The other day I was back in my bedroom when
I heard a gorgeous theme only to find Gunfight At O.K. Corral playing on
AMC. What amazes me is that he could compose melodies or songs to
titles like Gunfight At O.K. Corral, Hajji Baba, and High Noon. I’m
assuming he employed a lyricist for words. (?)

Other recommendations?

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Originally posted by joan hue:
Top that off with the horrific music from The Thing.

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Horrific in that it was a terrible score, or horrific in the sense that the music was appropriately "horrific" for the film (meaning it was great)?

Tiomkin also wrote the scores for several of Hitchcock's pictures before Hitchcock teamed up with Herrmann -- next time you watch "Strangers on a Train," listen to his terrific music for the tennis match/cigarette lighter sequence.

His favorite lyricists, by the way, were Ned Washington ("High Noon" and "Gunfight at the OK Corral," among others) and Paul Webster ("Friendly Persuasion"). In his autobiography, "Please Don't Hate Me," Tiomkin tells an amusing anecdote about calling in Ned Washington and playing him the melody from "High Noon" on the piano for the first time, and Washington responding, with a puzzled expression, "What are you doing, Dimi, playing variations?"

PS
Saw Lost Horizon again not too long ago & it occurred to me that this may have been one of if not THE earliest uses of choral music in film. Wonderful flowing score overall.

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Max Steiner used a choir in his 1934 score THE LOST PATROL.

It's A Wonderful Life
The Fall Of The Roman Empire
Lost Horizon
Strangers On A Train
The Thing From Another World
The High And The Mighty
The Guns Of Navarone

And dantoris...I'm certain that Joan meant "horrific" in the best goosebump-making sense. Tiomkin's score for The Thing literally gives me goosebumps! Right from the start, when the Winchester fanfare closes and the music turns frightening, I'm Goosebump Central!

p.s. Ghost Story?, good choice of NP Chris.

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Originally posted by H Rocco:
The Steiner connection may be more significant than you think. Frank Capra wrote in his memoirs that he hired Tiomkin without being entirely sure the guy could pull off LOST HORIZON, so also hired Max Steiner to conduct the score, in case it turned out to be a bust -- in which case, "wise old Steiner" would rush another score out. I'm not sure Tiomkin knew while he wrote it that Steiner was lurking in the wings (it might have undermined his confidence horribly), but Capra was thrilled with what he got.

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Certainly true. In fact, Steiner was much more involved than just conducting. He worked with Tiomkin suggesting orchestrational ideas and sort of oversaw the entire music angle. Tiomkin was delighted with Steiner;s involvement.

NP: Carl Maria von Weber DER FREISCHÜTZ
Berliner Philharmoniker/Harnoncourt (Teldec)

Since one never knows how long it will be before John M. drops by again, I think in the meantime I can answer the second half of your question, anyways. In his memoirs, Tiomkin does speak very highly of his collaboration with Steiner on "Lost Horizon," but I suspect John has another source regarding the extent of Steiner's contribution. This is what Tiomkin says in his book:

" 'Lost Horizon' spoiled me completely. The conductor was Max Steiner, who was also a first-rate composer. Composers are usually jealous of each other, like rival tenors in an opera company; but Steiner had only one idea -- to get the best out of the score. If I made a suggestion, he wanted to find out what was in my mind and do it that way. He was responsible for much of the musical success of the film."

Tiomkin says that his experience with Steiner "made it harder for me to go back to the routine studio conductors," and that's when he began to think of learning to conduct his own scores.

By the way, I've come across an interesting bit of Tiomkin/Hawks trivia: Hawks originally offered Tiomkin the job of scoring "Hatari!," before hiring Henry Mancini. Here's how Hawks explains it in Joseph McBride's "Hawks on Hawks":

"We went through a phase of putting lousy music into pictures where inferior musicians copied great masters. It just became ridiculous, with about twenty violins and fifteen cellos and woodwinds and all of that stuff. I worked with Tiomkin, whom I thought was a pretty good musician, but when we made 'Hatari!,' I said to Dimi, 'Look, I don't want one violin, I don't want one cello. I don't want any woodwind. I want native instruments or something else that you can think of.' He said, 'That's a great idea, boss.' Then he called me the next day and said, 'You were fooling, weren't you?' And I said, 'You're fired, Dimi.' He said, 'What do you mean?' I said, 'Anybody who doesn't want to do what I tell them to do, I don't want.' "

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Originally posted by H Rocco:
Howard: yes, "The Name Above the Title."

John Morgan: I'm sure you're right, but where'd that Steiner/Tiomkin anecdote come from? Tiomkin's own memoirs? (Which I must admit I haven't even seen a copy of, let alone read. My entire understanding of this story comes from the Capra book.)

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I knew Steiner and we talked briefly about Lost Horizon. Steiner thought it Tiomkin's best score. Another source is Bill Rosar, who has studied the music quite extensively and also communicated with many of the orchestrators on the film that were still alive at the time. Other than the conducting, there is quite a bit of evidence of "Steinerisms" in the music itself.
John