I watched my DVDR of this earlier today. Film was a little jumpy at times but watchable enough. Jane Wyman is Doctor Kate, a too-good-to-be-true medic who looks after the inhabitants of backwoods Boulder Junction. It was terribly soapy and sentimental, cloying even. It must have had an old-fashioned look about it while it was being made. Lamont Johnson was the director.
Bernstein provided a lot of music, much more than I'd remembered, but it wasn't one of his more memorable efforts from that particular period of his career. IMHO, of course!
I watched my DVDR of this earlier today. Film was a little jumpy at times but watchable enough. Jane Wyman is Doctor Kate, a too-good-to-be-true medic who looks after the inhabitants of backwoods Boulder Junction. It was terribly soapy and sentimental, cloying even. It must have had an old-fashioned look about it while it was being made. Lamont Johnson was the director.
Bernstein provided a lot of music, much more than I'd remembered, but it wasn't one of his more memorable efforts from that particular period of his career. IMHO, of course!
JMM.
Hi James
Not having seen the whole film, I am, of course, at a disadvantage. Having said that, within the confines of the seven minutes, I am very much taken with the quality and effectiveness of the score
The energetic and propulsive action sequence, driven along by the robust vigour of the piano, is hugely exhilarating and, for sheer, visceral excitement, is exemplary. I find it a peerless example of Bernstein's ability to energise a fairly conventional sequence.
I have always found irresistible, those late fifties projects which allowed Bernstein to deliver themes which projected human warmth and empathy, while stopping short of slipping into schmaltz, eg his lovely and touching score for the " General Electric Theatre" episode, " Nobody's Child" In some ways the apotheosis of this, for me, is his beautiful' family' theme in "The Comancheros" - a wonderfully nostalgic piece of 'Americana' ( I am not even sure if Bernstein himself appreciated how exceptional this theme was, given that he only included a part of in the suite he recorded from the film). I do find the lyrical sections of the "Doctor Kate" score very typical of the rich vein of melody he mined in those early scores.
Not having seen the whole film, I am, of course, at a disadvantage. Having said that, within the confines of the seven minutes, I am very much taken with the quality and effectiveness of the score
The energetic and propulsive action sequence, driven along by the robust vigour of the piano, is hugely exhilarating and, for sheer, visceral excitement, is exemplary. I find it a peerless example of Bernstein's ability to energise a fairly conventional sequence.
I have always found irresistible, those late fifties projects which allowed Bernstein to deliver themes which projected human warmth and empathy, while stopping short of slipping into schmaltz, eg his lovely and touching score for the " General Electric Theatre" episode, " Nobody's Child" In some ways the apotheosis of this, for me, is his beautiful' family' theme in "The Comancheros" - a wonderfully nostalgic piece of 'Americana' ( I am not even sure if Bernstein himself appreciated how exceptional this theme was, given that he only included a part of in the suite he recorded from the film). I do find the lyrical sections of the "Doctor Kate" score very typical of the rich vein of melody he mined in those early scores.
Leslie
Leslie, I am in agreement with all that you say here. So much of it was irresistible to me too. I know what you're referring to in "The Comancheros", it's something he could have expanded upon but chose to use it only once and then it was gone. There are moments like that in "Kings of the Sun" too, and in other projects from that time.