Identical film scores in different films

[MrT]

Hello all,



Recently watching Roy Baker's film of "Morning Departure" (1950) I realised that the opening music was the same as what had been used in the 1947 film The October Man (both films with John Mills in the lead). Does anyone know of any other films that had identical scores (presumably to save on costs?)



Best wishes

Mike (MrT)

[Marky B]

I think the Carry On......films had a similiar theme tune in most of their films. Seriously,though,if you listen to Trevor Jones' theme for the Stallone film Cliffhanger,it is not too dissimiliar to his excellent music for the Last of the Mohicans.

Listen also,if you can of course,to Franz Waxman's music for the Bride of Frankenstein and then listen to Richard Rodgers' music for Balihai from South Pacific and you might find a similiarity.

Ta Ta

Marky B

[penfold]

The British Emil and the Detectives reuses the Allan Gray score from the German original....and Powell and Pressburgers short(ish) film The Volunteer reuses its score from an earlier PnP film...but I can't remember which...!!!

[Nick Dando]

Michael Powell also re-used some music from Mikis Theodorakis. The theme from Ill Met by Moonlight was recycled for They're a Weird Mob.



Nick

[Steve Crook]

name='Nick Dando']Michael Powell also re-used some music from Mikis Theodorakis. The theme from Ill Met by Moonlight was recycled for They're a Weird Mob.



Nick

P&P re-used music quite often.

"Commando Patrol" was used in Blimp & ACT.

"I See You Everywhere" was also used in Blimp & ACT.

The music used for Bob & Alison's ride in the cart in ACT is used again in IKWIG



Steve

[Ascoyne D'Ascoyne]

An instance of this only yesterday broadcast on channel 4. "The Dark Corner" (1946)opened with a bluesy number, which I believe is called "Street Scene," that I've heard in quite a few American films from around that period. It's played in the orchestral prelude to "How to Marry a Millionaire" conducted by Alfred Newman who I believed to be the composer. "Dark Corner" however credits the film-score to Cyril Mockeridge.

The piece, whomsoever the composer, was used in the opening titles of a TV series which was broadcast quite a few years ago (BBC I think) about the great stars of American cinema.

[siriami]

You are right, the composer is Alfred Newman - and the piece crops up often in Twentieth-Century Fox films.

It was originally composed for the 1931 Goldwyn film of the same name, and Newman used it in many of his Fox films later.



Alistair

[Ascoyne D'Ascoyne]

name='siriami']You are right, the composer is Alfred Newman - and the piece crops up often in Twentieth-Century Fox films.

It was originally composed for the 1931 Goldwyn film of the same name, and Newman used it in many of his Fox films later.



Alistair

Thanks for clearing that up, siriami. It's a piece of pseudo-Gershwin (lovely though!) unlike Newman's usual film-score style. I don't think he was named at all in the credits to "The Dark Corner" which is why I became confused.

I believe Newman composed the 20th Century Fox fanfare.

[Marky B]

[

I believe Newman composed the 20th Century Fox fanfare.[/quote]



Indeed he did

Ta Ta

Marky B

[alan gowdy]

Not having viewed either film for some years my memory might be playing tricks but are the themes from Deerhunter and The Family Way not quite similar? Mind you I haven't heard the latter for a long time!

[Marky B]

The music for The Deerhunter (Cavatina) was written by Stanley Myers. The theme music for The Family Way is credited in Halliwell's Film Guide to Paul Mccartney.

Also,note Nino Rota was denied an Oscar nomination for The Godfather,because parts of the famous music had been used for the 1958 film Fortunella and the rules of the Academy that it had to be written especially for the film. Rota did win the Oscar for the music for The Godfather Part II. There is a difference between the music of both films.

Vito Corlelone is the only character in movie history to provide Oscars for two different actors for two different movies:Best Actor for Brando in The Godfather and Best Supporting Actor for Robert De Niro in The Godfather part II.

Ta Ta

Marky B

[Steve Crook]

name='Ascoyne D'Ascoyne']Thanks for clearing that up, siriami. It's a piece of pseudo-Gershwin (lovely though!) unlike Newman's usual film-score style. I don't think he was named at all in the credits to "The Dark Corner" which is why I became confused.

I believe Newman composed the 20th Century Fox fanfare.

The IMDb lists Newman as having contributed to The Dark Corner but not being credited on screen for it.



Steve

[djdave]

Even if they don't mean to - unlike Rota with The Godfather - film composers can subconciously self-plagiarise. So, certain musical ideas surface again and again in their work.



And, of course, with films which are part of a series - such as James Bond, Star Trek, Star Wars, the Carry Ons - familiar musical elements are deliberately placed.

[Ascoyne D'Ascoyne]

name='djdave']Even if they don't mean to - unlike Rota with The Godfather - film composers can subconciously self-plagiarise. So, certain musical ideas surface again and again in their work.



And, of course, with films which are part of a series - such as James Bond, Star Trek, Star Wars, the Carry Ons - familiar musical elements are deliberately placed.

There is also the case where certain entertainers/comics had their own particular theme tune ( Laurel and Hardy's eccentric little cuckoo theme and Eddie Cantor's "Making Whoopee" come to my mind) which played behind the opening credits in many of their pictures.

[CC1]

The Theme to the deerhunter "Cavatina" written by stanley Myers and performed by John Williams, was also used as the theme to a 1970 film called "The Walking Stick"

[Jim]

name='CC1']The Theme to the deerhunter "Cavatina" written by stanley Myers and performed by John Williams, was also used as the theme to a 1970 film called "The Walking Stick"

Leonard Rosenman wrote music for the cartoon version of The lord of the Rings; some of which is repeated in one of the Star Trek series; can't remember which one now though!

[Bobj]

The music is not identical but has anyone noticed that Malcolm Arnold's score for Dunkirk (1958) and The Heroes of Telemark (1965) are very similar indeed.

[Ascoyne D'Ascoyne]

name='Bobj']The music is not identical but has anyone noticed that Malcolm Arnold's score for Dunkirk (1958) and The Heroes of Telemark (1965) are very similar indeed.

I don't know these films but it wouldn't surprise me in the least if what you say is true. Quite apart from the fact that Arnold had a very recognisable "voice" to his music the demands that the pressure of work must have placed upon him probably meant that he borrowed from his own work if inspiration was running a bit thin. This sort of borrowing was quite common in the 17 and18th centuries when composers (including Bach and Handel) writing "for the moment" rather than posterity often re-cycled their own (and, sometimes, other composers') works in order to meet a deadline. Arnold, writing 40 or more years ago, would have been blissfully unaware that old films would be, in years to come, recorded and stored in people's homes and that they would notice that he had fulfilled his commission by slightly dubious means!

[Mozkiwi]

If I might add to this thread... I haven't compared the two scores, and it could be because of the composer, Hans Zimmer... but The Gladiator and parts of Pirates of the Caribbean sound identical to me!

[Marky B]

I thought Arnold's music for The Inn Of The Sixth Happiness and The Heroes of Telemark were very much similiar.

Ta Ta

Marky B