David Raksin (1912-2004) was widely regarded as the “Grandfather of Film Music.”
He composed over 100 film scores and 300 television scores, including the iconic main theme of the 1944 film noir drama, Laura. Throughout Laura, the theme recurs as a haunting idée fixe as the protagonist, a detective investigating a murder, becomes increasingly obsessed with the victim. Born in Philadelphia, Raksin studied composition in Los Angeles with Arnold Schoenberg. One of his earliest assignments came in 1936, when he assisted Charlie Chaplin in the composition of the score for Modern Times.
Produced by John Houseman, directed by Vincente Minnelli, and written by George Bradshaw and Charles Schnee, the 1952 melodrama, The Bad and the Beautiful, tells the story of a ruthless and manipulative Hollywood film producer who betrays his friends as he climbs the professional ladder. The film stars Lana Turner, Kirk Douglas, Walter Pidgeon, Dick Powell, Barry Sullivan, Gloria Grahame and Gilbert Roland. It unfolds in a series of flashback vignettes.
For the film’s main theme, Houseman asked Raksin to write a “Siren Song” that would draw the audience into the narrative. Rising soulfully in the saxophone, the unpredictably wandering melody, originally titled Love is For the Very Young, is so unusual that it was nearly rejected. It was the songwriting team, Adolph Green and Betty Comden, who urged Houseman to give it repeated listenings. The theme was praised by Stephen Sondheim, who soaked up its influence for his 1974 Stavisky score. It has became a jazz standard, performed by such artists as Bill Evans, Tony Bennett, and Andre Previn.
Regarding the theme, Chicago Tribune film critic Michael Phillips wrote,
Its hypnotic way of combining dissonance with resolutions that never quite resolve when, or how, you expect them to, keeps a listener perpetually intrigued. The bittersweet quality proves elusive and addictive. It’s perfect for the Douglas character, and for what Minnelli called the Hollywood-insider script’s alternately ‘affectionate and cynical’ air.
Raskin’s orchestral suite for The Bad and the Beautiful unfolds in four sections. It begins with the expansively soaring Main Title Theme. The second movement, The Acting Lesson, is a lush and shimmering theme à la Russe for strings, composed for a sequence that was ultimately cut from the film. The solo cello and violin emerge as nostalgic voices. The third movement, The Quickies and Sneak Preview, has been described as a “glamorous, sophisticated jazzy scherzo.” (Ian Lace) It teems with dizzying, exuberant counterpoint and mercurial energy. The Suite closes with Nocturne and Theme, music which drifts into dreamy, sensuous repose.
This 1976 performance features David Raksin leading the New Philharmonic Orchestra:
I. Love Is for the Very Young (Main Title Theme):
II. The Acting Lesson:
III. The Quickies and the Sneak Preview:
IV. Nocturne and Theme:
Recordings
- Raksin: “The Bad and the Beautiful” Suite, David Raksin, New Philharmonic Orchestra Amazon
Featured Image: Lana Turner and Kirk Douglas in “The Bad and the Beautiful”