For those who may be interested, TCM is doing a Peter Sellers tribute today (and this month) and they are airing NEVER LET GO tonight which features a very early John Barry score.
I have seen the film on DVD from Netflix but I just wanted to share the info for those who may want to see it and not have to rent or buy it.
James
Understood.
I like John Guillerman's early films, especially prior to THE BLUE MAX. My favorite that I've seen so far is GUNS AT BATASI - what a great script that one is!
Overall, I like Peter Sellers in NEVER LET GO, though most critics seem to discredit his attempt to be a non-comedic baddie.
You may call me odd, but I like Peter Sellers in HOFFMAN more than anything else. I like LOLITA as well. Other lesser-praised Sellers efforts include ONLY TWO CAN PLAY (1961) and THE WRONG ARM OF THE LAW (1962) - both with music by Richard Rodney Bennett.
Lionel Bart did the lyrics for Barry's title song.
To be strictly accurate, it was Barry's arrangement of the traditional song. For some reason on this occasion Bart used the pseudonym of Joan Maitland, his collaborator.
Lionel Bart did the lyrics for Barry's title song.
To be strictly accurate, it was Barry's arrangement of the traditional song. For some reason on this occasion Bart used the pseudonym of Joan Maitland, his collaborator.
I own this movie on DVD. I like Barry's jazzy crime score a lot but that title song is terrible and doesn't match the rest of the score at all. Horribly horribly out of place. Watch the first few minutes of the movie--the film score starts out with a wonderfully menacing jazz underscore as seemy London locales are seen. Piano and bongos are used to good effect, then suddenly the film titles start up and the theme song kicks in. The transition to the song is terribly jarring and the mood is instantly ruined. A shame.
I've always wished for a release of the score but have never held out much hope. I seem to recall Beat For Beatniks and Big Fella (both found on Barry's EMI Years Vol 1 CD) are supposedly based on themes from Never Let Go. They're both great tracks and the closest thing we've got to a score from the film, as far as I know.
Overall, I like Peter Sellers in NEVER LET GO, though most critics seem to discredit his attempt to be a non-comedic baddie.
It's tough to accept him as a bad guy given his comic renown. But he's pretty good in this film. And I love the big fight at the end of the movie where's he's trying to kill the good guy in the garage. Great stuff.
Overall, I like Peter Sellers in NEVER LET GO, though most critics seem to discredit his attempt to be a non-comedic baddie.
It's tough to accept him as a bad guy given his comic renown. But he's pretty good in this film. And I love the big fight at the end of the movie where's he's trying to kill the good guy in the garage. Great stuff.
I thought he was great in the part. I loved his fussing over the veneer of his stereo, while beneath the veneer of a respectable businessman, he's a vile, brutal bastard. Particularly in the scene with the turtle.
Never Let Go rarely gets a mention, but I'd love to see it released as well.
I thought the soundtrack to Beat Girl was a success, and this is very much in the same style and had Adam Faith to bolster sales as well. Why wasn't it released in 1960? Less music in this than Beat Girl, but I'm sure Barry and Faith could have come up with something. I suspect the tapes are now long lost.
