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While the success and recognition of all the films that Ray Harryhausen has been involved in lies in the magic of Ray's ability to breathe life into molded creatures, these films have also given fans of film music some of the screen's best fantasy music.

Back as far as the original KING KONG (1933), film music has played an integral part in the overall film experience. Many film scores have saved poor films, affording the opportunity to hear a lush piece of film music being played in spite of the visuals in front of our eyes. Like the best special effects, the film score should be such an integral part of the film that it becomes a part of it. Ray's black and white film's are standard studio scores that have little to offer besides a series on music cues. With their decision to move from monster-on-a-rampage films into the mythical world of the Arabian Nights, Schneer wanted the first film, 7TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD(1957) to be filmed in color. He also wanted something else, Bernard Herrmann.

BERNARD HERRMANN:

Bernard Herrman is arguably the penultimate American film composer. He was born in American and studied music at New York University and The Julliard Graduate School. In 1931 he formed the New Chamber Ensemble in New York and then, three years later, became the staff conductor for CBS. He scored many radio programmes and began his association with Orson Welles for Orson Welles Mercury Theatre Of The Air. This association led Herrmann to be selected by Welles to score his CITIZEN KANE film. In 1941 his won an Academy Award for his score for ALL THAT MONEY CAN BUY. The rest, as they say, is history. In his lifetime he scored nearly fifty films and many radio and television shows. He also wrote his own symphony, opera and a cantata.

By the time Bernard Herrman was approached to do the score for 7TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD, he was no stranger to the world of fantasy films. He had already scored THE DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER (1941) and the engagingly romantic THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIR (1947). He had also helped usher in the new wave of science-fiction scores with his soundtrack for the film THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL in 1951. Mr. Herrmann had the reputation of being a great film composer but also of being very opinionated, often to the point of being rude, about the films he was scoring. Charles Schneer knew Herrmann and arranged for him to screen 7TH VOYAGE and see if he would score it for them. Ray's recollection was that he sat quietly through the film, never making a disparaging remake. After the film he simply stated that he could do something for the movie. What he provided was the quintessential film score for fantasy films of the 50's. The score is perfectly matched to the picture and stands as one of Herrman's most fondly remembered scores. Herrmann would go on to score THE THREE WORLDS OF GULLIVER, MYSTERIOUS ISLAND and JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS. Sadly, Herrmann's association with Ray's films ended here.

For more information on the life of Bernard Herrman, check out this site. Bruce Crawford produced a fantastic radio program called BERNARD HERRMANN: A CELEBRATION OF HIS LIFE AND MUSIC. This radio documentary, heard on PBS radio is a stunning collection of Herrmann's film music, from his early radio days to his work on Harryhausen's films and Hitchcock's films to his last days with his excellent jazz score for TAXI DRIVER. This highly entertaining documentary surpasses the program aired on A&E because it includes so much of his music. For more info , click here.

Other Herrmann links:

• The Twelve Mile Reef
• Bernard Herrmann Ma CDthèque

MIKLOS ROSZA:

When Harryhausen and Scheer returned to the grand adventures of Arabian mythology, they wanted another composer capable of capturing the feel that Bernard herrmann had given their films. They turned to Miklos Rosza. Rozsa was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1907. By the age of 5 he was already studying music with Lajos Berkovits and proved to be good enough to have his first public performance at the age of eight where he not only played but conducted. He attended the University of Leipzig as a chemistry and musicology student. He began composing music during this time. After viewing LES MISERABLES he became intrigued with film scores. His first complete score was for KNIGHT WITHOUT ARMOUR (1937) but it wasn't until his score for 1940's THE THIEF OF BAGHDAD, that he gained notable recognition.He proved to be a prolific and versatile figure, Rozsa's works ranging from THAT HAMILTON WOMAN (1941), THE JUNGLE BOOK (1942) to the intimate, disturbing accompaniment for SPELLBOUND (1945). As part of the Freed unit at MGM, Rozsa began scoring a variety of films that culminated in his brilliant scoring of the dramatic BEN-HUR (1959). This led to his assignment to score EL CID (1961). He became noted for his scoring of epic films. He became the perfect choice for Harryhausen and Schneer for THE GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD.

JEROME MOROSS:

Jerome Moross was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1913. Moross was a gifted child who graduated from New York University by the age of eighteen. While attending the De Witt Clinton High School at the age of fourteen he met Bernard Herrmann. They were both in the same German class though Herrmann was much older than Moross. He wrote his first orchestral composition, PAENS (1934) when he was eighteen. It was conducted by Herrmann. He began film work in the 1940's beginning with OUR TOWN (1940) and then moving on to other films like THE BISHOPS WIFE (1941), THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946) and CHRISTMAS IN CONNECTICUT (1945). He became known for his use of traditional Americana music style. In 1958 he composed the score of THE BIG COUNTRY and almost changed the way movie westerns would after that. The 1960's brought him bigger films to score including THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKELBERRY FINN (1960), FIVE FINGER EXERCISE (1962), THE CARDINAL (1963) and THE WAR LORD (1965). In 1968 he was contracted to write the score for VALLEY OF GWANGI. He was the perfect choice lending his unique styling to the film. He composed two more scores (RACHEL, RACHEL (1968) and HAIL, THE HERO (1969) before his death in 1983.

LAURIE JOHNSON:

Laurie Johnson's contribution to the films of Ray Harryhausen is the score for FIRST MEN IN THE MOON (1964). Johnson's scoring credits included the music for DR. STRANGELOVE and his score for the FIRST MEN manages to capture the British feel of the film, especially in it's Victorian settings. When the film reaches the lunar surface, his score embraces the new landscape with a new bolder sound. Johnson would continue in the world of fantastic films, especially in his scoring of Hammer films CAPTAIN KRONOS but it is his score for the fantasy TV series THE AVENGERS that he is most fondly remembered.

MARIO NASCIMBENE

mario Nascimbene was born in Italy in 1916. He began his film composing career in 1953 with LOVE IN THE CITY. He became associated with epic films like ALEXANDER THE GREAT (1956), THE VIKINGS (1958), SOLOMON AND SHEBA (1959), BARBABBAS (1962). He worked as musical director for JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS in 1963, working under the highly influential Bernard Herrmann. He was brought in by Hammer Studios to score their dinosaur epic ONE MILLION YEARS B.C. where he made innovative use of sounds integrated into the musical score. Hammer would use him for their later dinosaur films WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH (1963-with special effects by Jim Danforth) and THE CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT (1971).