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Whenever Max Steiner was given a great movie to score, he always rose to the occasion. The incredible on-screen chemistry between Troy Donahue and Sandra Dee inspired some of his greatest music for A SUMMER PLACE. The two young lovers tell their parents that they are going to see KING KONG, when, in fact, they plan a moonlight rendezvous on the beach. While cuddling, Dee, who has seen the movie, relates the plot to Donahue. Thus, Steiner found himself scoring music to dialogue about a film he had scored more than a quarter century earlier!
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Great still, Soundtrakker!
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Posted: |
Dec 7, 2001 - 10:54 PM
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By: |
Howard L
(Member)
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...Thus, Steiner found himself scoring music to dialogue about a film he had scored more than a quarter century earlier!
I never thought of that! Thanks for pointing it out. A release is long overdue...and fantastic news. Indulge me as I bring back a post from 4/25/98 and join me as I celebrate & salivate in anticipation:
A Summer Place.
Peyton Place again, this time off the mainland. Cliched? Somewhat. Outdated, even laughable dialogue? Eh, at times (Molly's "naughty dreams"). But the movie unravels the pretentious pseudo-priggish mores of 1950s cinema in a manner that isn't shocking now but surely must have been considered bold for its day.
And then there's the music. Cliched? Only when that sly, leery sax oils its way across the ears while underscoring sexual tension. Repetitive? Well...yeah. Overblown? Maybe. But it's joyous excess. And that's the genius of Max Steiner: his music brings dignity to an otherwise mundane (albeit stylish) B-movie. What does he dignify? Oh, human longings, little things like newly-found love, old love rekindled, unspoken passions, hopes, shattered dreams...and damaged lives. And all with real-live melodies that pull you in, intoxicate and ultimately make you ignore the fact that you're watching a potboiler or that you simply don't give a damn that it's a potboiler.
Dignity. That's what comes to mind first when I think of Max Steiner, Film Composer: elevating soap opera to dignified heights. I think of the Belle Watling Theme when Melanie thanks the madam-with-a-heart in Gone With The Wind; the final shots of Now, Voyager; the love story with the platinum blonde and the big ape; and in A Summer Place the close-ups of Dorothy McGuire, especially the one during the early scene at the dinner table at the inn.
Steiner basically employed variations of four love themes throughout the picture. Let's call them (1) the Adult Love Theme introduced majestically for the dashing opening credits sequence; (2) the Teen Love Theme made memorable and best-selling by Percy Faith and his orchestra; (3) the Sex Theme already alluded to with deference to its arrangement for that old devil's instrument, the sax (and how 'bout them amplified piano triplets--shocking, Mr. Steiner, shocking!); and (4) the Innocent Love Theme first heard during Molly's good-night to Papa.
I recommend you ignore the cloying harp-and-vibraphone arrangement of the latter the first time around and savor the string arrangement the second. Just the same, all 4 melodies are pure listening pleasures. And so what if Johnny's Theme sounds more suited to a pre-teen heading off for a summer camp jaunt than an adolescent with raging hormones who's barely surviving his folks' loveless marriage. The bottom line, friends, is that it's a crying shame that the entire score has never been released, so far as I know. Warner Bros. has an ignominious reputation for discarding original soundtrack sources and it wouldn't surprise if this one is among those lost forever. If worse comes to worse, get the video (the film's a fine transfer to tape) and just watch/listen to the first 45 minutes. Watch and listen to the first 45 minutes. You will not be disappointed. Guaranteed.
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Posted: |
Oct 23, 2020 - 2:06 PM
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By: |
Howard L
(Member)
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...Indulge me as I bring back a post from 4/25/98 and join me as I celebrate & salivate in anticipation:
A Summer Place.
Peyton Place again, this time off the mainland. Cliched? Somewhat. Outdated, even laughable dialogue? Eh, at times (Molly's "naughty dreams"). But the movie unravels the pretentious pseudo-priggish mores of 1950s cinema in a manner that isn't shocking now but surely must have been considered bold for its day.
And then there's the music. Cliched? Only when that sly, leery sax oils its way across the ears while underscoring sexual tension. Repetitive? Well...yeah. Overblown? Maybe. But it's joyous excess. And that's the genius of Max Steiner: his music brings dignity to an otherwise mundane (albeit stylish) B-movie. What does he dignify? Oh, human longings, little things like newly-found love, old love rekindled, unspoken passions, hopes, shattered dreams...and damaged lives. And all with real-live melodies that pull you in, intoxicate and ultimately make you ignore the fact that you're watching a potboiler or that you simply don't give a damn that it's a potboiler.
Dignity. That's what comes to mind first when I think of Max Steiner, Film Composer: elevating soap opera to dignified heights. I think of the Belle Watling Theme when Melanie thanks the madam-with-a-heart in Gone With The Wind; the final shots of Now, Voyager; the love story with the platinum blonde and the big ape; and in A Summer Place the close-ups of Dorothy McGuire, especially the one during the early scene at the dinner table at the inn.
Steiner basically employed variations of four love themes throughout the picture. Let's call them (1) the Adult Love Theme introduced majestically for the dashing opening credits sequence; (2) the Teen Love Theme made memorable and best-selling by Percy Faith and his orchestra; (3) the Sex Theme already alluded to with deference to its arrangement for that old devil's instrument, the sax (and how 'bout them amplified piano triplets--shocking, Mr. Steiner, shocking!); and (4) the Innocent Love Theme first heard during Molly's good-night to Papa.
I recommend you ignore the cloying harp-and-vibraphone arrangement of the latter the first time around and savor the string arrangement the second. Just the same, all 4 melodies are pure listening pleasures. And so what if Johnny's Theme sounds more suited to a pre-teen heading off for a summer camp jaunt than an adolescent with raging hormones who's barely surviving his folks' loveless marriage. The bottom line, friends, is that it's a crying shame that the entire score has never been released, so far as I know. Warner Bros. has an ignominious reputation for discarding original soundtrack sources and it wouldn't surprise if this one is among those lost forever. If worse comes to worse, get the video (the film's a fine transfer to tape) and just watch/listen to the first 45 minutes. Watch and listen to the first 45 minutes. You will not be disappointed. Guaranteed.
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