Raksin (1912-2004)
Theme from Laura (1944)
Herbert Stothart (1885-1949)/Harold Arlen (1905-1986)
Suite from The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Frederick Loewe (1901-88)
Transylvanian March and Embassy Waltz from My Fair Lady (1956)
Max Steiner (1888-1971)
Suite from Now, Voyager (1942)
Johnny Mandel (1925-2001)
Main Title from The Sandpiper (1965)
Franz Waxman (1906-67)
Suite from Rebecca (1940)
Alfred Newman (1900-70)
Street Scene from How to Marry a Millionaire (1953)
Sinfonia of London/John Wilson
rec. 6-8 September 2021, Church of St Augustine, Kilburn, London
CHANDOS DIGITAL CHSA 5294 SACD

With thanks to MusicWeb International where this review was published.