Omen II

Dr. Know, The Grimethorpe Colliery Band recently released a CD entitled Movie Brass featuring arrangements of famous film music, including four pieces by John Williams: Superman, Star Wars, Jurassic Park and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Do not be put off by the name. They are reputedly the premier non-military brass band in the UK. Although brass band arrangements are not really my thing, the Williams arrangements I have heard on the radio have been rather good. Damien - counting the hours until China v Costa Rica

Alawill, Your list does look pretty comprehensive! However, there is some question as to whether the film Stark Fear (1961) has music by John Williams, or perhaps I should say music by the John Williams. I have never seen the film but was curious as to why it appeared on some lists of complete works but not on others. I therefore e-mailed the webmaster at the John Williams web pages (Jeff Eldridge?) a few months ago posing this question. He kindly responded to say that he had seen the film recently and although there is a music credit for someone called John Williams (in addition to that of the composer of most of the score whose name escapes me) , he thought it extremely unlikely that it was our Johnny. I wonder if anyone else here has seen this obscure film? One film possibly missing from your list is Flashing Spikes, a 1962 TV short directed by none other than John Ford and starring James Stewart. It was Ford's only TV movie and is about baseball. Again, I have not seen it but I have seen the music credited to John Williams. Can anyone else confirm that this is our Johnny? Damien

I believe that Warners achieved this terrifying sound by mixing the trilling made by some types of frog with high-pitched parrot calls. Damien

Well said Joe, I can (almost) forgive you for not liking football as I love all those classic 50's sci-fi movies and their music. Them! has a particularly good score by the much under-rated (IMHO) Polish composer Bronislau Kaper. I heard a radio interview with him once (recorded before his death in 1983, obviously) in which he said that he got his inspiration for parts of the score from the sound the giant ants make in the film. That chilling opening title with the two rumbling pianos is way ahead of its time, 25 years before JW tried it in the Hoth battle in The Empire Strikes Back. Then when the 5-note ant theme kicks in I start scratching! Kaper was a wonderful composer (if a little insistent at times) and I feel his hour is yet to come. Perhaps Marco Polo can do an album of his stuff one day? I am also a big fan of his music for Mutiny on the Bounty, The Way West, The Naked Spur and more. Many of the composers who worked on those films were as talented as the Newmans, Steiners and Waxmans but never got the chance to shine when working for studios with minuscule music budgets. Hans Salter, Herman Stein, Irving Gertz, Heinz Roemheld - all deserve to be as well known as their Universal colleague Henry Mancini would become. Some of the composers at smaller studios such as Albert Glasser, Darrell Calker, Mischa Bakaleinikoff and Mort Glickman are almost completely unknown today when their genre scores are nothing less than classics. I think Herman Stein and Irving Gertz are both still alive, by the way. Have you heard any of Monstrous Movie Music's superb re-recordings of music from some of the classic sci-fi films of the 1950s? They have done three albums so far and each is enough to make all other soundtrack labels hang their heads in shame. I would recommend them without reservation to anyone on this board who may think decent monster music began and ended with Bernard Herrmann. Check out their website: www.mmmrecordings.com Damien - a 1950's sci-fi music geek The Descent/Ant Chamber from Them! (Bronislau Kaper)