Search - Bernard Herrmann :: Bernard Herrmann At Fox, Vol. 2 - Garden of Evil / Prince of Players / King of the Khyber Rifles: Original Motion Picture Soundtracks [3 on 1]

The great Herrmann experiment!

Reginald D. Garrard | Camilla, GA USA | 04/12/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"While channel-surfing the other evening, I came upon the start of a movie on the Western Channel. The opening chords of the film's theme momentarily caught my attention; they sounded like the great Herrmann may have composed them. To my satisfaction, as the credits rolled, I saw the name of my favorite movie composer. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to watch the movie in question: "Garden of Evil". But, I knew that the first opportunity that I had, I would be purchasing the soundtrack. My copy arrived yesterday and I it hasn't left my sound system. What a wonderful find is this CD! "Garden of Evil" comes across as an experiment in themes, tonal structure, and orchestral arrangement that Herrmann would explore in depth in future compositions. One can hear the beginnings of his music for "Psycho", "Jason and the Argonauts", "Vertigo", "Mysterious Island", "North by Northwest", and many of his other more notable scores. Only two tracks come close to being "traditional" for a western, and even they bear the undeniable Herrmann stamp of orchestral construction. The cut "The Wild Party" shows Herrmann as his most "schizophrenic". Astute listeners can recognize cues that would later be used in various Twentieth Century Fox/Irwin Allen productions ("Lost in Space," "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea", "The Time Tunnel"). Because Fox obviously owned the rights to the music, it could make use of Herrmann's work as background for its programming. The shows were only enhanced with the sound from a true master of film scoring. The selections from "Prince of Players" and "King of the Khyber Rifles" are pure Herrmann and that is enough to be said."

"Herrmann's multi-faceted musical career"

J. Lovins | Missouri-USA | 10/22/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In the early 1950s, we found our composer in a transition period, moving to California at the age of forty to be near and active in film composing. Meeting with Alfred Newman (music director) at 20th Century-Fox, engaged the volatile but brilliant Herrmann to score some of the studio's most romantic and dramatic films...thus our story begins.Let's look at our first score - "GARDEN OF EVIL" (1954), Henry Hathaway film, starring Gary Cooper, Susan Hayward and Richard Widmark all looking for a gold mine. Herrmann opens with a powerful statement for brass, an ominous orchestral theme, suggesting barren forbidding landscape, and our composer hits the mark...dead on! Traditional western themes, spanish rhythms, masked with typical Herrmann dark hues, even Rita Moreno sings one of Herrmann's compositions...this twenty-four track score is worth the price of admission.Next we have "PRINCE OF PLAYERS" (1955), chronicled the lives, fortunes and misfortunes of one of America's great theatrical families the Booths, starring Richard Burton, Raymond Massey and John Derek, as the family of John Wilkes Booth, who attained infamy as Abraham Lincoln's assassin. Herrmann loved this film and scored a memorable overture that combines theatrical fanfares with a stately march, later combined with 19th century incidental theater music, which emotionally is low-key drama, moving to high-Shakespearean moments, all the while blending sweet and melancholy themes, works perfectly as we know only too well, is "Pure Herrmann" at his finest hour.Final score - "KING OF THE KHYBER RIFLES" (1953), was the studios fourth CinemaScope film, the theme is India under British colonial rule (la Kipling) in 1857, starring Tyrone Power, Michael Rennie and the beautiful Terry Moore (Howard Hughes widow), setting was picturesque and Herrmann was attracted to the story-line. Opening main theme is exciting, with pounding drumbeats, screaming brass and shrill flutes indicating hard riding soldiers against the faux-indian panorama of mountains and desert (actually, was Long Pine, California), but you get the general idea. Our composer gently hints at indian themes, cleverly deploying woodwinds, harp and percussion...but the stand out is "The Storm" that the indian natives call (Hammer of God), is appropriately awesome, sweeping strings, pounding percussion with interwoven flute harmonies, brilliantly Herrmann.Herrmann was kept busy from mid 1951 to late 1954, writing some of his best music for Fox productions..."movie-music collectors" this is a dream come true...more Bernard Herrmann, sit back and enjoy...once again thanks Varese Sarabande for this second volume! Total Time: 71:27 on 37 Tracks...Varese Sarabande-066053...(1999)"

Garden of Evil: the genius of Bernard Herrmann

gobirds2 | New England | 08/11/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For years I have been anticipating the issue of Bernard Herrmann's score for Garden of Evil. Finally and fortunately that anticipation has come to fruition. This is not a re-recording. It is an original recording from the film's actual scoring sessions and is in stereo. I believe all 20th Century Fox films in cinemascope were made in stereo, thus that would include the recording of their scores as well. Almost all the entire score is present on this disc. Relative to when the recording was made I would say it sounds very good. The score itself is very low-key Herrmann and that is what makes its so interesting. The film for which the score was written is very underrated. Garden of Evil is a western rich with characterization that seems stereotypical on the surface, but on analysis, runs much deeper. Susan Hayward (an enigmatic heroine) hires a group of stranded travelers in a Mexican waterfront town to follow her to a remote mine where her husband is trapped. The adventurous group is comprised of Gary Cooper (the upright, moralistic hero), Richard Widmark (a cynical witticism spouting gambler), Victor Manuel Mendoza (the good-natured Mexican guide) and Cameron Mitchell (the back-shooting kid gunslinger). They must traverse perilous and dangerous Indian territory to get to the mine, but their motives are unclear. Is it the trapped man, the lure of gold or the subdued sexual attraction that Hayward exudes that drives them? The narrative is a study of personalities in conflict, their motivations, loyalties, cowardice and heroism. Richard Widmark's character comes off as the most interesting. He lingers in the viewer's mind long after the film is over and the question is raised - which is the more honorable: the moralistic hero or the dubiously elegant yet noble rogue? Henry Hathaway is a director known for atmosphere, character and authentic locations. He combines mood and action. This film has all those elements. It is beautifully photographed, yet the picturesque landscapes are juxtaposed with disturbingly photographed death scenes, menacing ever-lurking Indians (always photographed from a distance) and even mysterious looking set designs. The church bell tower sprouting up from the dried lava is all that remains of the town outside the mine and is symbolically ominous in appearance. Frank Fenton's screenplay is filled with vague dialog and only adds to the total feeling of uneasiness that permeates this film. Bernard Herrmann's score accentuates the moodiness of this haunting adventure tale, itself also vague and non-specific. It is very untypical of the Hollywood western. This is by no means a minor score by Herrmann. He achieved a recurrent sense of ominous fate throughout this entire film without the score ever entering into the psychological realm. I rank this as one of his great scores.This CD also contains selections from Herrmann's scores for King Of The Khyber Rifles and Prince Of Players. I have not seen either of these films for many years. I did enjoy the selections from Prince Of Players very much. They fit very much into Herrmann's Americana repartee. These are welcome additions for Bernard Herrmann enthusiasts. If you enjoy Herrmann's music you usually seek out every recording you can find. I highly recommend this CD."