Since I am most familiar with American films, I can think of the following:
1945 SPELLBOUND Mikos Rozsa THE LOST WEEKEND Miklos Rozsa 1946 THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE Roy Webb 1947 THE RED HOUSE Miklos Rozsa 1948 ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN Frank Skinner RAW DEAL Paul Sawtell 1951 THE DAY THE EARTH STODD STILL Bernard Herrmann (2 theremins) THE THING (FROM ANOTHER WORLD) Dimitri Tiomkin 1953 IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE Herman Stein, Henry Mancini and others 1955 CONQUEST OF SPACE Nathan Van Cleave 1956 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS Elmer Bernstein FORBIDDEN PLANET Louis and Bebe Baron 1957 THE DELICAT DELINQUENT Buddy Bregman 1963 THE LIST OF ADRIAN MESSENGER Jerry Goldsmith 1994 ED WOOD Howard Shore 1996 MARS ATTACKS! Danny Elfman
I know there are others, not to mention tv scores and foreign films.
Since I am most familiar with American films, I can think of the following:
1945 SPELLBOUND Mikos Rozsa THE LOST WEEKEND Miklos Rozsa
I seem to recall reading years ago that David O Selznick was angered that Rozsa used the theremin for the Lost Weekend since he wanted his Spellbound film to be unique and have that unique sounding score...or was it that Lost Weekend was released prior to Spellbound since Selznick famously tinkered with the final release print? Does anyone recall this. I read this on the liner notes on the Gerhardt RCA series decades ago...
Since I am most familiar with American films, I can think of the following:
1945 SPELLBOUND Mikos Rozsa THE LOST WEEKEND Miklos Rozsa
I seem to recall reading years ago that David O Selznick was angered that Rozsa used the theremin for the Lost Weekend since he wanted his Spellbound film to be unique and have that unique sounding score...or was it that Lost Weekend was released prior to Spellbound since Selznick famously tinkered with the final release print? Does anyone recall this. I read this on the liner notes on the Gerhardt RCA series decades ago...
Yes, Spellbound was in post for so long that THE LOST WEEKEND was relased first. Selzncik was indeed upset and sent Rozsa a terse memo demanding to know if he used a theremin in the score. Paraphrasing Rozsa, he answered that he had indeed and also used the flute and the violin.
Elliot Goldenthal's Batman Forever (1995) features a real theremin, quite prominent. For the "mad scientist" scenes. Most notable in the cue "Nygma Variations, an ode to science".
Not a film score, but the British TV series MIDSOMER MURDERS features a Theremin-heavy score. There are a couple of CDs available, but they're OOP, and hard-to-find.
I don't think there is a theremin in "Forbidden Planet." I could be wrong.
According to Wikipedia: "A theremin was not used for the soundtrack of Forbidden Planet, for which Louis and Bebe Barron built 'disposable' oscillator circuits and a ring modulator to create the 'electronic tonalities' for the film."
THE GIANT GILA MONSTER (actually an electrotheremin), EARTH VS THE SPIDER, DAY THE WORLD ENDED...I don't recall any theremin in CONQUEST OF SPACE.....ROCKETSHIP XM
Shostakovich may be the first composer to use the theremin in a film score. "Odna (Alone)" his second score (1929 – 31) is available on a 2008 NAXOS recording.
With the MMM release of ROCKETSHIP X-M just a couple of weeks ago, how could you forget this score? RX-M was the first science-fiction film to feature the Theremin in its score by Ferde Grofe.
Shostakovich may be the first composer to use the theremin in a film score. "Odna (Alone)" his second score (1929 – 31) is available on a 2008 NAXOS recording.
As others have said, no Ther in FORBIDDEN PLANET. Haven't heard any in CONQUEST OF SPACE. It was an oscillator in GIANT GILA MONSTER, which was the "brains" behind the Electro-Theremin, but whether the E-T was actually used in GIANT GILA MONSTER I'm not certain. Yes, PROJECT MOON BASE is a GREAT Theremin-based score. Also William Lava's PHANTOM FROM SPACE. And in IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE, listed as being composed by "Herman Stein, Henry Mancini and others," there is only one other "other," and that was Irving Gertz. But it is interesting that Grofe's ROCKETSHIP X-M was the first sci-fi Theremin film and yet it took a while for it to get mentioned. Some people just get no respect! And thanks to everyone who didn't mention THIS ISLAND EARTH. Hopefully, we've squelched that rumor once and for all. No Theremin! I haven't looked at scores of A & C MEET FRANKENSTEIN, but John Morgan would know if there's Theremin. For the life of me I can't think of where it might be, so I guess I'll have to focus on the score and watch the film. I usually just concentrate on the comedy.
Here's an obvious one - THEREMIN: AN ELECTRONIC ODYSSEY (can't remember if there is a dedicated score using the Theremin or just existing examples of it being played). Might as well add MOOG to that list too.
Captain Nemo and the Underwater City uses an electro-Theremin I think, which provides the voice of a "real" Theremin as "played" on screen by Luciana Paluzzi.
OK this thread has me all revved up to pull my Theremin out of moth balls. I really need to take the time to learn to play the beastly thing properly!
