Film Composers on Film Composing

Contributing authors: Elmer Bernstein, Henry Mancini, Alfred Newman, Hugo Friedhofer, John Green, David Raskin and Miklos Rozsa

Within the experience of these seven composers, the first fifty years of film scoring in Hollywood is revealed. They represent almost everything that anyone could wish to know about the introduction of music into motion pictures. Two other major and essential composers of this era were Erich Wolfgang Korngold and Max Steiner. They, and this magnificent seven, revolutionized the use of music in films. And in the next fifty years other famous names were added: John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, John Addison, James Horner and John Powell.

Alfred Newman was the head of music for many decades at 20th Century Fox. He was a music director, conductor, arranger and composer. He excelled in all formats. When you consider that Walt Disney had 59 Academy Award nominations and 22 wins (plus four honorary Oscars), and John Williams had 54 nominations for 5 Oscars, it only serves to illustrate the genius of Alfred Newman who won the Oscar 9 times from his 45 nominations, the third most nominated person in history.

Johnny Green was another wonderful music director, orchestrator, composer and arranger, overseeing the music in MGM pictures for many years. He also had significant hits as a songwriter.

Hugo Friedhofer was a great orchestrator who was known for his brilliant work with Korngold on the majority of Korngold’s films. As Friedhofer transitioned from Silent Movies to the Talkies, he went from exceptional orchestrator to highly-sought-after composer.

David Raksin wrote many excellent scores but it was his theme for Laura – in the film it had no lyrics – which made him famous. Set aside from the film (with Johnny Mercer’s lyrics) it sold in the millions as it became a jazz standard, recorded by over 400 artists including Frank Sinatra, Woody Herman, Charlie Parker and Nat King Cole.

Elmer Bernstein, had fifty years as a screen composer from first score to last. A classically educated musician, he wrote unforgettable scores for The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape, The Ten Commandments  and To Kill a Mockingbird. He also made a contribution to the introduction of jazz into the essence and fabric of films which explored disturbing themes, the first of which, The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), ranked alongside A Streetcar Named Desire (1951, Alex North) and The Wild One (1953, Leith Stevens).

Henry Mancini also made a name for himself with his use of jazz, in Blake Edwards’ “Peter Gunn” television series. His theme for The Pink Panther is now a staple of saxophonists and children learning the piano. He was also a gifted songwriter, working with Johnny Mercer and many other lyricists. His “Moon River” melody – sung by Audrey Hepburn in the film Breakfast at Tiffany’s – sold millions of records.

And then there was Miklós Rózsa. Apparently this man could do anything. He burst into the film world in England when he wrote the classically-styled music for The Thief of Baghdad. He wrote scores for Alfred Hitchcock, he wrote scores tinged with jazz for dozens of seedy film noir thrillers – Criss Cross and The Killers – he wrote rousing music for adventure tales of derring-do – Knights of the Round Table and Ivanhoe – and music for historical epics – King of Kings, El Cid and Ben Hur.