Score one for the screen team
By JAMES D. WATTS JR. World Scene Writer
3/23/2007
Concert to salute composer who put the screams into 'Psycho'
It's maybe the most familiar, most imitated musical sound ever heard in a movie house -- the high-pitching, slashing notes from violins as Janet Leigh meets her gruesome fate during a shower at the Bates Motel.
And that unnerving SKREE-SKREE-SKREE almost wasn't a part of Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho."
"Hitchcock wasn't pleased with the film once he finished it, and he was considering 'throwing it away on TV,' by cutting it up into episodes (for "Alfred Hitchcock Presents")," said film historian Bruce Crawford.
This was before composer Bernard Herrmann recorded the score he had written for the film, Crawford said. "So Herrmann told Hitchcock to go on his Christmas holidays, and that he would record the score. Hitchcock's only stipulation what that Herrmann write no music for the murder scene."
A short while later, Hitchcock and his wife, along with Leigh and a few others, attended a screening of the film with the score. First it played without the music Herrmann had written for the murder scene. Then Herrmann mentioned he had written some extra music, and could the projectionist
"You can imagine the sensation it caused," Crawford said. "Janet Leigh said she nearly passed out in fear when she saw the scene with the music. And when the lights went up, Hitchcock and his wife were just sitting there, frozen, stunned by what they had seen and heard.
"Naturally," Crawford said, laughing, "Hitchcock said, 'We've got to keep the music in.' "
That's just one example of the power that the combination of music and moving images can have.
It is a power that the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra will celebrate in its concert Saturday at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center. Titled "The Plow that Broke the Plains," it will feature the film music by some of the 20th century's greatest composers: Virgil Thomson, whose score for for the 1936 documentary on the Dust Bowl supplies the concert's title; Aaron Copland, Erich Korngold and Herrmann.
In fact, the evening might well be considered a mini-tribute to Herrmann, one of the movie world's most prolific and acclaimed composers. The Tulsa Symphony -- to be conducted by James Bagwell, music director of Light Opera of Oklahoma -- will be performing music from three of the scores Herrmann wrote for Alfred Hitchcock films: "Psycho," "Vertigo" and "North by Northwest."
Crawford, who created the internationally broadcast radio documentary "Bernard Herrmann: A Celebration of His Life and Music," will present a pre-concert talk about Herrmann and his music. It will be at 6:30 p.m. in the Westby Pavilion of the PAC.
Herrmann's career as film composer was bookended by two landmark works -- his first film was "Citizen Kane," and he composed his last score for Martin Scorcese's "Taxi Driver."
He did not think of himself as a "film composer," but considered his scores as one aspect of a career that included composing concert music and conducting major orchestras.
Yet, the music he wrote for some of Hitchcock's greatest films of the 1950s and '60s is the one aspect of his career that most people remember.
Crawford isn't sure that should be the case.
"In my opinion, most of Herrmann's best music was written for people other than Hitchcock," he said. "His scores for the Ray Harryhausen films are great, and the music of 'Fahrenheit 451' is superior to just about anything he did with Hitchcock.
"In fact, I prefer the score Herrmann wrote for 'Obsession' (Brian DePalma's homage to 'Vertigo') to the music of 'Vertigo' itself," Crawford said. "But then, I think also think 'Obsession' is a superior film -- at least the story is resolved, which it isn't in 'Vertigo.' "
Crawford's fascination with film music -- and Herrmann in particular -- began at an early age, when his parents took him to a showing of "Mysterious Island."
"I was 5 years old, and was just bowled over by the opening scene of that film" Crawford recalled. "It's this kind of boiling seascape, and the music that accompanied it just staggered me. I couldn't read the credits, so I had my parents read them to me. I had to know who did that, and I knew I had to find some way to be a part of it."
Thirty years later, Crawford would debut his documentary on Herrmann, followed by a second overview of the life and work of Miklos Rozsa, best known for his scores to epic films such as "Ben-Hur."
These project led in turn to Crawford's ongoing series of Omaha Film Events -- annual salutes to classic American movies of the golden age. They have ranged from the 35th anniversary screening of "Ben-Hur" to a tribute to Ray Harryhausen, whose special effects wizardry enlivened "Mysterious Island" and "Jason and the Argonauts," from "West Side Story" to "Casablanca."
Crawford is preparing for the 20th annual event, to be held April 27 in Omaha, Neb.
"This year is John Wayne's centennial, so we're of course doing a John Wayne event," he said. "We'll be featuring 'The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance,' one of the great John Ford western's of all time."
See ‘Psycho’
The Tulsa Symphony Orchestra and the Circle Cinema will sponsor a special event in conjunction with its concert “The Plow that Broke the Plains.”
The theater, at 12 S. Lewis Ave., will present Alfred Hitchcock’s classic thriller “Psycho” at 1 and 3:30 p.m. Sunday.
Film historian Bruce Crawford, an expert on the life and music of composer Bernard Herrmann, will talk about Herrmann’s contributions to this film and other Hitchcock works in between the showings.
For ticket information, call the Circle Cinema at 585-FILM (3456).
TULSA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
"The Plow that Broke the Plains -- Classic Film Music,"When:
7:30 p.m Saturday
Where:
Chapman Music Hall, Tulsa Performing Arts Center, Third Street and Cincinnati Avenue
Tickets:
$5-$60, available at the PAC Ticket office, 596-7111; and www.MyTicketOffice.com
By JAMES D. WATTS JR. World Scene Writer
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