However, none of the examples you mention belong in the category I'm talking about. Because you see, we're not only talking popular film songs in general, we're talking specifically about the synergy effect and cross-promotion of music (or rather songs) from the film as a means to maximize profits. It's really symptomatic of the "hit song" and soundtrack mentality that would blossom many years later.
No, that was exactly the intended use of popular songs in films, dating back to the silent era. Manderley was correct. If you wanted to say that the success of the "High Noon" song unleashed a copycat emphasis by film studios to use songs as main titles I'd agree, and you only have to look at the major releases for years that followed "High Noon."
