THE LIFE OF VERGIE WINTERS “..replete with Max Steiner music that
considerably enhanced the sorrow-laden ambiance (Steiner even in his pre-
Warner period was rescuing mediocre movies with his evocative melodies)..”
ALICE ADAMS “M. Steiner was again on hand to play on mood-music
heartstrings..”
THESE THREE “Alfred Newman provided one of his loveliest scores,
admirably suited to the mood of the proceedings and catching
not only the nuances of the ominous evil, but the romantic yearning that is so
much a part of this sensitive film.” (Based on The Children’s Hour.)
LOST HORIZONS “Everything clicks here:...Dimitri Tiomkin’s music..”
Joan’s aside: My 88 year old father’s favorite movie. Lovely music.
STELLA DALLAS “Alfred Newman contributed a rich score to the film,
and it fittingly enhances the richness of mood scene after scene.”
MARIE ANTOINETTE “Herbert Stothart’s music is affecting and tender
in the intimate scenes where such is required; rousing, martial, alarumed,
triumphantly vital when needed-a tour de force of move musical expression.”
WUTHERING HEIGHTS O.K., the book just mentions he wrote it, but I’ll
add that Cathy’s theme is one of the loveliest themes ever written. A. Newman
Good lord, this was filmed in California. Who’d of thunk it?
THE OLD MAID “..one of M Steiner’s loveliest and most haunting scores.”
INTERMEZZO “...and the lush musical scoring directed by Lou Forbes.”
THAT HAMILTON WOMAN “..photography did full justice to the
subject as did Miklos Rozsa’s music.”
A WOMAN’S FACE “...with Bronislau Kaper’s evocative music not the
least of its attractions..”
LYDIA “..and M Rozsa produced memorable melodies during the Maine-
coast- sequences..and wherever else they were needed...”
KING’S ROW “..Erich Wolfgang Korngold really saved the day
with some passionately evocative music filled with emotional
alarums and stirring crescendos.”
NOW VOYAGER “..Steiner’s music, and Bette Davis’s eloquent
acting were never teamed to better effect...” I’ll add that this is a
lovely score!
RANDOM HARVEST “...and MGM music department poured on the
molten melodic fudge so determinedly that at times the dialogue was
drowned out-a frequent drawback in MGM dramas of that period.”
Hmmm??
THE ENCHANTED COTTAGE “Roy Webb’s music and clever
art and set work also helped the total effect.”
THIS LOVE OF OURS “..H J. Salter’s music, as is often the case with
romantic films, imparted a gorgeous intensity all its own to the hyper-
emotional on-screen doings.”
A STOLEN LIFE “Steiner aided Davis and Co. with a lush, romantic
score.”
TO EACH HIS OWN “Victor Young’s music....also played their
roles in the happy result.”
HUMORESQUE “F. Waxman conducted the ambitious musical score
with musical direction by Leo Forbstein.”
LETTER FROM AN UNKNOWN WOMAN “Daniele Amfitheatrof
composed the music which featured exquisitely inventive variations of
the film’s essential leitmotif, Liszt’s II Sospiro.”
PORTRAIT OF JENNIE “The music is an added asset, with Tiomkin
weaving some enchanting variations of Debussy’s loveliest themes, most
notably The Afternoon of a Faun.” Note “Jennie’s Song is by Herrmann.
THE HEIRESS “..and the distinctive, evocative music of Aaron
Copland recaptured the Wash. Square ambiance of the mid l9th century..”
MY FOOLISH HEART “V. Young not only contributed one of his more
credible musical jobs, but found he had a hit on his hands in the popular song,
‘My Foolish Heart,...” Lovely score.
THE BLUE VEIL “..one of F. Waxman’s most poignant scores.”
THE BARRETTS OF WIMPOLE STREET “..and replete with rich, moving
theme music.” B. Kaper
LOVE STORY “Francis Lai, the musician who scored this film, works hard to
interject the elegiac and the rhapsodic, and succeeds-indeed at times, Lai, with
his love of Mozart, whom he imitates, and Bach, and other classicists,
seems the one creative person connected with the film.”
Joan’s aside. So why include this turkey as a “great” romantic movie?
He left out An Affair To Remember, a much better romance with lovely music.
THE MUSIC LOVER Well, this is a surprise in this list.. All music by
Tchaikovsky, of course, conducted by Andre Previn.
DEATH IN VENICE “ Mahler’s haunting, evocative Adagietto from his
Fifth Symphony repeated over and over throughout the film,
along with selections from his Third Symphony are most apposite
choices, for they are ravishingly mystical, deeply philosophical works.”
A SEPARATE PEACE (Aside, great novel!) Comparing the novel to
the movie, “is like a howling gale compared to a light spring breeze.
Only Charles Fox’s sensitive, apposite musical scoring reproduces
the emotional atmosphere of the original.”

Other movies made his list of BEST romances but did NOT discuss film
music. Those movies were: Smiling Through, Only Yesterday, House on
56th Street, Death Takes a Holiday, No Greater Glory, Camille, Maytime,
Back Street, A Song to Remember, My Reputation, Song of Love,
Enchantment, Rhapsody, All that Heaven Allows, Tea and Sympathy,
The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone and Madame X were removed from the
book, The Loves of Isadora, Teoremea (Morricone score), Love and Pain
and the Whole Damn Thing. Some of those movies were scored with all
classical music. Quirk also had the courage to include homosexual romance
within his list.

To those who read this whole thing, thanks. Please comment if you know any
of these scores. School is out. Go play.

NP Nothing, just resting my fingers.

One of my favorites is Penny Serenade with Cary Grant and the female lead in so many of those early films(can't remember her name, she was in I Remember Momma a little later on) from the early '30s.

I love all the old films and some of those by the smaller companies too like Lone Star-westerns-John Wayne, etc, Monogram and so on.
I recommend these books to you for lots more info on the early films:

Great American Movie Book
RKO Story
Republic Story
Goldwyn-much info about films Newman worked on and lots of info on his contributions
Bazelon's book on film music
Roy Prendergast's book
Tony Thomas books on film music
MGM Story
WBs-the first 75 Years
The 20th CF Story

I love those old 20th CF films in the '30s scored by Newman and all the other films he worked on back then-3 Howard Hughes airplane films, and musicals, comedies-Cantor, Benny and Harold Lloyd, etc he worked on. All interesting. One of my favorites is Roman SCandals-although most of the music is written by Dubin, Newman arranged, orchestrated it all and wrote some other music in the film too. Very interesting.

Penny Serenade's leading lading was Irene Dunne. Yes, that scene where Cary Grant beseeches the agency to let him keep his little daughter..Oh, where are the tissues?