Archive
THE FLOWER IN HELL – Mok-In Son
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
During the Korean War, director Sang-Ok Shin chose to share an apartment with a prostitute because it provided greater comfort than government evacuation housing, which often accommodated several families. During this time, he became familiar with the misfits, losers, and outcasts of society. Drawing upon these experiences, he conceived a film that revealed the bleak underbelly of Korean society inhabited by its lower classes. He secured financing from Seoul Films Company, Ltd. and personally oversaw both production and directing, while Jeong-Seon Lee was hired to write the screenplay. For the cast, Shin selected his wife, Choi Eun-Hee, a rising star of Korean cinema, for the starring role of So-Nya. Joining her were Kim Hak as Yeong-Shik, Hae-Won Jo as Dong-Shik, and Sun-Hee Kang as Julie. Read more…
THRONE OF BLOOD – Masaru Sato
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
Upon finishing his last film, I Live in Fear in 1955, renowned director Akira Kurosawa began to conceive of his next project and decided that he would retell William Shakespeare’s famous 1606 play Macbeth from a Japanese cultural perspective. To that end, he sought to impart native Japanese cultural sensibilities by embracing Noh, a classical form of Japanese dance-drama performed since the 14th century. Noh utilizes masks, costumes, and stage props to support performances in which emotions are expressed through stylized gestures and masks that symbolize ghosts, women, deities, and demons. Noh also espouses the ancient Buddhist doctrine of impermanence and the concept of a soul denied salvation and condemned to wander the mortal world, a theme reflected in Washizu’s fate. Read more…
A HATFUL OF RAIN – Bernard Herrmann
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
The success of the controversial film The Man with the Golden Arm in 1955, which dealt with drug addiction, catalyzed a transformative change in the Motion Picture Production Code. The code was relaxed to allow films to address the reality of drug addiction in society. 20th Century Fox immediately sought to capitalize on this shift and decided to adapt the Broadway play A Hatful of Rain by Michael V. Gazzo. The original stage production opened on November 9, 1955, at the Lyceum Theatre in New York and ran for 398 performances. The film rights were purchased, Buddy Adler was placed in charge of production with a $1.5 million budget, Fred Zinnemann was tasked with directing, and Gazzo adapted his play into a screenplay with Alfred Hayes and Carl Foreman. The cast featured Don Murray as Johnny Pope, Eva Marie Saint as Celia Pope, and Anthony Franciosa as Polo Pope. Read more…
3:10 TO YUMA – George Duning
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
The original story for 3:10 to Yuma was the brainchild of writer-producer David Heilweil, who adapted the 1953 short story of the same name written by crime author Elmore Leonard. He offered it to producer Robert Aldrich and his production company, who liked it enough to commission a screenplay by Halsted Welles. Yet the company was in need of cash, and so Aldrich sold the screenplay and film rights to Columbia Pictures for $100,000. Heilweil was assigned as producer, and Delmer Daves was tasked with directing. A creative decision was made to shoot the film in black and white using red filters on the camera lens, which afforded the picture a more arid and parched appearance. A fine cast was recruited, including Glenn Ford as Ben Wade, Van Heflin as Dan Evans, Leora Dana as Alice Evans, Felicia Farr as Emmy, Robert Emhardt as Mr. Butterfield, Henry Jones as Alex Potter, and Richard Jaeckel as Charlie Prince. Read more…
NIGHT PASSAGE – Dimitri Tiomkin
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
Producer Aaron Rosenberg decided that he wanted to cast the stars of Universal Pictures’ recent hits – “The Glenn Miller Story” (James Stewart) and “To Hell and Back” (Audie Murphy) – together in a Western. He saw an opportunity in the 1956 novel “Night Passage” by Norman A. Fox. Universal gave the green light; Rosenberg would manage production, Anthony Mann was tasked with directing, and Borden Chase was hired to write the screenplay. For the cast, James Stewart would star as Grant McLain, and Audie Murphy would co-star as the Utica Kid (Lee McLain). Joining them were Dan Duryea as Whitey Harbin, Diane Foster as Charlotte “Charlie” Drew, Elaine Stewart as Verna Kimball, Brandon de Wilde as Joey Adams, and Jay C. Flippen as Ben Kimball. Production went off the rails quickly when Mann left the project, believing that Audie Murphy was miscast and that the screenplay was weak. To his credit, his opinion was later validated by critics and the box office. Consequently, James Neilson was brought in to direct. Read more…
THE SEVENTH SIN – Miklós Rózsa
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
MGM decided to remake the 1934 film “The Painted Veil,” updating the story’s 1930s setting to 1949 to showcase studio star Ava Gardner. David Lewis was assigned as producer with a $1.577 million budget, Ronald Neame was tasked with directing, and Arthur Laurents was engaged to adapt W. Somerset Maugham’s 1925 novel “The Painted Veil” for the screenplay, retitled The Seventh Sin. Things went south quickly, with Neame rejecting Laurents’ script and hiring Karl Tunberg to rewrite it. Producer Lewis soon lost faith in Neame, believing the film was pedestrian and insufficiently updated. He fired Neame mid-production, and Vincente Minnelli was brought in to complete the film. For the cast, Ava Gardner, for reasons unknown, was replaced by Eleanor Parker, who would star as Carol Carwin. She was joined by Bill Travers as Walter Carwin and George Sanders as Tim Waddington. Read more…
AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER – Hugo Friedhofer
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
In 1952, 20th Century Fox studio executives decided that they wanted to remake one of the most popular romantic films of all time – 1939’s “Love Affair,” which starred Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer. Fernando Lamas and Arlene Dahl were initially assigned to star in the remake, but the project stalled and did not regain traction until 1956, when Leo McCarey and Jerry Wald took over production with a $2.1 million budget. They chose to use the same screenplay as the 1939 film by Delmer Daves and Donald Ogden Stewart. McCarey would also direct the film and brought in a splendid cast, including Cary Grant as Nicolo Ferrante, Deborah Kerr as Terry McKay, and Richard Denning as Kenneth Bradley. Read more…
GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K. CORRAL – Dimitri Tiomkin
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
Producer Hal Wallis came upon a magazine article, “The Killer,” written in 1954 by George Scullin, which explored the relationship between Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp, as well as the infamous gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Despite the bloodbath, Wallis decided to take a gamble and purchased the film rights for $500. He took personal charge of production and secured a $2 million budget from Paramount Studios. Leon Uris was hired to write the screenplay, and John Sturges was tasked with directing. An exceptional cast was assembled, including Burt Lancaster as Wyatt Earp, Kirk Douglas as Doc Holliday, Rhonda Fleming as Laura Denbow, Jo Van Fleet as Kate Fisher, and John Ireland as Johnny Ringo. Read more…
BOY ON A DOLPHIN – Hugo Friedhofer
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
20th Century Fox executives made the decision to bring writer David Divine’s 1955 novel Boy on a Dolphin to the big screen, purchasing the film rights prior to publication. Sam Engel was assigned as producer with a $2.8 million budget, Ivan Moffat and Dwight Taylor were hired to write the screenplay, and Jean Negulesco was tasked with directing. Casting proved problematic, with Cary Grant dropping out at the last minute to comfort his ailing wife; Robert Mitchum then declined, and Alan Ladd was ultimately cast as Dr. James Calder. His co-star, Sophia Loren, who played Phaedra, was two inches taller than the diminutive Ladd and was forced to walk in a trench or have Ladd stand on a box to ensure she did not dwarf him. Joining them were Clifton Webb as Victor Parmelee, Jorge Mistral as Rhif, Laurence Naismith as Dr. Hawkins, and Piero Giagnoni as Nikko. Read more…
BETWEEN HEAVEN AND HELL – Hugo Friedhofer
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
20th Century Fox studio executives made the decision to bring Francis Gwaltney’s popular WWII novel The Day the Century Ended (1955) to the big screen re-titled Between Heaven and Hell. They hired playwright Rod Serling, who served as a paratrooper in the Philippines during the war, to write the screenplay, several years before he would create pop culture history with his groundbreaking TV series The Twilight Zone. His voluminous script, which would have resulted in a nine-hour film, was rejected. Additional writers were brought in, with Harry Brown eventually crafting the final version. David Weisbart was assigned as producer with a $1.52 million budget, and Richard Fleischer was tasked with directing. The cast would include Robert Wagner as Private Sam Gifford, Terry Moore as Jenny Gifford, Broderick Crawford as Captain “Waco” Grimes, and Buddy Ebsen as Corporal Willie Crawford. Read more…
THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN – James Bernard
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
In 1956, having enjoyed success with their sci-fi film The Quatermass Xperiment the previous year, esteemed British film studio Hammer Film Productions decided to embark on an audacious new enterprise: resurrecting the horror film genre, which had suffered a decline after WWII. For their inaugural film, they decided to retell the story of Frankenstein. The threat of a lawsuit from Universal Pictures forced the studio to abandon using Boris Karloff as the Monster, shoot in black and white, change the film’s title, and rewrite the planned screenplay. Anthony Hinds was assigned as producer with a modest $270,000 budget, Jimmy Sangster was hired to write the screenplay, and Terence Fisher was given the reins to direct. The cast included Peter Cushing as Baron Victor von Frankenstein, joined by Christopher Lee as the Monster, Robert Urquhart as Paul Krempe, Hazel Court as Elizabeth, Valerie Gaunt as Justine, Noel Hood as Aunt Sophie, and Paul Hardtmuth as Professor Bernstein. Read more…
THE SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS – Franz Waxman
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
Studio executive Jack Warner decided that the history-making tale of Charles A. Lindbergh’s pioneering transatlantic flight needed to be brought to the big screen. He assigned production to Leland Hayward with a $3 million budget, tasked Billy Wilder with directing (who also assisted with the screenplay), and hired screenwriters Charles Lederer and Wendell Mayes to adapt Lindbergh’s autobiographical account in his 1953 book The Spirit of St. Louis. Casting the lead role was problematic, as Warner’s choice of John Kerr was turned down by the actor, who was offended by Lindbergh’s pro-Nazi sympathies and antisemitism. James Stewart lobbied for the role and was chosen by Wilder despite Warner’s misgivings that, at 47 years of age, he was too old for the role, given that Lindbergh was 25 years old when he made the flight. Joining Stewart would be Murray Hamilton as Bud Gurney and Patricia Smith as Mirror Girl. Read more…
THE DAM BUSTERS – Leighton Lucas, Eric Coates
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
In the late 1940s, interest arose in bringing the historic Dam Busters raid of WWII to the big screen. It took the publication of two books, Enemy Coast Ahead by Guy Gibson in 1944, followed by The Dam Busters by Paul Brickhill in 1951, to catalyze production. Robert Clarke, the Head of Production at Associated British Picture Corporation, approached writer Paul Brickhill and the British Air Ministry. When the Ministry decided to support the project and offered four Lancaster bombers at low cost, Clarke purchased the screen rights from Brickhill for £5,000. Robert Clarke and W. A. Whittaker would oversee production with a £260,000 budget, Michael Anderson was tasked with directing, and R. C. Sherriff would write the screenplay, drawing inspiration from both books. A stellar cast was hired, with Richard Todd starring as Wing Commander Guy Gibson, joined by Michael Redgrave as Barnes Wallis, Patrick Barr as Captain Joseph “Mutt” Summers, Ernest Clark as Air Vice Marshal Ralph Cochrane, Basil Sydney as Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris GOC-in-C, Stanley Van Beers as David Pye, Air Ministry Director of Scientific Research, and Ursula Jeans as Mrs. Molly Wallis. Read more…
LUST FOR LIFE – Miklós Rózsa
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
In 1946 MGM purchased the film rights to Irving Stone’s 1934 biographical novel Lust for Life, about the tumultuous life of Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh. The contract required production within ten years or ownership would revert to Stone, but the project languished until 1954, when actor Kirk Douglas purchased the rights with the intention of starring in and producing a film adaptation. Director Vincente Minnelli also sought to make a film about Van Gogh, which had long been a passion project of his. Eventually, all parties joined in common cause and the film proceeded to production by MGM, with John Houseman in charge and a $3.23 million budget. Minnelli was tasked with directing, and Kirk Douglas would star in the lead role of painter Vincent van Gogh. Joining him would be Anthony Quinn as Paul Gauguin and James Donald as Theo van Gogh. Read more…
WAR AND PEACE – Nino Rota
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
A film based on Leo Tolstoy’s epic 1869 novel War and Peace first surfaced in 1941 with aspirations by renown British producer Alexander Korda, but the project could not move into production because the Soviet Ministry of Culture would not cooperate. It would take thirteen more years for ambitious producer Dino De Laurentis to finally get the project off the ground. He would personally manage production using his own production company with a massive $6.0 million budget. Condensing the massive 1,225-page novel into a cogent screenplay for a 2.5 – 3.5-hour film was daunting with it going through several incarnations at the hands of eight writers, including director King Vidor. A stellar cast was assembled, including Audrey Hepburn as Natasha Rostova, Henry Fonda as Count Pierre Bezukhov, Mel Ferrer as Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, and Herbert Lom as Napoleon Bonaparte. Read more…
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