1:04:17
It was noted in the 1970s that the first
three notes of the bride's musical theme
1:04:22
are the same as the first three notes
of the song "Bali Hai" from South Pacific.
1:04:27
By the 1990s, this casual observation
became conflated into an urban legend
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that had Franz Waxman receiving a hefty
settlement from Oscar Hammerstein.
1:04:36
The Waxman archives confirm
that no litigation occurred.
1:04:40
Franz would hardly sue the librettist
of a Richard Rodgers composition,
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and there are, after all,
only eight notes in the diatonic scale.
1:04:48
Waxman's score for Fritz Lang's 1933
French production Liliom for Fox Europa
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caught Whale's ear - particularly the
ethereal music for the heaven sequence,
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with its airy colouring of celeste
and ondes Martenot,
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an early electronic instrument.
1:05:03
Mere days before production
started on January 2nd,
1:05:06
Whale and Waxman met
at a Christmas party.
1:05:08
Whale explained that nothing in the story
would be resolved, everyone would die,
1:05:13
and offered Waxman the job if he would
give him an unresolved musical score.
1:05:18
The orchestra for the Bride sessions was
conducted by Constantin Bakaleinikoff.
1:05:22
Session photographs show 32 players
on the recording stage,
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14 of whom are violinists.
1:05:27
Orchestration sheets reveal that at its
largest the orchestra had 40 players.
1:05:33
Waxman music appeared memorably
in Universal's Flash Gordon serials.
1:05:38
Cues from his score have been recorded
by Charles Gerhardt and Erich Kunzel.
1:05:42
In 1993, Kenneth Alwyn conducted
the first substantial recording
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of the nearly complete score.
1:05:54
Waxman's use of timpani here echoes
the heartbeat of the monster bride.