Malcolm Arnold

[Private Widdle]

Whilst working from home today, with 'Inn of the Sixth Happiness' on Film 4 in the background, I couldn't help noticing that Malcolm Arnolds score sounds in parts very similar to his scores for both 'Dunkirk' and 'The Sea Shall Not Have Them' - anyone else noticed this?

[julian_craster]

Many of Malcolm Arnold's film post-1956 scores sound alike, regardless of the subject of the film ! - just a bit of local colour added for Island in the Sun, The Lion and Nine Hours to Rama



Laziness ?

[Windthrop]

I don't care what anyone says he was a true genius in his composing IMHO. Hobson's Choice is my personal favorite. If you ever get the chance to watch the 2 part South Bank Show about him do so. It was superb and made during his life. A word of warning though - there is footage of him towards the end of his life and it is quite chilling.

[Guenther]

Crastner

How do for example "Nine Hours to Rama" and "The Lion" sound alike?



You might have a problem with his overall style... But than you would have the same problem with Barry, Herrmann, Rozsa etc... a lot of there scores also "sound alike"



I admit, there is a similarity between "The Lion" and "Roots of Heaven" or for example "Inn of the Sixth Happiness" and "Heroes of Telemark"



There is no other film score quite like "Whistle Down the Wind", "No Love for Johnnie" or "The Reckoning"... Tell me where there are similarities with other Arnold film scores or any other film scores for that matter.

[Dave Rattigan]

It's unsurprising that film music from the same composers often tended to sound the same. It was underpaid and usually written quickly under tight deadlines.



Herrmann used exactly the same motif for a whole ton of his best-known scores.



Being a one-time youth orchestra kid, I have a certain fondness for Arnold, who wrote lots of highly playable and accessible music for younger and/or amateur players. I find it a pity that he is pretty much neglected, especially by the Proms, who tend to wheel out one or two of the jokier pieces every year (eg Grand, Grand Overture) and ignore some of his more serious works, such as the symphonies.

[julian_craster]

Although there is a considerable range in his output, I have noticed similarities in the orchestration of the Malcolm Arnold scores for



The Inspector (1962)



No Love for Johnnie (1961)



The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958)



The Roots of Heaven (1958)



The Key (1958)



Island in the Sun (1957)

[Gerald Lovell]

You might have a problem with his overall style... But than you would have the same problem with Barry, Herrmann, Rozsa etc... a lot of there scores also "sound alike"



This is a very fair point. I can usually recognise a score by any of the above three composers (and many others) without being told who wrote it beforehand. Surely it's just a matter of style.

[Simon Bermuda]

Watching Dunkirk last night, Arnold's music did immediately bring to mind his equally rousing accompaniments to Inn Of The Sixth Happiness and Heroes of Telemark. But to say that Arnold often resorted to a tried-and-tested all-purpose war-movie sound is no different to saying that Morricone often stuck to his own Spaghetti Western template. Both were equally effective in their respective genres.



Also worthy of mention is Arnold's score for Terence Fisher's early Hammer science fiction thriller Four Sided Triangle, whose main theme - a lyrical, evocative, lushly pastoral piece - reminds me somewhat of Arnold's "English Dances".

[darrenburnfan]

Miklos Rozsa often recycled bits of his scores to use in other films, slightly changed, but with the main melody intact. For example, in Plymouth Adventure (1953), the music that accompanies the scene of the Pilgrim’s first night at sea aboard the Mayflower is very like his later main title theme for Moonfleet (1955) and in Moonfleet, after the ambush on the beach, where Jon Whiteley leaps out of the boat in pursuit of the fleeing Stewart Granger. Jon runs from the right of the CinemaScope image as a soldier chases him from the left, accompanied by a peice of "running" music that Rozsa later adapted in his score for King of Kings (1961) to accompany the garrison of Roman soldiers running to man the walls of the Fortress Antonia prior to the battle scene between the Jews and the Romans.



If you listen to the music in these scenes, the similarities are there. Also, the first three notes of Malcolm Arnold’s main theme for The Inspector (1962) are the same three notes he used a few months later for the main title in The Lion (1962). These similarities were often down to three things: Arrangement; style and the need to produce a score as fast as possible for the studio involved.

[Film Man]

Usualy the Director tells the composer that they would like something like they wrote for another film...Bill Conti told me that he tried a different score for the James Bond he did (For Your Eyes Only)...but didn't use it, as everyone knows what a Bond score should be like and it sounded odd. Malcolm Arnold was my Hero!

Film Man.

[Rick C]

By sheer chance the BBC played today a variety of suites from Malcolm Arnolds "David Copperfield". What an unexpected joy on my birthday!

And what a version; Rumon Gamba conducting the BBC Philharmonia Orchestra. The programme was "Breakfast" broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on Monday 8 November. Still available on i-player and the section comes in at about I hour 33 minutes.


I shall remember this always!

[Geoffers]

I don't care what anyone says he was a true genius in his composing IMHO. Hobson's Choice is my personal favorite. If you ever get the chance to watch the 2 part South Bank Show about him do so. It was superb and made during his life. A word of warning though - there is footage of him towards the end of his life and it is quite chilling.

I found that footage very difficult to watch. In fact, though I recorded it, I don't think I've watched it since.

As to the similarities in his scores, I don't think the melodies are identical but he has a way of working with certain phrases when you can suddenly be reminded of another of his film scores. I was watching something the other day, either Dunkirk or Home at Seven and I heard just a snatch of music and instantly knew it was Arnold, but it was another film of his I was thinking of.

I'll try and be more precise next time this happens but I think it's just his style - and, of course, he is brilliant in every respect.

[darrenburnfan]

By sheer chance the BBC played today a variety of suites from Malcolm Arnolds "David Copperfield". What an unexpected joy on my birthday!

And what a version; Rumon Gamba conducting the BBC Philharmonia Orchestra. The programme was "Breakfast" broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on Monday 8 November. Still available on i-player and the section comes in at about I hour 33 minutes.


I shall remember this always!

David Copperfield (1969), the last work he did for the cinema, is a splendid score. I have the original soundtrack LP of it from 1970, as well as the more recent William Stromberg and The Moscow Symphony Orchestra CD (2000), which twins it with Arnold's The Roots Of Heaven score. David Copperfield was run only once on terrestial television in this country...on ITV at Christmas, 1974 and that was yer lot. It must also be decades since The Roots Of Heaven was last shown on television here.

[darrenburnfan]

BELOW: The cover of the CD released in 2001 of re-recordings of Arnold's scores for David Copperfield (1969) and The Roots Of Heaven (1958), the accompanying booklet of which contained an introduction written by Arnold himself. The CD was released to mark Arnold's 80th birthday. BOTTOM: A rare 45 rpm original soundtrack single released over forty years ago in Japan of the Main Title Theme, backed with David's Love For Agnes and End Title from David Copperfield.

[Edward G]

Great scans, darrenburnfan.
Love those old vinyl pictures.

[darrenburnfan]

Glad you like them, Edward. Record labels don't tend to scan very well, because the vinyl on which they're attached curves inwards towards the centre. But until the day comes when I buy a digital camera, this is the best that I can do. I often wonder what happened to Alistair Mackenzie, seen on the CD cover as David Copperfield as a little boy. If he's still around, he must be pushing 50 years of age by now. And to think I ran this film at the Plaza the year it was released...1970. Well, that's forty years gone ever so fast.

[Arfur Teacake]

He brought two terribly dull films Whistle Down the Wind and Sky West and Crooked
to life and they are nothing without that haunting music score IMHO

[Geoffers]

He brought two terribly dull films Whistle Down the Wind and Sky West and Crooked
to life and they are nothing without that haunting music score IMHO

I wouldn't describe Whistle Down the Wind as "terribly dull", but I agree about the contribution Sir Malcolm made to both films. Incidentally, I once discussed the former with Bryan Forbes and his opinion was that the music might have been a little too much - perhaps too sugary - I can't recall his exact words now. I thought it was perfect for the film.

[Rick C]

Am i correct in that "David Copperfield" (1969) complete with Arnold score is showing tonight/early morning on satellite TV? Classic I think.

Or has it already happened? LOL

[Geoffers]

Am i correct in that "David Copperfield" (1969) complete with Arnold score is showing tonight/early morning on satellite TV? Classic I think.

Or has it already happened? LOL

Sky Movie Classics, starting at 4 on Saturday morning!