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And since he played Patton in Is Paris Burning? Maurice Jarre's score would be also in the top of the list with some others already mentioned.
Good shout nono.
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I, too, would have to say SPARTACUS heads the pack, but that takes nothing away from all the other great scores by Rozsa, Goldsmth, etc., etc.
Just a week or two ago, on another thread, I was putting in a good word as I do whenever I can for THE JUGGLER, a little known but excellent film Kirk made in Israel, and its little known but excellent score by George Antheil. TCM just showed it recently, and I hope they'll keep it in their rotation.
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The Final Countdown - Paths of Glory - The War Wagon - Spartacus - The Fury - In Harms Way
- Gunfight at the OK Corral - Lonely are the Brave - 20,000 Leagues under the Sea - Heroes of Telemark.
Maybe more...
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As a hardcore admirer of Jerry Goldsmith, I am predictably split between the poignant LONELY ARE THE BRAVE and the powerful yet elegant IN HARM'S WAY as for my favorite score for a Kirk Douglas picture. But as much as I will miss knowing that the versatile actor is still on this Earth with us, we fans of film music have another reason to appreciate him that's seldom mentioned.
Two oft-repeated stories are that Goldsmith received his first decently-budgeted film assignment after Alfred Newman personally recommended him to a music head at Universal International; and that LONELY ARE THE BRAVE became and remained Douglas' personal favorite among his own movies. But has anyone else ever noticed that in the wake of LONELY, which came from Douglas' own Joel Productions in 1962, Goldsmith subsequently was attached to THE LIST OF ADRIAN MESSENGER (1963), SEVEN DAYS IN MAY (1964), SECONDS, and GRAND PRIX (both 1966)? Yes, the composer lost GRAND PRIX when 20th Century-Fox contractually pulled him back for THE SAND PEBBLES (one of my three favorite Goldsmith works). But the common link there was not director John Frankenheimer but production honcho Kirk Douglas. The only Joel production for which Goldsmith perhaps was never hired was the company's last, A GUNFIGHT (1971) ... and for all I know, that might have been a schedule conflict with ESCAPE FROM THE PLANET OF THE APES, since the two films were released fairly close together.
The actor's enduring affection for his favorite production -- and apparently its music -- reaped immediate benefits for the young Goldsmith's career, as well as for lasting rewards for lovers of vital, distinctive film scores.
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One very important thing that's been missed in this discussion is that, from 1954-on, when Kirk established his own company, Bryna Productions, of the films he produced he was the final world as to what composers would score them.
Deciding what composer will score a film is generally like the process by which a film is cast, a director, writer or cinematographer is engaged: lists are drawn up, discussions are held, the talent's work is screened. As is often the case, the first choice based on the criteria of who's best for that particular production may not be available, or their asking price is too high, they're too exacting and take too much time to get results, or they have a reputation of being difficult to work with. There's a lot of homework involved. So the producer(s) move down the list. Often it's a compromise. But in any case, if Alex North was signed to score "Spartacus," or Mario Nascimbene was the choice for "The Vikings," it's because Kirk, and Kirk alone, said "yes."
Remember that Kirk's very first self-produced film, "The Indian Fighter," had music by Franz Waxman. It was an auspicious start, and if one looks through the list of films completed by Bryna, one sees a general consistency in quality of composers.
Most actors in most of their films -- and that included Kirk in the films he did for other producers, both pre-Bryna and after the company was formed -- get whatever composers and music the producers settle on. if the stars are big enough, they can try to push their weight around to get whom they want (though in most cases, when a star does that, it's to secure a job for a friend, rather than a genuine concern for the quality of the film's music). it seems pretty clear that Douglas chose composers for Bryna films based on merit, and not as favors for people. If he and the films he produced were well-served by the music, it's a testament to nothing but his taste and judgment.
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