1959: A Memorable Last Hurrah for the Golden Age

by Arthur Lintgen

There may have been other years especially at the height of the Golden Age which produced a larger number of important scores, but The Nun's Story, The Diary of Anne Frank, On The Beach, and Ben Hur are arguably the four greatest scores to receive Oscar nominations in a single year.

Memorable as it was from a musical standpoint, 1959 could also be said to represent the beginning of the end for the Golden Age. Korngold was already gone. Steiner was relatively inactive. Herrmann was either sulking or being ignored by ignorant directors. Newman resigned as music director of Twentieth Century Fox in 1960. Rozsa really had little to say after El Cid, which was to follow in 1961.

Despite the fact that Waxman continued to write one blockbuster score after another (The Story of Ruth, Cimmaron, Taras Bulba, and Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man, to say nothing of his harrowing post Shoenbergian concert masterpiece, The Song of Terezin) until his death in 1967, and other Golden Age type scores such as Maurice Jarre's Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago were composed in the '60s, the writing was clearly on the wall. Jerry Goldsmith was like a voice crying in the wilderness. Symphonic film music was suddenly rendered unfashionable by the much reviled song score. It would eventually return with a vengeance in the seventies when the RCA Classic Film Score Series and John Williams made orchestral film music popular and marketable in the eyes of film producers and directors.

Those of you who think the world of film music begins and ends with Williams and Goldsmith, and spend most of your time making petulant arguments as to which one of them is better (like, who cares? Be thankful for both of them!) so try to imagine what it was like when Korngold, Waxman, Steiner, Herrmann, Neuman, Rozsa, Tiomkin, and at the end of the Golden Age Alex North and Elmer Bernstein were all composing actively at the same time.

So which one of these four masterpieces is the best?

1. Ben Hur won the Oscar, and in the minds of many people, deserved it. Perhaps. It is arguably Miklos Rozsa's greatest score, and that alone says a lot. The music is an orchestral tour de force that combines plenty of power with some of Rozsa's best and most emotionally appealing melodies. However, the cynic would argue that it is just another in a long series of scores for period costume dramas. It may be his best score in that genre, but has nothing new to say. Also it could be argued that Ben Hur won because it was the annointed picture of the year (Remember Shakespeare in Love and Titanic?).

2. The Nun's Story. Waxman based his remarkable music primarily on Gregorian chants which he researched extensively in Rome where he scored the film. The central emotional conflict between the fiercely independent mind of Gabrielle and the extreme discipline required of Sister Luke is clearly presented by their two contrasting themes in one of the greatest Main Titles ever written. In the "haircutting" scene Waxman utilizes a full string orchestra to musically evolve Gabrielle into Sister Luke. The score ranges widely from unsettling atonal music to brief flashes of rich romanticism. There are violent jagged dissonant rhythms, a distorted march in the war section, and a pulsating bass motif depicting the stark hopelessness of the leper colony all dominated and held together by the powerful unifying music of the church. The Nun's Story gives you an idea of the scope of Waxman's talent. He was writing dissonant, atonal film music long before it became fashionable to rave over Mr. Goldsmith during the same thing as if it was something new original. The depth and complexity of The Nun's Story make it an obvious first choice as best score of 1959.

3. The Diary of Anne Frank. Newman has stated that he was most touched by the spirituality of Anne's Diary. It is therefore not surprising that the music is a direct stylistic descendent of Song of Bernadette. The score constantly emphasizes the warmth, tenderness and intimacy of the Frank family's personal interactions, but there is always the omnipresent menace that surrounds them. Nevertheless the opening fanfares of the Overture and the tone of the conclusion clearly emphasized the triumph of the human spirit. The melodic fecundity of this score is astonishing. There is simply no one (with the possible exception of John Williams) nowadays who can write melodies like this. My only minor quibble is that Neuman occasionally pushes his characteristic string sound (which sometimes borders on the cloying) a little too far, especially in the context of this film. This is the best score of the year for the insatiable romantics out there.

4. On the Beach. Ernest Gold's score is basically a theme and Variations on the Australian song "Waltzing Matilda." When I first heard about this I wondered how it could possibly work for a film about the aftermath of a nuclear disaster. But it was an inspired musical decision. There are numerous stunning musical-visual images in On The Beach, such as the main title sequence outlining the surfacing of the atomic submarine, to the final scene where the camera pans down the deserted streets of Melbourne to the desolate tune of a solo trumpet playing "Waltzing Matilda" and finally settles on a sign reading "There is still time... Brother" as terse dissonant chords thunder on the soundtrack. It is truly typical that the Academy ignored On The Beach, and then gave Gold the Oscar in 1960 for pompous musical pablum like Exodus. These four scores are all landmarks in the history of film music, and represent high points in the careers of their respective composers. They also give you an idea of how far the art of writing Main Title music has fallen in recent years. Which one of these scores do you think is the best? Please vote only if you are familiar with all four scores. This is primarily an exercise for people who recognize the importance of film music, and acknowledge that Williams, Goldsmith, and Horner are part of an artistic evolution that extends back to the nineteenth century and before.

Incidentally, the fifth nominee of 1959 was Frank DeVol's Pillow Talk. Given the Il Postino/Life Is Beautiful syndrome, it is actually surprising that Pillow Talk didn't win.

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