MOVIE MUSIC UK

GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

Original Review by Craig Lysy

Author Elmer Blaney Harris wrote a story titled “Johnny Belinda” in 1934 and tried unsuccessfully to secure studio backing to bring his creation to the big screen. Thwarted, he opted to instead pursue a Broadway production and the play had a successful run from 1940 – 1941. This rekindled his hope and he again approached MGM to advocate for a film adaptation, but executives were still wary of its subject matter, which involved rape. Subsequent efforts to obtain support from independent film producers also failed, but in 1946 Warner Brothers Studio producer Jerry Wald took renewed interest in the play and convinced CEO Jack Warner to purchase the film rights for $50,000. He was given the reins to produce the film with a $1.6 million budget, Jean Negulesco was hired to direct, and Allen Vincent and Irma von Cabe were tasked with writing the screenplay. A fine cast was hired with Jane Wyman as Belinda MacDonald, Lew Ayres as Dr. Robert Richardson, Stephen McNally as Locky McCormick, Charles Bickford as Black “Mac” MacDonald, and Agnes Moorehead as his sister Aggie MacDonald.

The film is set in Nova Scotia, Canada, on Cape Breton Island during the late 19th century. The story centers on Belinda MacDonald a deaf-mute who is tutored and taught sign language by Dr. Robert Richardson, who over time falls in love with her. Tragedy strikes when a local man Locky McCormick gets drunk at a town party and secretly rapes Belinda. She becomes pregnant, Dr. Richardson is suspected by the family and town of being the father, which results in him being ostracized by the town. Things worsen when Locky accidentally reveals privately to Belinda’s father that he is the father, which leads to a fight where Mac is thrown off a cliff and killed. When Locky and his new wife Stella try to take the baby from Belinda by force, she shoots and kills him. A trial commences and just when Belinda faces a certain death sentence Stella McCormick breaks down and declares that Locky had confided to her that he raped Belinda. The court absolves Belinda, she is freed, and her and Johnny join Robert to begin a life together. The film was a massive commercial success, earning $7 million dollars or over four times its production costs of $1.6 million. It garnered widespread critical acclaim and secured twelve Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Film Editing, Best Film Score, Best Sound Recording, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress, winning one for Best Actress – the only time in Oscar history that an actor won the highest award without uttering a single word of dialogue.

In 1946 Max Steiner renewed his second five-year contract with Warner Brothers Studios. Director Negulesco had collaborated with him on The Conspirators in 1944 and Deep Valley in 1947, and he and Wald felt this poignant female character driven drama provided the type of story, which always brought out Steiner’s best. Steiner understood the unique challenges presented by the deaf-mute Belinda character, and that his music would have to give her voice. He recognized that although she was an adult physically, in many ways she was an innocent child sheltered by her protective father and aunt from the real world. As such Steiner chose to emote music from her perspective with a child-like innocence. He also understood that the inhabitants of the island were of Scottish descent and that he would have to provide the requisite cultural sensibilities to establish the film’s setting. As such we hear traditional folk pieces such as the “Rochester Schottische”, “Quadrille” and “Seaside Polka” infused into his soundscape, along with the Canadian national song “Maple Leaf Forever” by Alexander Muir.

For his soundscape, Steiner composed six primary themes and two motifs, including Belinda’s Theme, which emotes with the sensibility of a child, full of gentleness, purity and innocence. Five-note phrasing supports its gentile dance-like expression, which perfectly captures her essence. Robert’s Theme offers a stately and dignified statement by strings with supportive woodwinds and soft percussion, which speak to his nobility and calm, supportive demeanor. Johnny’s Theme also surfaces late in the film at the 61st minute mark when Belinda is informed that she is pregnant. The theme is one of Steiner’s finest, emoting simply as a three-step ascending lullaby by celeste and contrapuntal flute delicato, which pauses and then is answered tenderly with three beats. Adornment by piccolo speak to a baby’s cries, and the transfer of the melody to solo violin tenero is sublime. In a masterstroke Steiner captures child-like innocence, tenderness and a sense of wonder. The Love Theme offers quintessential Steiner romanticism, which speaks to Robert and Belinda’s love. It offers a series of three-note yearning stepped ascents by sumptuous strings romantico, draped with resplendent harp arpeggios, which swell with breath-taking emotive power. Although presented in the opening credits, it does not manifest itself in the film until its 85th minute mark when Robert at last realizes that he has fallen in love with Belinda. Its resplendent rendering in the finale is a testament to Steiner’s genius.

Stella’s Theme offers a happy go lucky melody with seven-note phrasing by bubbly woodwinds animato, celeste, with pizzicato string accents, which perfectly capture her sweet nature. The Scottish Theme offers a folksy, dance-like tune replete with the emblematic Scottish highland auras. Steiner uses it as a melody that establishes the setting of his score and grounds the film with the requisite cultural sensibilities. Steiner interpolates the melody of the song “O Pourith Cauld and Restless Love” by Scottish poet and songwriter Robert Burns to supplement the Scottish Theme as an additional resource for infusing Scottish auras. There are two motifs, the first is the Rape Motif, which also serves as an identity for Locky. A grotesque fiddle drives the attack and rape, buttressed by low register woodwinds and horns, which churn horrifically underneath. Violins and piccolos offer the shrieks of terror that she is unable to utter as his black shadow envelops her and the scene fades to black. The Tension Motif sows unease and emotes as a slow, grim, construct of repeating two chord figures by two pianos and two harps. Lastly, I will proceed the cue title with (*) for scenes where its music is not found on the album.

“Main Title” offers a splendid score highlight where Steiner once again demonstrates mastery of his craft in capturing a film’s emotional core. We open with Steiner’s renown Warner Brother’s fanfare, which supports the display of the studio logo. As the roll of the opening credits is launched against a backdrop of the restless crashing waves of the Cape Brenton Island coast, we are graced with a sweeping exposition of the Love Theme by sumptuous strings romantico adorned with wondrous flowing harp arpeggios, which inform us that this is a love story. At 1:02 we segue into the film proper atop horns nobile, which introduce the Canadian national song “Maple Leaf Forever” as a map of Canada’s Atlantic maritime provinces display. We flow into folksy “O Pourith Cauld and Restless Love” at 1:32 as narration informs us of the island’s proud and industrious people who have carved out a farming and fishing culture on a windswept inhospitable island.

“Unloading The Fish” (*) reveals fisherman Locky unloading his catch at the dock, which Steiner supports with a swirling, mechanistic motif as we see the dock crane lifting up his catch. “Fetching The Doctor” (*) reveals Locky carelessly causing a crewmate to be injured. A boy is dispatched to alert the town doctor. A youthful and spritely running theme supports the boy’s travels. We close with a brief fragment of Robert’s Theme as we see him informed that Ken has been injured at the wharf. “Locky Confronts The Storekeeper” (*) reveals his grievance that the storekeeper underpays for his catch and also his farm’s produce. When the storekeeper threatens to demand payment on his debt or he will seize his fishing boat, Locky grabs him with malice and declares that he will gut him like a cod if he tries. Steiner supports the confrontation with a surging, guttural string menace, a precursor to the rape scene, which alludes to his proclivity for violence. As he walks in to visit his girl Stella her happy go lucky theme carries his progress and informs us that she is on his mind.

In “Doctor Returns Home” Stella lovingly serves Robert his dinner, which she has worked hard to prepare as she secretly desires him. To her dismay, het he is detached and more interested in his book to notice. Steiner supports the scene from her perspective with a happy iteration of her theme. “Doctor for all Animals” reveals Robert leaving his supper to answer a plead from Aggie MacDonald to treat their family cow. As they travel by horse and buggy, Steiner renders Roberts stately theme as a traveling motif, which softens and becomes warm at 0:30 as she escorts him into the barn. At 1:07 the music transforms to a subtle misterioso tinged with an elusive sadness as Belinda is introduced and Robert learns from her father that she is “deaf and dumb”. She is fascinated by Robert and a faint smile reaches her lips as Robert birth’s the calf with a rising tension building in the notes. After the birthing at 1:44, we are graced by a happy and satisfying rendering of Robert’s Theme. We close at 2:00 with a beautiful confluence as we see Belinda affectionately hugging the calf, which Steiner supports with a child-like tenderness. He declines payment from Mr. MacDonald, instead negotiating fishing rights to the family pond.

It is Sunday morning and in “Riding Out to the Farm” Robert rides out to the MacDonald farm in hope of catching some trout. A happy traveling rendering of his theme carries his progress. As he arrives at 0:46 we see cows walking in endless circles driving the mill wheel, which Steiner supports with a circular repeating folksy Scottish Theme. A meandering rendering of the theme leisurely carries him to the pond. At 1:58 the theme brightens as we see his basket filled with trout. “Lessons” was dialed out of the film. It was intended to support Robert giving Belinda her first lessons in lip reading and signing. A tender woodwind rich and later playful rendering of his theme supports the scene. “Belinda at Work” reveals her back at work in the mill preparing three sacks of flour that were ordered by Locky. Steiner supports the scene with the folksy Scottish Theme as the cows toil and Belinda works. At 0:31 the melody softens on solo clarinet tenero as we see her practicing her sign language. At 0:45 we change scene to the market where Mrs. Lutz is purchasing supplies and gossiping about the Doctor’s strange behavior as we see him practicing signing as he walks. Steiner supports with a strange, comic dissonance with woodwinds and string glissandi. We descend in scale and at 1:26 with a series of dark chords by low register strings and woodwinds, which support an uncomfortable conversation between the storekeeper and Robert regarding the former’s weight, and monetary payment for medical services. At 1:57 we change scene to Mac tending his fields and discovering a bug infested plant, which he yanks out. An angry and frustrated rendering of the “O Pourith Cauld and Restless Love” song supports his march, and complaints to Aggie.

“Belinda’s Progress” reveals an astonished and happy Mac as Robert reveals that his training is allowing Belinda to read lips and communicate with signing. No music was provided for this scene. In “Barn Dance” a wagon full of revelers arrives at the MacDonald farm to pick-up Locky’s flour, which Steiner supports with the festive folk dance “Rochester Schottische” using a fiddle and accordion. The kids decide to start a party in “Customers Coming”, which Steiner interpolating the traditional Quadrille dance, again using a fiddle and accordion and the people all start to dance in the mill room, much to Mac’s displeasure. We conclude with “Put Your Little Foot”, which Steiner supports with the traditional duple time of the “Seaside Polka”. Belinda senses music through vibrations as she touches the fiddle. We see Locky leering at Belinda, much to the displeasure of Stella who chastises him, and diverts him with a kiss. In “Dance” we see Mac taking Aggie to the train station, which leaves Belinda alone in the house. Music enters as we shift to the town dance party where we see Stella pushing away a drunk Locky to dance with another man. Steiner reprises the traditional Quadrille dance to support the merriment. Locky continues to drink and he notices the MacDonald carriage drive by

“Going After the Dummy” reveals Locky stealing the band’s fiddle and traveling to the MacDonald farm. Menacing strings rise and fall to support his lurking presence and then stealth entry into the mill room where we see Belinda sewing a flour bag shut. At 0:57 strains of a now grotesque, and discordant fiddle dance over a menacing sustain by low register strings and piano pedal as he lures her to him. We segue seamlessly into “The Rape and Afterwards”, which offers a score highlight where Steiner masterfully provides a testament of horror and its devastating aftermath. The grotesque fiddle continues during the attack and rape, buttressed by low register woodwinds and horns, which churn horrifically underneath. Violins and piccolos offer the shrieks of terror that she is unable to utter as his black shadow envelops her and the scene fades to black. At 0:34, it is the next day and we see listless Belinda toiling while doing chores, supported by a grieving rendering of her theme by solo cello triste. Mac senses something is wrong but his comforting hand is rejected by her.

“No Lesson Today” offers another beautiful score highlight where we are graced by sterling thematic interplay. Robert senses something is very wrong as she is withdrawn and declines today’s lesson. Steiner supports with Roberts Theme on flute abbandonato and vibraphone. Her theme joins first on solo clarinet triste before shifting to solo English horn. In a poignant moment Robert pours out his heart to Belinda, who hears not a single word, consumed as she cuts up potatoes. He touches her and signs that he needs her to help him, to which she agrees. We conclude with an exquisite and moving rendering of her theme on solo violin delicato. “The Examination” is a masterful cue as Steiner utilizes the pitch of an ear examiner’s fork to ground his score. We open with a Scottish marching corps parading through the street with a traditional drum and bagpipe propelled marcia militare. (Not on the album). In the scene Robert and Belinda are off to visit an audiologist. In town she eyes a beautiful scarf in a window display and to her delight, Robert buys it, and drapes it on her. Woodwinds delicato usher is a delighted rendering of her theme on solo violin felice. At 0:34 a change of scene takes us to the audiologist office for her examination. Steiner supports the examination with a woodwind misterioso, that unsettles, shifting to and fro as major and minor chords alternate. Ingenious is how Steiner’s musical statements align with the pitches of the different tuning forks used to assess her hearing.

In “Belinda is Pregnant” Dr. Gray stuns Robert when he discloses during his summation conference that Belinda’s hearing loss is not genetic, so there is no fear that the child will inherit deafness. Tremolo strings and distressed woodwinds enter to support the revelation. We flow into a gentle and comforting rendering of Robert’s Theme as he exits the conference and joins Belinda in the waiting room. It supports their journey back to the MacDonald farm and his report of the examination findings to Mac and Aggie, but he asks Belinda to go upstairs to bed before he discloses her pregnancy. In “Aggie’s Distress” Mac departs to take the cows in, and Robert discloses to Aggie that Belinda is pregnant, asking if she might know who the father is. She is devastated and fearful that Mac will be enraged and harm Belinda when he finds out. Steiner supports the scene with a grim rendering of Belinda’s Theme full of dread as Robert departs and Aggie breaks down and sobs. “Sunday Service” (*) reveals the town assembled in church supported by a soft organ reverenziale. As Lordy enters Belinda sinks in her pew, a reaction not lost on Robert. As the service begins, the congregation sings the traditional hymn “Come Thou Almighty King” (1760) by Giardini and Wesley. We close with the announcement of the engagement of Locky and Stella.

“Good Luck to Stella” offers a beautiful score highlight. We open with a happy Stella’s Theme that sours as Robert wishes her well on her marriage. As he departs, we see in her eyes the recognition that she is settling for less. A change of scene takes us to the MacDonald farm where we see Belinda working on her father’s books. Her theme is emoted by a solo oboe pastorale, which is supported by celli and violas tenero. Her father signals for her to join him and as she runs to him at 0:41, Steiner supports her happy run with a fanciful scherzo by solo flute delicato, piano, and celeste with harp adornment. We culminate on a bassoon playing her theme in its upper register as she begins her chores. “Mac Learns about Belinda” offers another beautiful highlight where Steiner introduces Johnny’s Theme. A fight between Aggie and Mac explodes as she blurts out that Belinda is feeling weak because she is pregnant. Mac is enraged, demands to know the man’s identity, and threatens Belinda to find it. Robert arrives and manages to calm Mac’s anger and a reprise of the violas and celli line of the rape scene enters as Robert ascends the stairs to comfort Belinda. As he soothes her, and reconciles her with her father the music softens, taken up by a solo oboe tenero, warm supportive strings with harp adornment. At 1:01 the music brightens to reflect her happiness, which Steiner expresses with a tender rendering of the child-like Johnny’s Theme (the name she decides to call him) by solo oboe delicato and a warm blanket of strings. After he departs, we see her full of happiness and gazing out over the ocean waters. Steiner transfers the melodic line to solo violin felice with sparking xylophone adornment. Yet there is more as full strings take up the melody and we bear witness to a sublime cinematic confluence.

“Johnny is Born” supports the birth scene. Belinda is having a difficult, painful, and protracted labor. Steiner sow unease with string unrest and woodwinds, which struggle in a formless unmelodic textural sea. Oblique references by the fiddle intrude and harken back to the rape. At 1:58 struggling strings commence a tortured and discordant ascent, which subsides at 2:25 as the pain medication soothes her distress. An exhausted woodwind descent on her theme carries the aftermath. At 2:44 the rape music reprises and carries Aggie’s downstairs where she informs a tense Mac that it is a baby boy. He is relieved and we close with a tender heartfelt rendering of Johnny’s Theme as we see Robert place Johnny in Belinda’s arms. “Springtime” reveals the blossoms of spring have returned as we see Belinda wave off a dotting Mac after he tries to lift up Johnny with dirty hands. Belinda is in good spirits, and Steiner supports with a happy rendering of her theme. At 0:49 the Scottish Theme supports Mac moving off to wash the dirt from his hands.

“Hard Times” reveals Aggie and Mac fighting as the storekeeper has cut off further credit until he pays off the large debt. In town Robert has become a pariah, avoided by the townsfolk, including Stella who believe he fathered Belinda’s child. At the farm Mac rebuffs Robert’s solution to marry Belinda, saying that a marriage should be based on love, not pity. These scenes were not scored. “Locky Kills Mac” offers a score highlight where Steiner again demonstrates mastery of his craft. Locky visits the farm to purchase some barley and dots over the child. After Mac enters Locky has a slip of the tongue when he says the boy is the spitting image of his father. He realizes his error and makes a hasty departure, only to be followed by a seething Mac. Steiner supports with a slow, yet purposeful Tension Motif build using a grim, repeating two chord figures by two pianos and two harps. Mac catches Locky and informs him that he is going to tell the town of what he has done. The horrific violence of the rape music erupts at 1:12 as a fight ensues. Locky is younger, stronger and knocks Mac off his feet, leaving him grasping desperately for life on the cliff edge. Locky lets him slip, falling to his doom to the rocks below. The music dissipates at 2:10 as we see his lifeless body below. Locky runs off and at 2:14 Belinda turns to Robert sensing something is terribly wrong. Steiner supports with a grim tapestry of dread with portentous woodwinds and strings of woe. As she runs to the coast a crescendo of horror swells, cresting at 2:59 as she disappears in the fog. A scene change reveals the aftermath as townsfolk gather in her house and we see Mac’s draped body on the sofa. At 3:35 we have one of the score’s supreme moments where a sublime cinematic confluence is achieved; Belinda signs the Lord’s Prayer, set to Robert’s words, and supported with religioso auras by strings reverenziali and harmonium. Afterwards we conclude with a final sad reprise of the Scottish Theme as Belinda weeps in Robert’s arms.

“Locky and Stella Marry” (*) reveals Robert selling his horse and carriage in preparations of moving since town people no longer call for his services. A scene change takes us to the marriage of Locky and Stella where we see the couple exit the church supported by Felix Mendelssohn’s Wedding March from his incidental music to “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (1842). “The Doctor Must Move On” offers a beautiful and romantic highlight, which showcases Steiner’s masterful capacity to elevate the emotional dynamics of a scene. Robert is spending time with Belinda and Johnny, and a solo flute delicato tenderly emotes Johnny’s Theme to support the moment. At 0:35 a plaintive English horn takes up Robert’s Theme as he informs her that he is leaving as he can no longer make a living in town. Sadness tinged with regret flows with each iteration as we see heartache in Belinda’s eyes. At 2:15 violins romantico usher in a refulgent and achingly beautiful rendering of the Love Theme as Belinda turns to Robert and embraces him. Regretfully, and inexplicably the cue does not culminate in the scene as conceived, but instead is concluded in a later scene where we see Belinda reading a letter. “Town Meeting” reveals the ugly underbelly of the townsfolk as they conspire to remove Johnny from Belinda’s care, deeming her an immoral and unfit mother. The opening buggy music was edited out of the film and synchrony occurs at 0:18 with Steiner masterfully juxtaposing the music that preceded the rape to support the townsfolks moral posturing. A dark and frankly, despicable synergy is achieved – a testament to Steiner’s instincts and insight. “Johnny Belinda” is attached to a deleted scene and features a tender rendering of Johnny’s Theme.

“Stella visits Belinda” reveals Stella and Locky traveling to the MacDonald farm with court papers for Belinda to sign and give them custody of Johnny. As Stella enters the house an idyllic and tender expression of Johnny’s Theme greets her as Belinda descends the stairs. Belinda greets her warmly and the music blossoms as she accommodates her request to hold Johnny. Yet at 1:35 the two-note tension motif enters and begins to build as Stella presses her for permission to take Johnny home for a few days. The music swells with menace as Stella hands her the note, which declares her unfit and requires her to give up Johnny. Belinda angrily pushes Stella away and signals here to leave, which she does in tears. A molto agitato rendering of Johnny’s Theme supports Belinda as she takes Johnny upstairs and locks him safely behind the bedroom door. In “Locky Goes After Johnny” Stella breaks down and tells Locky she cannot take the baby from Belinda as she loves the boy. Locky shatters her with the revelation that he is the boy’s father and he is determined to retrieve his son. He storms into the house full of fury, propelled by the malevolent power of the rape music replete with the shrieking piccolos. He throws Belinda to the floor, takes the keys, ascends the stairs and begins to open the door. Belinda shoots him dead with a rifle at 0:32 and silence supports his tumble down the stairs. At 0:39 a beleaguered rendering of Belinda’s Theme supports the aftermath as Belinda goes up and retrieves Johnny. At 0:52 an eerie stillness of death rumbles as Stella enters and discovers Locky dead. The rape music resumes as Belinda descends with Johnny past Locky’s corpse. Belinda takes Johnny past a stunned Stella towards the back door. We build on a crescendo orribile, which crests with a dark sustain as she stressfully rings the alarm bell. The alarm elicits a distraught Aggie to run in from the fields. We end molto dramatico as Stella reads a letter from Robert asking Belinda to bring “our son” so they could all live together in Toronto.

Steiner throughout his career had a well-known scoring philosophy to not score great courtroom scenes, and he continued that tradition here. Belinda is acquitted when Stella breaks down and admits that Locky was the father of the child. “Finale” offers a final score highlight where Steiner ends the film in classic heartwarming brilliance. Music enters as Belinda joins Robert in the empty courtroom. A prelude by warm strings adorned with harp arpeggios usher in the Love Theme, which is joined by Johnny’s Theme as he is handed to her. As they exit the courtroom as a family united and journey to the MacDonald farm by buggy against the sunset skies, Steiner crowns the joy of the moment with a resplendent rendering of the Love Theme, which concludes with a joyous flourish. Bravo!

I would like to commend James d’Arc and Brigham Young University Film Music Archives Production for this wonderful and long sought release of Max Steiner’s masterpiece, “Johnny Belinda”. The remastering from the original acetate tapes was well done, and although the audio does not fully achieve 21st century qualitative standards, Steiner’s brilliance is undiminished. Throughout his career Steiner excelled in scoring female character driven dramas, and this effort resulted in yet another career gem. After viewing the film, he understood the unique challenges presented by the deaf-mute Belinda character, and that his music would have to give her voice. He also recognized that although she was an adult physically, in many ways she was an innocent child sheltered by her protective father and aunt from the real world. As such Steiner in a masterstroke chose to emote music from her perspective with a child-like innocence. To create his soundscape six primary themes and two motifs were composed, and given that the people were of Scottish descent he understood that he would have to provide the requisite cultural sensibilities to establish the film’s setting. Folks, Steiner was peerless in providing beautiful, character melodies, which perfectly captured their essence, and Johnny Belinda is an additional testament to his genius. The themes for Belinda and Johnny are just exquisite, and some of the finest in his long career. In scene after scene, Wald and Negulesco’s vision is realized as Steiner brings these two mute characters to life, weaving affection into the very sinews of our hearts. His heartfelt Love Theme is timeless and offers classic European romanticism, which soars and ends the film in a sublime flourish. But where the score excels is with in the darkness, horror and malevolence of the rape scene. Production codes forbad the filming of rape, so it was Steiner’s music which needed to speak to this horrific act and its aftermath. The film could not have succeeded without this crucial music, which addressed what could not be filmed, and the ugly memories that occurred later in the film. Steiner was very bitter when he lost the 1948 Academy Award to Brian Easdale’s “The Red Shoes”. Yet he can take solace knowing that seventy-three years after its debut his handiwork remains as one of the finest in his canon, an enduring testament to the power of his music to enhance and elevate a film. I highly recommend that you purchase this fine album as an essential film score for your collection.

For those of you unfamiliar with the score, I have embedded a YouTube link to a fine suite from a different recording, conducted by Charles Gerhardt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvdgXadzvQY

Buy the Johnny Belinda soundtrack from the Movie Music UK Store

Track Listing:

• Main Title (2:13)
• Doctor Returns Home (0:39)
• Doctor for all Animals (2:20)
• Riding Out to the Farm (2:37)
• Lessons (1:14)
• Belinda at Work (2:29)
• Barn Dance (1:00)
• Customers Coming (3:45)
• Put Your Little Foot (0:56)
• Going After the Dummy (1:31)
• The Rape and Afterwards (1:26)
• No Lesson Today (2:45)
• The Examination (2:21)
• Belinda is Pregnant (2:10)
• Aggie’s Distress (0:25)
• Good Luck to Stella (1:14)
• Mac Learns about Belinda (3:04)
• Johnny is Born (4:14)
• Springtime (1:12)
• Locky Kills Mac (5:15)
• The Doctor Must Move On (3:21)
• Town Meeting (2:27)
• Johnny Belinda (0:38)
• Stella visits Belinda (3:11)
• Locky Goes After Johnny (2:02)
• Finale (2:01)
• Publisher’s Demo Recording (1:59)

Running Time: 58 minutes 39 seconds

Brigham Young University Film Music Archives Production FMA–MS115 (1948/2005)

Music composed and conducted by Max Steiner. Orchestrations by Murray Cutter. Recorded and mixed by XXXX. Score produced by Leo Forbstein. Album produced by Ray Faiola and James d’Arc.