MOVIE MUSIC UK

GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

Original Review by Craig Lysy

Successful producer Mark Hellinger decided to setup his own production company after departing Warner Brothers. He had recently paid Ernest Hemingway $36,750 for the film rights to his 1927 novel “The Killers,” which he intended to be his company’s inaugural effort. He would oversee production, Universal Pictures would manage distribution, Robert Siodmak would direct, and Anthony Veiller would write the screenplay. Hellinger assembled a fine cast, including Edmond O’Brien as Jim Reardon, Burt Lancaster in his acting debut as Pete Lund/Ole “Swede” Anderson, Ava Gardner as Kitty Collins, Albert Dekker as “Big Jim” Colfax, Jack Lambert as “Dum-Dum” Clarke, and Sam Levene as Lieutenant Sam Lubinsky.

The film follows the lives of ex-boxer Pete “The Swede” Lund, the duplicitous femme fatale Kitty Collins, mob boss “Big Jim” Colfax, gang member “Dum-Dum” Clarke, and Lieutenant Sam Lubinsky, offering a sordid and violent narrative of murder, robbery, betrayal, and deception. “Swede” Anderson is assassinated by two hitmen and insurance agent Jim Reardon is assigned to investigate the case, but needs to find and pay the policy’s beneficiary $2,500. In the course of his investigation, he unravels a trail of murder and robbery of $254,912, which ends with a final double murder. The film was a huge commercial success earning public praise by author Ernest Hemmingway. Critical reception was also favorable, the careers of Lancaster and Gardner were launched into stardom. The film received four Academy Award nominations, including Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Film Editing and Best Film Score.

Miklós Rózsa was assigned by Universal Pictures Department of Music to score the film. Upon viewing it he quickly realized that this was a Film Noir with a sordid tale, and that he would have to adapt his style to effectively meet its demands. In his autobiography Miklós Rózsa related that “The Killers” launched the third creative phase of his career; the first being Oriental films, the second psychological thrillers, and the third being “Hard Hitting Film Noirs”, relating that exploring the underbelly of American urban culture and its underworld demanded a new approach. Rózsa related;

Berlioz once said that for each new dramatic subject he attacked he had to change his style; in fact, he only thought he changed it, because, whatever the subject, the music always sounded as if only he could have written it. The same, I would like to think applied to me – though in those days to have a distinctive style was no positive asset in Hollywood.”

As such, to embrace the film’s gruesome narrative of violence Rózsa composed music that was brutal, dissonant and, which empowered of its violence. Universal Studio executives sent producer Milton Schwartzwald to advise Rózsa that they were greatly displeased with the musical score. However, since Hellinger owned the film rights, and was in charge of production, he had the final word, and chose to support Rózsa, believing his music was a perfect fit for the film.

Rózsa’s Main Theme offers a repeating motif with a brutal declarative four-note phrase, answered by a two-note counter, with the two-note counter ascending dramatically with each statement. The derived four-note “Killer’s Motif” supports the brutality and murders in the film. The Despair Theme supports moments when someone realizes that the end is near. It offers cascading five-note phrases voiced by anguished strings of despair. To provide a contemporaneous feeling to the film, a number of source songs and music were infused into the score’s tapestry, including Rózsa’s own “The More I Know of Love” with lyrics Jack Brooks, “With Plenty of Money and You” by Harry Warren, and “I’ll Remember April” by Gene de Paul.

00:00 “Main Title” opens with the Universal International logo empowered by Rózsa’s brutally aggressive Main Theme. At 0:13 we enter the film proper with two men (The Killers Al and Max) driving at night carried by an ominous cadence. They drive past a sign “Brentwood New Jersey” and at 0:28 the display of the opening credits commences, with an aggressive and strident reprise of the Main Theme, rendered as an oppressive marcia brutale. As the credits end, a diminuendo of unease using repeating quotes of the Main Theme’s four-note motif with muted trumpets carries the walk of two men into a dimly lit courtyard. They separate with each entering a diner from opposing doors. They sit together at the counter and order dinner only to be told that they are not serving dinner at this time. The two men are spoiling for a fight and try to provoke the owner and another customer. They then order the customer to join the cook in the kitchen, and inform everyone that they are here to kill Peter Lund, AKA “The Swede”. The owner convinces them that if Lund is not here by 6pm, then he is not coming. The two men depart with a veiled threat. I believe Rózsa perfectly sets the menacing and brutal tone of the film with these opening scenes.

8:06 “Warning The Swede” opens with the Killers Motif as we see the two assassins walk away. The owner the kitchen and says “O Dear!” as he finds Nick and his cook tied up and gagged. Rózsa sows a rising urgency as Nick races out to warn his friend Peter. As he runs an accelerando of the Killer’s Motif ascends on a crescendo dramatico, cresting at 9:42 as he bursts into the room and calls out “Swede!” He relays the threat, but Peter is fatalistic, saying he accepts his fate and that there is nothing he can do. He thanks Nick for coming, and as he departs The Killer’s Motif and muted elegiac horns sound. 10:41 “Death Of The Swede” reveals Peter laying in his bed contemplating his end, supported by a sorrowful solo violin triste. At 11:01 Rózsa sow tension using the slowly intensifying menace of The Killer’s Motif as Peter hears the two assassins walking up the stairs. As the motif crests, the assassins throw open the door and pummel Peter with bullets.

In unscored scenes, Jim Reardon speaks to the police, as he tries to determine who is the beneficiary of his insurance policy. Nick and the cook say that none of the gangster photos shown they were the killers. At the morgue, we flashback to a fateful meeting of Peter and crime boss “Big Jim” Colfax, who has stopped for gas where Peter works as a mechanic. After Colfax departs, Peter advises Nick that he is going home sick with a stomach ache. He then departs for Atlantic City on a lead, hoping to interview Mary Ellen AKA Queenie, who is potentially Lund’s beneficiary. When he arrives, she states that she does not know a Peter Lund, but after seeing his photograph, she informs Reardon that his name was Ole Anderson. They are both perplexed as to why Peter would make her, a hotel worker where he stayed, as beneficiary.

21:27 “Queenie’s Story” reveals her narrating a flashback of the day she entered his hotel room 1212. The room looked ransacked and Rózsa supports with a tense misterioso as she begins cleanup. The music surges with desperation and anger atop the Despair Theme as Peter emerges from the bathroom stamping on a mirror. He the repeatedly shouts “She’s gone!”, smashes the ocean cliff window and tries to jump out, as Queenie holds his belt to stop him. A tortured descent carries him in agony to his bed where he weeps “She’s Gone!”, and then keeps repeating; “Charleston was right”. In an unscored scene Reardon visits police Lieutenant Sam Lubinsky, a friend of Ole’s. He relates they were friends since boyhood, that he joined the police while Peter chose to fight. A flashback takes us back to Peter’s last fight against Tiger Lewis. He refuses his coach’s order to use his right, is pummeled and knocked out as his girl Lily watches with dismay. Afterwards we see Ole is disoriented from a concussion and has a broken right hand. When he regains his wits, he is devastated when Sam informs him that the doctor says that his fighting days are over due to the broken right hand. As they depart, he declines Lily’s offer for dinner at her place, and Sam’s offer to join the police. He is bitter and walks away, returning us to the present where Sam says that after that day they drifted apart.

35:28 “Lily Loses Ole” reveals Sam’s wife Lily joining them on the deck with a pitcher of lemonade and she relates why Ole and her broke up nine years earlier. We flashback to a date at a hotel owned by “Big Jim” Colfax where the aspirational love song “With Plenty of Money and You” is played on a piano. Lily does not wish to go in as she does not like Ole’s possible business partner Jake, but reluctantly acquiesces to Ole. Inside the maître d introduces them to Kitty, who is seated next to the piano player. Ole is clearly attracted to her and goes over and begins a conversation, in which Kitty offers a few subtle digs at Lily and then walks away. As Ole tells Lily that Kitty is beautiful, Kitty at 38:00 begins to sing the sultry romantic ballad, “The More I Know of Love” with piano accompiament. Ole shamelessly abandons a now aggrieved Lily, and is clearly transfixed on Kitty. We return to the present where Lily relates; “Right then I knew the boat had sailed”, and that they broke up that night.

40:09 “Ole Saves Kitty” offers another flashback where Sam relates how he ended up arresting his friend Ole. He enters Lou Tingle’s café where the ambiance is supported by a piano rendering of the spritely romantic ballad “I’ll Remember April”. He sits down with Charlie and his girl and happens to notice Kitty sitting with mobster Jake the Rake at another table. Their eyes meet and he sees her first nervously try to hide her broach, and then dispose of it in her soup. Sam intercepts the waiter, retrieves the stolen broach and confronts Kitty. As he prepares to arrest her for possession of stolen goods, Ole arrives, and makes a fervent plea for Sam to relent. When he refuses, Ole declares he stole it, punches Sam and bolts the café. We return to the future where Sam says Ole was arrested the next day and served three years. He closes with saying he has arranged Ole’s burial, believing his old friend deserved a decent send off.

In an unscored scene Reardon queries Sam about the people in attendance, and learns that Charleston, Ole’s prison cellmate attended the funeral. We shift to a saloon at 45:26 in “Charleston and Reardon”, which reveals Reardon pouring shot after shot trying to loosen Charleston up. A non-descript piano tune plays under the dialogue. Charleston finally says that he and Ole were as close as two guys can get as for two years, as they were never more that 8 feet apart. We flashback into “Prison Cell”, where we see them in their prison cell. As Charleston looks out the window and offers astronomical insight into the night time skies, Rózsa supports with a sad musical narrative kindred to the Main Theme, with palpable feelings of regret in the notes. At 47:35 the music shifts to Ole’s perspective as Rózsa introduces his Love Theme while he holds a green scarf with Irish harps gifted him by Kitty. A romance for strings unfolds full of longing as we see he clearly cherishes her. He asks Charleston, who is released in two weeks, to please check on her and see if she is all right. The music descends into sadness as Charleston says that just because she no longer writes does not mean that she has lost interest. But we see in Ole’s reaction, that he does not believe this. We return at 48:36 to the present in the saloon, again supported by the spritely piano tune.

In a new flashback he relates how after Ole’s release, he received a request for a meeting with Colfax, and that he was to bring the Swede who had days earlier been released from prison. When Ole arrives, he finds gangsters “Dum-Dum” Clarke, Blinky Franklin, and Kitty, who is now Colfax’s girl. Colfax pitches a payroll robbery that will get them over $250,000. Charleston declines, and at 53:45 we flow into “I’m In”. As the Swede declares he is in The violin d’Amore led Love Theme reprises, informing us that he still loves Kitty, as Charleston counsels him to stop listening to those golden harps as they will only land him in trouble. A plaintive Main Theme supports Charleston’s departure, and he relates his sadness that Ole did not join him. We return to the present and he adds that he never saw the Swede again.

55:25 “Newspaper Story” reveals Reardon returning to the office and giving his boss R. S. Kenyon a newspaper article, which the Prentice Hat Company suffered a robbery of its payroll. We shift to the factory where narration describes the robbery in great detail as we see the four gangsters with company ID badges infiltrating unnoticed with the line of arriving employees. They raid the payroll office, bind and gag the employees and then escape out the gate to planted cars, escaping in a gunfire duel with the guard who is wounded. Rózsa masterfully conceived this scene and supports the robbery by first sowing subtle tension, with slowly intensifying suspense, that escalates dramatically with the assault, and then erupts violently as they escape in two cars and engage in a gun battle. At 57:27 we return to the office with Reardon relating that the men were masked as they escaped and could not be identified except one clue – one man wore a green scarf with golden harps. He then shows Kenyon the scarf he believes was used in the robbery, and describes how the Swede was swept into Colfax’s plan. Afterwards the Swede at Kitty’s urging apparently makes off with the money and they rendezvous at a seaside hotel in Atlantic City. She then double-crosses the Swede, escapes with the money, and he tries to kill himself, only to be saved by the maid.

In an unscored scene Labinsky calls Reardon and they meet at the hospital where Blinky Franklin is dying from gunshot wounds. 1:03:05 “The Fight” offers a flashback as we see the men playing cards as Kitty watches. A fight breaks out when the Swede punches Colfax after losing a hand. He believes he cheated, but realizes he did lose and relents saying that a man needs to show his winning hand before taking the pot. Rózsa weaves a violent musical narrative using the Main Theme as fuel to propel the scene. The theme loses its kinetic force in the aftermath shifting to a grim narrative as the men reconcile afterwards for the sake of the job, with a promise to settle things afterwards. A phone call alerts the team that the cars are ready and they head out. We return to the present with Blinky say “He should not have hit you”. He then begins talking about the getaway and we flashback to the portioning of the loot where we find that Colfax and the other men changed the rendezvous location where the loot will be divided, without informing the Swede. 1:06:19 “Man On The Roof” reveals them dividing the loot as the Swede sneaks up and enters from a window. He forces them at gunpoint face the wall as one by one he disarms them. A dire and retributive Main Theme empowers the Swede with an eruption at 1:06:59 that quickly dissipates as the Swede repels an attack by Dum-Dum, pummeling him unconscious. The theme propels his flight and he escapes by car after shooting out the tires of the other cars. We return to the present where Blinky expires.

1:08:20 “The Stakeout” reveals Reardon in a stakeout at the hotel where the Swede was killed hoping to get a lead. As he waits, Rózsa sow a suspenseful narrative with repeating muted trumpet led phrases of the Main Theme. At 1:08:37 the doorbell rings and Rózsa ratchets up tension with shifting variations of the Main Theme as the owner escorts Dum-Dum up to the room. We hear cabinet drawers being opened and closed as Dum-Dum searches for clues of where the money is hidden. Outside the door, Reardon draws his pistol and enters, catching Dum-Dum by surprise. The music stops as he disarms Dum-Dum and interrogates him. Reardon lets his guard down at 1:13:46 and surging strings support Dum-Dum’s kick and the taking of his gun. As Dum-Dum interrogates him a slow building crescendo of the Main Theme commences and crests as Reardon is head kicked unconscious and Dum-Dum flees. We segue seamlessly at 1:15:05 into “Man On The Roof” atop a torrent of violence as Dum-Dum flees atop the roof as police shoot. We end with a dramatic surge as Dum-Dum manages to escape.

In unscored scenes, Sam joins Reardon on a train headed to Pittsburg where he plans to confront Colfax. The next day Reardon joins Colfax in his office and discloses he is investigating the death of Peter Lund AKA The Swede. He feigns knowledge of the robbery and the other gang members. Reardon then stuns him by disclosing that Kitty joined Peter in Atlantic City and made off with the loot. Colfax drops his guard and cursing that there is nothing worse than a double-crossing broad, and then adds that Lund never had a chance. Reardon plants the seed that he has the evidence to convict Kitty and will go to the police in 24 hours if she does not turn up. Later Sam and Reardon wait for Kitty to take the bait and call, which she does. He negotiates a meeting with Sam at the Adelphi Theater, who will then bring her to him, adding that he wants to make a deal. As he hangs up at 1:21:21 we flow into “Meeting At The Adelphi” with foreboding quotes of the Main Theme. As Reardon paces back and forth in front of the theater, Rózsa sow tension with grim repeating phrases of the Main Theme. At 1:21:44 a crescendo of suspense commences yet never culminates, instead softening as Kitty arrives. Tension resumes as he escorts her to a cab and they get in. As they pull away at 1:22:28 menacing and strident quotes of the Killer’s Motif supports the arrival of assassins Al and Max who watch the cab drive away. Returning to the cab, he directs the driver to take them to the Green Cat café.

1:23:25 “Green Cat Café” reveals their arrival with spritely piano music coming from the café. Reardon confronts her saying that Blinky made a deathbed confession under oath implicating her and that the maid at the Atlantic City Hotel remembers her. Cornered, she offers $70,000 as that’s all that remains and she wants to avoid jail. Reardon said he will consider it if it includes a prize – Colfax. She rebuffs him, and he gets up and says he will send the police to pick her up. She blinks, asks him what he wants, and he sits down. With a series of questions, he learns that Colfax planned the job, and that she did love Peter. She is shocked when he pulls out the green scarf, she gifted Peter. She then retells with narration how Colfax set Peter up in a flashback. 1:27:10 “The Setup” reveals her showing up at the hotel with Rózsa sowing tension as she first knocks and then enters Peter’s room. He is surprised and their Love Theme supports her telling him that she is risking her life coming here. When he asks why, she tells him that Colfax intends to double cross you, and that Blinky and Dum-Dum agreed to support. The Love Theme becomes beleaguered joining in interplay with a dire rendering of the Main Theme. She discloses the new rendezvous location but warns that Colfax hates him. The Love Theme becomes impassioned at 1:29:22 when she discloses that Colfax is jealous of her feelings toward you. He grabs her, says she is not meeting him tomorrow, and pulls her into a passionate kissing embrace supported by a blossoming of the Love Theme, which closes with a cascading descent. We return to the present, again supported by an animated piano tune, with her saying, “that’s it, the whole story.” She looks around the café, becomes nervous and asks that he take her back to his hotel room.

1:31:08 “The Shootout” reveals Kitty departing to use the restroom, as Al and Max arrive carried by a dire statement of the Killer’s Motif. Their ominous and menacing theme entwines with the piano tune as we see Sam revealed at the bar. The assassins spot Reardon and the Killer’s Theme swells with aggression as they move towards him. At 1:31:54 Rózsa unleashes a violent maelstrom as they pull their guns and Reardon flips and hides behind the tale. As they shoot at the table, Sam shoots, taking down both assassins. Reardon grabs one of their pistols and an accelerando of the Main Theme takes him to the lady’s room, where he finds Kitty gone, having escaped through an open window. In an unscored scene we see a police car with three cops, Sam and Reardon driving to the Colfax estate. They arrive and enter quietly through the unlocked front doors.

Gun shots ring out, they dive for cover and at 1:33:29 in “Colfax Shot” writhing violins descend in pain as a man stumble and falls down the stairs. A dire Main Theme supports as the police turn over the man and discover it is Dum-Dum. A crescendo dramatico empowers the team moving up the stairs and discovering a mortally wounded Colfax. A distressed musical narrative unfolds as they wait for an ambulance, Colfax asks how Reardon figured it out? He says Dum-Dum tipped him and the fact that Kitty also knew implicated you. At 1:34:47 aggrieved strings support Kitty’s arrival. Reardon then admits he was bluffing as he has nothing on Kitty but needed her to take the bait so as to play the two of you against each other. The music loses its vitality as Colfax takes a last cigarette. Sam asks him why he had the Swede murdered when he was no longer a threat. He answers that the Swede knew him and Kitty were married and that if the other gang members ran into him, they would be able to trace the money back to him. As his life ebbs, impassioned violins surge as Kitty repeatedly, with increasing desperation begs him to clear her, swearing she did not know anything. Kitty’s rising desperation is mirrored masterfully by Rózsa’s music, achieving a powerful cinematic confluence. Yet Colfax expires and the music descends in despair as Kitty weeps, realizing that she is doomed. The next day Reardon briefs Kenyon, who congratulates him on a job well done. 1:37:40 “The End” reveals Kenyon saying its Friday, so don’t come in until Monday, which elicits a wry, thanks from Reardon. We close with a buoyant ascent by violins spiritoso, which conclude with a flourish.

It is a damn shame that this superbly conceived and executed film noir score by Miklós Rózsa has no legitimate commercial release. Rózsa gained fame from his early career Oriental film scores and later, his mastery of biblical, ancient and Medieval epics. However, I would argue that his contributions in the noir genre are also masterful as evidenced with; the paradigmatic “Double Indemnity” (1944), “Spellbound” (1945), and the riveting Mark Hellinger trilogy of “The Killers” (1946), “Brute Force” (1947) and “The Naked City” (1948). I believe Rózsa understood that in this genre he was composing music for horrible people doing terrible things to others. As such he eschewed his stylistic melodic consonance, instead embracing dissonance empowered by jagged rhythms, and harsh, strident motifs. His music embraced and embodied the violence, treachery and brutality of these film’s narratives. But he also understood that darkness alone is insufficient, and that it must be contrasted with light to be fully appreciated. As such woven into these Film Noir scores are moments of light, respite and love, which intensify and broaden the cinematic experience. For “The Killers”, his harsh, strident and menacing Main Theme empowered, and set the tone of the film, with its sinister four-note Killer Motif a harbinger of violence and death. Also masterful was how Rózsa sow tension, suspense and unease, finding perfect confluence with Woody Bredell’s black and white cinematography. Juxtaposed to all this evil and darkness was the humanity of the Love Theme, which despite its beauty, was sad, unrequited, and ultimately tragic. Folks, this score is a masterpiece of the Film Noir genre, a testament to Rózsa’s versatility, and I highly recommend you take in the film on one of the streaming services until such time as a re-recording is made.

For those of you unfamiliar with the score, I have embedded a YouTube link to 12-minute suite: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92VrMhPZNoE

Track Listing:

• NOT AVAILABLE

Music composed and conducted by Miklós Rózsa. Orchestrations by Eugene Zador. Recorded and mixed by XXXX. Score produced by Miklós Rózsa.