Lecture 6 and 7: Film Noir

Question 1

Movies in the 1940s

Answer 1

• the 1940s = interest in stories that are more realistic
• appears to be closer to the experiences of the audience
• psychological drama, complex motivations, character driven narrative
• no character was wholly good or wholly bad

Question 2

Film Noir

Answer 2

• not only dark side of characterization, but often shot at night
• filmed in black and white, light and shadow was used to create images
• precursor to urban dramas/crime dramas
• once WWII was over, these films start to be shown in Europe in great numbers
• the French were watching these, and started referring to them as “film noir”
• influenced by German Expressionism (popular in the 1920s/30s)
• during the 1930s, many German directors fleeing the Nazis end up in Hollywood
• style adapts to become more appealing to a general audience

Question 3

Rise in American born composers

Answer 3

• the 1940s are when we see an increase in the number of American born composers rising to prominence in Hollywood
• Hugo Friedhofer, Bernard Herrmann, David Raksin

Question 4

Miklos Rozsa - Facts

Answer 4

• 1907 - 1995
• much younger than Steiner
• new musical ideas have started to work their way into the classical music of Europe (more dissonance)
• Hungarian
• mother is a classical pianist
• studies in Leipzig and Paris
• successful career as composer

Question 5

Miklos Rozsa - Early work

Answer 5

• at the suggestion of Arthur Honegger (one of Les Six), Rozsa goes into film scoring (1934)
• in France, writing film music was a completely respectable undertaking
• does some film work in England (1934-1939)
• due to WWII, travels to US in 1939 to complete The Thief of Bagdad
• more work for music in film in Hollywood compared to Steiner

Question 6

Double Indemnity - Summary

Answer 6

• 1944
• Film Noir, murder mystery
• we know who the murders are, but we are not sure if they are going to get away with it
• insurance man, Walter, visits a rich older client
• he meets his unhappy wife, Phyllis, who convinces him to murder her wife and run away with the insurance money
• Walter’s partner, Keyes, who is a claims detective, feels that something is not right

Question 7

Double Indemnity - Analysis

Answer 7

• short themes, unpredictable, unsettling
• greater use of dissonance
• style of film that does not have a lot of action
• hallway = constricted space
• music plays the drama, particularly in the mind of Walter

Question 8

Spellbound - Summary

Answer 8

• 1945
• man accused of murder, but he has amnesia so he is not sure
• female psychiatrist (love interest) believes the man is innocence
• however, somethings suggest that he is guilty, and she is in danger

Question 9

The Lost Weekend - Summary

Answer 9

• 1945
• follows adventures of Don Birnam, an aspiring writer who is addicted to alcohol
• one weekend, he stays home by himself, but starts spiralling into his illness
• extraordinarily risky film in this time period (calls attention to alcoholism in a time where drinking and smoking was very common)
• only after Rozsa’s score was added did the reviews of the audience change

Question 10

Theremin

Answer 10

• they become typecast in science fiction and ghost movies
• you play it by waving at it
• one hand controls the volume, and the other hand changes the pitch
• at the time, this technology was relatively new, not as clichéd
• Lev Theremin involved with secret services, KGB

Question 11

Use of electronic instruments in film

Answer 11

• theremin in Miklos Rozsa’s work was one of the first times electronic instruments were used
• caught the attention of the film industry
• composers are beginning to move away from the symphony orchestra

Question 12

The Lost Weekend - Analysis (Scene 1)

Answer 12

• the world of the alcoholic from inside their own mind
• begins with a positive urgency
• becomes tonal/romantic with mention of Helen
• comic/uncertain as he fumbles with hat and cigarette
• turns darker as he sees the bottle
• theremin enters with dissonant scene
• music playing the internal struggle

Question 13

The Lost Weekend - Analysis (Scene 2)

Answer 13

• the world of the alcoholic from the outside
• the only music is the source music → sets up odd tension
• without music, it is just sad and pathetic
• consonant sound of popular music contrasts with the dissonance of Birnam’s theme

Question 14

David Raksin - Facts

Answer 14

• 1912 - 2004
• did a lot of teaching, was a mentor to many other composers
• born in Philadelphia
• father was a conductor for silent films in a movie palace
• early career as a pianist and arranger for Jazz bands in NY (Benny Goodman)
• worked quite a bit in the “Big Band” era

Question 15

David Raksin and Charlie Chaplin

Answer 15

• worked with Chaplin on Modern Times (entry into film music)
• Chaplin was also a talented, self-taught, musician
• he hires Raksin
• Chaplin hums or plays the piano, and Raksin would write the notes out

Question 16

Laura - Theme

Answer 16

• 1944
• director Otto Preminger wanted “Sophisticated Lady” by Duke Ellington (about a prostitute)
• Preminger wanted the music to be a popular song from the time as Laura is “urban”
• Raksin composes own theme (famous heartbreak story)

Question 17

Laura - Overall Analysis

Answer 17

• psychological thriller (whodunnit)
• motivations and misdirection
• monothematic = based on a single theme
• non-european sound = based on American popular music
• still an orchestra playing it, but it is a very commercial music sound
• music not driving the suspense, more like the ghost or the “ideal” of Laura
• actor for Shelby Carpenter = Vincent Price (becomes very famous in horror movies later on)

Question 18

Laura - Analysis (Opening credits and monologue)

Answer 18

• focus on the portrait of Laura (sophisticated urban, almost unearthly)
• end of the credits does not resolve, but continues on
• pedal point under monologue = sustained bass note under moving chords
  creates a sense of anticipation/tension
• monologue is metadiegetic = exists on the boundary between film world and audience
• voice-over was a standard of film noir
• music ends with the first diegetic dialogue, transition into narrative

Question 19

Laura - Analysis (Lydecker’s story)

Answer 19

• source music is Laura’s theme
• transitions to score with the story
• Laura is supposed to look a little bit out of fashion when we are first introduced to her
• dialogue between Lydecker and Laura is scored with a waltz (battle of wits)
• Laura’s theme enters as she speaks her mind → this is the “real” Laura
• music transitions back and forth from source to score
• Lydecker sees himself as the person who creates Laura

Question 20

Laura - Analysis (McPherson)

Answer 20

• the character who becomes more obsessed with Laura is the detective
• typical film noir style = night time, raining
• music follows McPherson’s internal state as he searches the apartment
• music is connected to the portrait
• some hitting the action
• warble in the piano = some sort of surreal sound to the piano, first example of hearing a subtle electronic alteration to an acoustic instrument
• music is absent in the scene where Laura shows up
  (this is the real Laura, not the ideal)
• McPherson comes to terms with the fact that Laura is not the woman who was portrayed as an ideal
• later falls in love with the real, imperfect Laura
• music withdraws almost completely for the second half of the film → this person doesn’t really exist

Question 21

Laura - Analysis (Ending)

Answer 21

• Lydecker is a collector
• he likes valuable, beautiful things, and likes to own them
• Laura was the pinnacle of his collection
• when it became clear that he would fall for someone else, he comes back again to try and kill her
• the murder is played, mostly, without music