A Centennial Tribute To Elmer Bernstein
A Personal Remembrance
I first became a fan of his film music way back in the 1950s with such superior film scores as:
THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM, THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, GOD'S LITTLE ACRE, and SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS.
Sometime later I purchased a Mainstream LP album with highlights from his early scores,
"Elmer Bernsterin - a man and his movies" --
In the 1960s, he began with one of his most popular film scores to
THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN.
From the 1960s onward he remained a busy man, not only his film scores but also a new publication.
Here is a quote in Elmer Bernstein's Film Music Notebook (The Film Music Society, 2004),
from what he wrote in the first issue of The Film Music Notebook (Fall, 1974):
"I wrote an article in HIGH FIDELITY in which I suggested the notion that a club should be formed for the purpose of recording and thereby preserving film scores from the past. For years large record companies ignored the field in the belief that there was no interest on the part of the general public...I have always maintained that there are enough devotees throughout the world to make such a venture feasible."
And with that statement, he became a film music preservationist as well as a respected composer.
I was fortunate to be a member of that preservation effort and still have some of the LP albums released during those years, including his favorite film score (mine too) for
TO KILL THE MOCKINGBIRD (1962).
Luckily, the LP soundtrack albums were reissued with music by five composers:
Bernard Herrmann,
Miklos Roza, Max Steiner, Dimitri Tiomkin, Franz Waxman
on this recommended collection...
Elmer Bernstein's FILMMUSIC COLLECTION
(Film Score Monthly, 12 CD Box Set)
In 2000, I sent Elmer Bernstein a comp copy of my book,
A GUIDE TO FILM MUSIC: SONGS AND SCORES.
In return, he sent me a gracious letter saying:
"I do feel your book is done in a most interesting way.
It affords a quick overview of what has not become a very, very broad field.
Congratulations!"
I also received this autographed picture:
One year later, I interviewed him for the magazine, Soundtrack, and he was very direct and honest in his responses. To read that interview now available Online at The Soundtrack Archives -- click here.
In 2002, on the occasion of his 80th birthday, I wrote a personal story about my first hearing his early impressive film score when I was a teenager. It is now considered one of the worst films ever made but certainly not his music score (see below under ROBOT MONSTER).
Also in 2002, when naming his last film score, FAR FROM HEAVEN, for a Sammy Film Music Award,
I wrote the following which is now available on the composer's official website
"What a pleasure to hear such a glorious score by one of the grand film music masters!
FAR FROM HEAVEN comes from a composer who has been turning out well crafted scores for over 50 years. In a year when there were many exceptional film scores, Elmer Bernstein‘s score stands at the very top of them all. One of the simplest yet most touching scores from recent years. A masterpiece of film scoring.”
After his passing, I wrote an article for Film Score Monthly (Volume 9, Number 8,
October 2004) titled, "
Elmer's Magnificent 7 - Essential Elmer Bernstein Scores of the 1960s."
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On this centennial year of his birth and in recognition of his many decades of memorable film music,
and his efforts at film music preservation through recordings and Film Music Notebook,
I say with greatest respect and reverence -
Bravo Maestro - You Are The Magnificent One!
--Roger L. Hall, April 4, 2022
© 2022
This centennial birthday tribute to Elmer Bernstein
is not to be copied without permission.
See also this Lifetime Achievement article from the Sammy Film Music Awards -- click here
Here are several past reviews:
Film Music by Elmer Bernstein
(SilvaScreen Records CD)
ROBOT MONSTER (1953 - A remembrance of the music and the movie
This article about his impressive early film score for one of the silliest Hollywood films
is also featured
on the Elmer Bernstein Official Website -- click here
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