I'm fascinated by the ways critics ignore this movie. Molly Haskell, for example, wrote a very influential book on women in movies (From Reverence to Rape, 1974) and had nothing to say about this great film that focuses not only on a memorable female character but on an institution (the religious order) that was entirely managed by women. It just didn't fit the pattern. Years later, Haskell was one of many writers to craft a posthumous tribute to Audrey Hepburn. Once again she largely ignored The Nun's Story. It wasn't just Haskell. Everybody seemed obsessed by a supposed pattern -- the "gamine," the clothes horse, the screen mate of older men -- and unwilling to address the picture where Hepburn broke the mold.
Agree it's a great Waxman score but somehow less satisfying on records. Time for somebody to have another go at it.
Ironically, Paramount optioned the film rights to Germany's DIE TRAPP FAMILIE, as a starring vehicle for Audrey Hepburn. She declined in order to make THE NUN'S STORY. The option expired and the rights to the property were sold to Mary Martin and her husband, who commissioned Lindsay and Crouse and Rodger's and Hammerstein to write THE SOUND OF MUSIC, which was then purchased by Fox, where Audrey Hepburn campaigned hard for the role she originally turned down. Mary Martin made millions of dollars from that one thing.
Steve Hoffman's article on rescuing the score tapes expresses surprise that the score was originally recorded in Italy. But the film was produced from late January to late June 1958 at Cinecittà Studios, Rome. In addition, location shooting was done in Rome, Brussels and other cities in Belgium, as well as the Belgian Congo.
According to a June 1958 Hollywood Reporter news item, due to the AFM musicians' strike that had been ongoing for five months, composer Franz Waxman was sent abroad to work on all phases of preparing the score, from composing to recording. Presumably, after the strike ended, Ray Heindorf recorded the additional music in Burbank before the film's opening on 18 June 1959.
I can't think of title that would make me NOT want to watch a film more than "The Nun's Story."
I'd strongly suggest you get over that impulse. GREAT film about human aspirations and individual conscience. Beautiful photography, fascinating locations, superb acting. The "becoming a nun" sequences are fascinating in their way, but there's much more to the story than that. And, yes, a fine score that deserves a better-sounding recording.
To put this thread back on track, let's note that the film, although based upon a novel, has a basis in fact. Kathryn Cavarly Hulme, the author of the novel The Nun’s Story, met Marie-Louise Habets, the woman who would later be known in her book as “Sister Luke, Gabrielle Van der Mal” while working with World War II refugees in Europe in 1945. After the war, Hulme sponsored Habets' immigration to the U.S., converted to Catholicism and, after a few years, wrote the former nun’s story. Hulme and Habets, who preferred to be known only by her fictional name, lived together in Los Angeles and later, Hawaii.
I agree that this great score should be released in full. So far, we've had the Warner Bros. LP and the Stanyon LP re-issue (and the subsequent Stanyan CD issue, with slightly different cues, mostly dealing with the choral music), all in stereo. THANK GOODNESS these stereo tracks were grabbed back at the time of the film's release. As I understand it, Warners, somewhere in the very- late '50s/early '60s, WB mixed down all of their 1950s stereo tracks to mono 1/4" tape preservation tapes, then dumped the stereo mags! A few stereo tracks might have slipped through the cracks, but nearly all plunged into the mono abyss forever (except for some stereo M&E tracks and the final stereo composite film mixes, which don't count).
Back to THE NUN'S STORY, there was also a 2-CD boot that was pretty darn near complete as I recall, plus it had some alternate versions of some cues. Unfortunately, that release was in mono, because of the aforementioned reasons, I'm guessing.
I would suggest, for what my opinion is worth, that while a new recording would be most welcome, why not just use all of the stereo master tapes that still exist for the stereo LP/CD releases, and fill in the blanks from the existing mono tracks. I'm sure that with some audio finessing, those mono tracks would not sound too far out of place against the stereo tracks.
As for me, I'd rather have the original recording of this score, conducted by the composer. as opposed to a new re-recording.
A new recording would be most welcome. On a side note, I recently watch THE TWO MRS. CARROLLS and was surprised to find marked similarities between the two movies main titles; a similar melody to the main theme and chordal progressions at the end. Curious!
A new recording would be most welcome. On a side note, I recently watch THE TWO MRS. CARROLLS and was surprised to find marked similarities between the two movies main titles; a similar melody to the main theme and chordal progressions at the end. Curious!
Waxman's finale of TTMC is off-the-charts awesome.
The story of Warners mixdown of the music tracks is NOt correct. Warners mixed the tracks to mono once the final mix of the film was done. Those stereo mags were reused to record new scores. Jack Warner believed in saving money.
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