I was very disappointed that no music from this film was included in the most recent retrospective volume of keyboard arrangements of 20th Century Fox scores.

I would greatly appreciate any help I could receive in acquiring this sheet music.

Thanks

I never considered what he might have done with SOUND OF MUSIC or PORGY AND BESS. I actually find it hard to imagine, having grown up hearing Kostal and Previn’s fine work in those two films. And if it meant we had to sacrifice ANNE FRANK or GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD, no thanks. :)

I’ve heard of FIRECREEK but never seen it, so I have no idea what the score sounds like. Of course, how could it be bad? It can’t, not with Newman behind it.

I think one of the reasons Newman may not be better known among the general population (if any Golden Age composer is) is, like you said, he was at the center of everything. Even with having his choice of projects, as head of the 20th Century Fox music department, he was always generous enough to let other composers have some juicy assignments. I think his greatest contribution is that inimitable Newman sound. No composer sounds like him, and no conductor ever captured that unique sound, especially in the strings.

One of a kind.

As one of the founders of film scoring (along with Steiner, Korngold, and I would include Dmitri Shostakovich), A.N. is still strangely overlooked in the scheme of things. I attribute this to him having done it all, and having done it all superbly, so he apparently carries with him a certain transparency, based on being taken for granted. Sometimes being in the very center of things makes you unnoticed.

However, nearly 40 years after his death, he seems to be coming into his proper place of greatness in the pantheon. And it isn’t from being honored with a postage stamp! (The stamp was a good one, and very welcome.) I think that both the internet and quality DVD versions of his films, plus selected CD issues of his scores have done most of the publicity work. The rest is discovery and enjoyment, as the scores speak for themselves. We’re also fortunate to see Alfred in action, playing his ‘Street Scene’ in the prologue to HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE to show off CinemaScope. His demeanor and style are impressive, to say the least.

One such discovery due to DVD: the Roadshow version of SOUTH PACIFIC. I was simply blown away by the complete version of Alfred’s scoring of the Bali H’ai jungle walk, that leads into the ‘Younger Than Springtime’ sequence. It has a sublimeness to it that is actually uniform with anything in BERNADETTE or DAVID AND BATHSHEBA. But that’s Alfred for you: always superb, always delivering the goods in the best possible way.

I would add that AN’s last western was in fact FIRECREEK from 1968. An elegiac and poignant score, equal to that of NEVADA SMITH, I think. As a teenager, I remember getting choked up by it when I saw the picture in its first release.

Speaking of there being no bad scores by A.N. (I wholeheartedly agree!), I must say, I got a tad annoyed during a recent viewing of 1942′s THIS ABOVE ALL, when the famous Newman solo violin is accompanying a particularly sentimental scene between Ty Power and Joan Fontaine. Some call this kind of scoring ‘syrupy’, but I call it a scoring tool that came with the times. It works in some scenes better than others. At any rate, the solo violin in this case seemed particularly excessive, and even distorted. However, upon reflection, certainly this can be attributed to the print’s unrestored condition. Properly remastered, I should think that, with Alfred’s perfect pitch and masterly music direction built in, this sequence would sound much more harmonious and appropriate. To me the best sound engineers at the time were at Warners, followed by those at 20th-Fox, guided by Newman, of course. Poor Rozsa’s mega-score for QUO VADIS was completely minimized by the incompetence of the recordists at MGM.

Just a note, based on earlier statements above: AN’s officially-last 20th-Fox pic was the STATE FAIR remake of 1962, with orchestrations by Ed Powell (they must have patched up their differences, I hope). Having scored the 1945 version, perhaps Newman couldn’t resist making sure the remake’s soundtrack was at least as good. Despite being regularly criticized, I think it’s really a pretty decent picture, due in no small part to Alfred’s steady hand, naturally. Yet again, we can thank proper presentation in the DVD format.

Speaking of Rodgers & Hammerstein once more, I don’t want to demean Irwin Kostal’s competent handling of THE SOUND OF MUSIC, but I wish Alfred had done the music direction, as he would have brought a more heartfelt tone as well as more dimension in general to the picture. The record shows that he was no doubt unavailable due to his lengthy GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD assignment.

Another ‘what if’ is if A.N. had done the 1959 PORGY AND BESS. Producer Sam Goldwyn apparently tried to get his old music director back, but we are of course humbly grateful that he was busy with ANNE FRANK and BEST OF EVERYTHING that year. As it was, Andre Previn did a perfectly decent job with Gershwin.

But because Alfred did so much in his stellar career, there are very few ‘what ifs’ to consider. Sorry to run on, but he never ceases to amaze me.

I should be more careful about my rambling style of writing. I think I suggested that CHEYENNES and CLIMB A HIGHER HILL were films – they might well be – but I was referring to the names of cuts from the album of HTWWW. Sorry about that.

As for this article in particular, it was slanted more to the sound of the Newman strings, hence why the robust HTWWW score was left off.

That’s a good idea for a post about Newman’s westerns. And NEVADA SMITH is a wonderful score. I’ve never seen the movie, though I think I have a copy of it somewhere that I copied from TCM.

I’m also not familiar with CHEYENNES and CLIMB A HIGHER HILL. I’ll definitely check them out. There’s no such thing as a bad Newman score. Period.

After reading this fine appreciation I checked your list below and was startled to see so many omissions. How could Jim not have mentioned….. So many great scores came flooding to mind and perhaps standing taller than any “How the West Was Won”. How could Jim have missed THAT one?

Of course you didn’t. Had I taken the time to check out this great site in detail I would have seen the fine article you wrote on cinerama and of course on HTWWW. Including a great audio sample of that magnificent main theme.

After first hearing that stirring melody, which evokes so much our nation’s history, I remember thinking that they should replace what I always thought was our pedestrian national anthem with this fantastic work. Alas we’re still stuck with that old drinking song. And who could forget his scoring for the startling “Cheyennes” and the sublime “Climb a Higher Hill”.

If you do any more on Newman you might consider his western’s alone. Including what was his last – and for the most part neglected – “Nevada Smith”

An interesting postscript to Waxman’s protest over “The Robe’s” oscar snub was that he did music to it’s sequel “Demetrius and the Gladiators”. And quite a score that was.