Rank Film Music 78s - Britmovie

Brief Encounter · 30-06-2006, 04:26 PM

Some of you may know that Rank made a series of 78s for promotional use only, with music usually taken straight from their films. Can anyone improve on this list I have?

FM No./Title/Artist/Film/Year

13 Ballet of the Red Shoes Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Sir Thomas Beecham The Red Shoes 1948
14 Bougainvillaea Ted Heath and his Orchestra The Red Shoes 1948
18 ? London Symphony Orchestra/Muir Mathieson Black Narcissus 1947
45 Prelude - Mountain Music Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Muir Mathieson The Passionate Friends 1949
46 Mountain Music Variations Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Muir Mathieson The Passionate Friends 1949
73 Doodle-Oodle-Day Petula Clark The Huggetts Abroad 1949
74 Spring Song: End Title London Symphony Orchestra/Muir Mathieson Helter Skelter 1949
75 It's Not For The Want Of Trying Petula Clark Don't Ever Leave Me 1949
76 Without a Shadow of a Doubt Shirl Conway Helter Skelter 1949
113 I Love A Man Yvonne de Carlo Hotel Sahara
117 Prelude: Stealing The Van Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Ernest Irving The Lavender Hill Mob
118 Prelude: The Guggle Triumphant Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Ernest Irving The Man In The White Suit
164 Je Ne Sais Pas Brigitte Bardot (voice: Jill Day) Doctor At Sea 1955
170 Dream For Sale Norman Wisdom Man of the Moment 1955
171 Yodelee Yodelay Norman Wisdom Man of the Moment 1955
177 Crocodile Crawl - An Alligator Named Daisy 1955
178 Theme Music - Simon and Laura 1955
179 All For Mary Stargazers All For Mary 1955
180 Far Away From Everybody Jill Day All For Mary 1955
181 Guaracha April Olrich (voice: Muriel Smith) Battle of the River Plate 1955
182 Samba April Olrich (voice: Muriel Smith) Battle of the River Plate 1955
183 Baio April Olrich (voice: Muriel Smith) Battle of the River Plate 1955
191 Theme Music - The Black Tent 1956
197 Title Music - Reach For The Sky 1956
223 Title Music - Robbery Under Arms 1957
224 Title Music - Campbell's Kingdom 1957
233 Title Music - Innocent Sinners 1957

They're very scarce these days. Some have been on ebay recently and the Brigitte Bardot one fetched £100.

I know there was another Petula Clark one of her singing the theme from Made In Heaven (1952), but don't know what the F.M. number is.

Steve Crook · 30-06-2006, 06:03 PM

How long are most of them? On the P&P site I have it that the Red Shoes one is only a 3 minute excerpt.

Steve

Brief Encounter · 30-06-2006, 06:50 PM

78s couldn't hold more than 4 minutes, so that partly answers your question I guess.

I've played the first two Petula Clark ones (I was loaned them by a collector) and they are just taken from those parts of the film. About 2 minutes each.

penfold · 30-06-2006, 10:47 PM

Someone, somewhere - Bfi?? British Library?? would have a catalogue....

penfold · 30-06-2006, 11:18 PM

I've been trying (unsuccessfully) to put my hand on to my copy of John Huntley's British Film Music, published in 1946/7. That does have a discography in the appendices.

Brief Encounter · 30-06-2006, 11:43 PM

That would be interesting. I've emailed the British Library's Sound Archive, fingers crossed.

julian_craster · 01-07-2006, 08:46 AM

ADD: NIGHT TRAIN TO TRIESTE (by Benjamin Frankel) which has been issued on a Pearl
British Film Music CD

The following have been issued on EMI commercial CDs (perhaps re-recorded?)
:

170 Dream For Sale Norman Wisdom Man of the Moment 1955

180 Far Away From Everybody Jill Day All For Mary 1955

Brief Encounter · 01-07-2006, 09:57 AM

Julian - they are studio versions I believe. The Rank 78s would probably sound very different, being taken straight from the film.

Possible Rank 78s are Jimmy Young's song from Lady Godiva Rides Again, and the music from my namesake...

Ascoyne D'Ascoyne · 03-07-2006, 10:59 AM

The Brief Encounter music was, of course, Rachmaninov's 2nd Concerto in which the soloist was Eileen Joyce. Her performance of the complete concerto has been re-issued on CD.
Eileen Joyce was also the soloist in Sir Arthur Bliss' "Baraza" from the film "Man of Two Worlds." This was issued on 78s (I heard it at the British Sound Library when it was located in S. Kensington and all you had to do was ring a door-bell and book an appointment an hour or so in advance!) but don't think it has ever been re-issued.

julian_craster · 03-07-2006, 03:55 PM

Don't forget that the Rank Organisation had its own record label
TOP RANK between 1959 -62, then the catalogue was sold to EMI...

Among the TOP RANK film themes on 45rpm were :

Sapphire/ Tiger Bay (not S/T)

The League of Gentlemen

The Singer Not the Song

Doctor in Love (vocal)

Desert Mice

Ferry to Hong Kong (I think)

Tiara Tahiti

Follow a Star (vocal Norman Wisdom)

Operation Amsterdam (street organ theme)

Brief Encounter · 04-07-2006, 11:23 AM

Maybe that's why the Rank 78s stopped? (If they did.)

The BBC now own the tapes for the Rank 78s, for some reason.

Brief Encounter · 05-07-2006, 01:26 PM

No luck with the BFI...

Trying Granada themselves now. Which will be useless because Granada don't have a clue what they own.

Ascoyne D'Ascoyne · 10-07-2006, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by penfold

I've been trying (unsuccessfully) to put my hand on to my copy of John Huntley's British Film Music, published in 1946/7. That does have a discography in the appendices.

Clearing out a dusty cupboard for a charity collection, I have found my copy (it's not going in the sack!).
The discography isn't all that extensive, actually; it lists just 44 items (although section 44 mentions two series , "The Voice of the Stars" and BF film festival of 1946 organised by the Daily Mail, the first of which is said to be "A large collection of short extracts from the sound track (sic) of many British and American films" while the second appears to have contained a series of reconstructed scenes from British films made between 1939 and 1945; they are:
Desert Victory; The Way Ahead; The Way to the Stars; The Man in Grey; 49th Parallel; The Young Mr Pitt; George Formby singing "Get Cracking")
The other 43 titles includes, in addition to a number of expected items such as Dangerous Moonlight and Love Story, some interesting-looking items such as "Rhodes of Africa" (Hubert Bath), "Nine Men" (Eric Coates), "Village Harvest" (Benjamin Britten) and "Men of two Worlds" (Bliss) which I mentioned in another contribution to this thread.

Brief Encounter · 22-07-2006, 10:01 PM

Does anyone know if Rank archives still exist somewhere? Surely they must do, they'd have loads of stuff...

Guenther · 07-08-2006, 10:03 AM

I do have a more complete list somewhere...

It's from Huntley and Manvells Technique of Film Music

Rank send out several of the sets to broadcasters... There is only one existing complete set AFAIK held at the CBC in Canada.

30-06-2006, 04:26 PM	#1
Brief Encounter has no status. Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: London Posts: 299 My Mood: Country: iTrader: (0)	Rank Film Music 78s Some of you may know that Rank made a series of 78s for promotional use only, with music usually taken straight from their films. Can anyone improve on this list I have? FM No./Title/Artist/Film/Year 13 Ballet of the Red Shoes Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Sir Thomas Beecham The Red Shoes 1948 14 Bougainvillaea Ted Heath and his Orchestra The Red Shoes 1948 18 ? London Symphony Orchestra/Muir Mathieson Black Narcissus 1947 45 Prelude - Mountain Music Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Muir Mathieson The Passionate Friends 1949 46 Mountain Music Variations Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Muir Mathieson The Passionate Friends 1949 73 Doodle-Oodle-Day Petula Clark The Huggetts Abroad 1949 74 Spring Song: End Title London Symphony Orchestra/Muir Mathieson Helter Skelter 1949 75 It's Not For The Want Of Trying Petula Clark Don't Ever Leave Me 1949 76 Without a Shadow of a Doubt Shirl Conway Helter Skelter 1949 113 I Love A Man Yvonne de Carlo Hotel Sahara 117 Prelude: Stealing The Van Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Ernest Irving The Lavender Hill Mob 118 Prelude: The Guggle Triumphant Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Ernest Irving The Man In The White Suit 164 Je Ne Sais Pas Brigitte Bardot (voice: Jill Day) Doctor At Sea 1955 170 Dream For Sale Norman Wisdom Man of the Moment 1955 171 Yodelee Yodelay Norman Wisdom Man of the Moment 1955 177 Crocodile Crawl - An Alligator Named Daisy 1955 178 Theme Music - Simon and Laura 1955 179 All For Mary Stargazers All For Mary 1955 180 Far Away From Everybody Jill Day All For Mary 1955 181 Guaracha April Olrich (voice: Muriel Smith) Battle of the River Plate 1955 182 Samba April Olrich (voice: Muriel Smith) Battle of the River Plate 1955 183 Baio April Olrich (voice: Muriel Smith) Battle of the River Plate 1955 191 Theme Music - The Black Tent 1956 197 Title Music - Reach For The Sky 1956 223 Title Music - Robbery Under Arms 1957 224 Title Music - Campbell's Kingdom 1957 233 Title Music - Innocent Sinners 1957 They're very scarce these days. Some have been on ebay recently and the Brigitte Bardot one fetched £100. I know there was another Petula Clark one of her singing the theme from Made In Heaven (1952), but don't know what the F.M. number is.

30-06-2006, 10:47 PM	#4
penfold is feeling moderate again... Moderator Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Bristol Posts: 3,365 Country: iTrader: (0)	Someone, somewhere - Bfi?? British Library?? would have a catalogue.... __________________ Bit of a Bay Window, what??

30-06-2006, 11:18 PM	#5
penfold is feeling moderate again... Moderator Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Bristol Posts: 3,365 Country: iTrader: (0)	I've been trying (unsuccessfully) to put my hand on to my copy of John Huntley's British Film Music, published in 1946/7. That does have a discography in the appendices. __________________ Bit of a Bay Window, what??

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30-06-2006, 06:03 PM	#2
Steve Crook is cheeky Moderator Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: London Posts: 9,824 My Mood: Country: iTrader: (1)	How long are most of them? On the P&P site I have it that the Red Shoes one is only a 3 minute excerpt. Steve

30-06-2006, 06:50 PM	#3
Brief Encounter has no status. Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: London Posts: 299 My Mood: Country: iTrader: (0)	78s couldn't hold more than 4 minutes, so that partly answers your question I guess. I've played the first two Petula Clark ones (I was loaned them by a collector) and they are just taken from those parts of the film. About 2 minutes each.

30-06-2006, 11:43 PM	#6
Brief Encounter has no status. Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: London Posts: 299 My Mood: Country: iTrader: (0)	That would be interesting. I've emailed the British Library's Sound Archive, fingers crossed.

01-07-2006, 08:46 AM	#7
julian_craster has no status. Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Isle of Foula, UK Posts: 1,565 Country: iTrader: (0)	ADD: NIGHT TRAIN TO TRIESTE (by Benjamin Frankel) which has been issued on a Pearl British Film Music CD The following have been issued on EMI commercial CDs (perhaps re-recorded?) : 170 Dream For Sale Norman Wisdom Man of the Moment 1955 180 Far Away From Everybody Jill Day All For Mary 1955

01-07-2006, 09:57 AM	#8
Brief Encounter has no status. Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: London Posts: 299 My Mood: Country: iTrader: (0)	Julian - they are studio versions I believe. The Rank 78s would probably sound very different, being taken straight from the film. Possible Rank 78s are Jimmy Young's song from Lady Godiva Rides Again, and the music from my namesake...

03-07-2006, 10:59 AM	#9
Ascoyne D'Ascoyne has no status. Senior Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Essex Posts: 517 iTrader: (1)	The Brief Encounter music was, of course, Rachmaninov's 2nd Concerto in which the soloist was Eileen Joyce. Her performance of the complete concerto has been re-issued on CD. Eileen Joyce was also the soloist in Sir Arthur Bliss' "Baraza" from the film "Man of Two Worlds." This was issued on 78s (I heard it at the British Sound Library when it was located in S. Kensington and all you had to do was ring a door-bell and book an appointment an hour or so in advance!) but don't think it has ever been re-issued.

03-07-2006, 03:55 PM	#10
julian_craster has no status. Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Isle of Foula, UK Posts: 1,565 Country: iTrader: (0)	Don't forget that the Rank Organisation had its own record label TOP RANK between 1959 -62, then the catalogue was sold to EMI... Among the TOP RANK film themes on 45rpm were : Sapphire/ Tiger Bay (not S/T) The League of Gentlemen The Singer Not the Song Doctor in Love (vocal) Desert Mice Ferry to Hong Kong (I think) Tiara Tahiti Follow a Star (vocal Norman Wisdom) Operation Amsterdam (street organ theme)

04-07-2006, 11:23 AM	#11
Brief Encounter has no status. Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: London Posts: 299 My Mood: Country: iTrader: (0)	Maybe that's why the Rank 78s stopped? (If they did.) The BBC now own the tapes for the Rank 78s, for some reason.

05-07-2006, 01:26 PM	#12
Brief Encounter has no status. Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: London Posts: 299 My Mood: Country: iTrader: (0)	No luck with the BFI... Trying Granada themselves now. Which will be useless because Granada don't have a clue what they own.

22-07-2006, 10:01 PM	#14
Brief Encounter has no status. Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: London Posts: 299 My Mood: Country: iTrader: (0)	Does anyone know if Rank archives still exist somewhere? Surely they must do, they'd have loads of stuff...

07-08-2006, 10:03 AM	#15
Guenther has no status. Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Europe Posts: 37 Country: iTrader: (0)	I do have a more complete list somewhere... It's from Huntley and Manvells Technique of Film Music Rank send out several of the sets to broadcasters... There is only one existing complete set AFAIK held at the CBC in Canada.