A Celebration of Dimitri Tiomkin

The Russian-born film composer Dimitri Tiomkin (1894-1979) famously thanked all the classical greats when accepting his 1955 Academy Award for The High and the Mighty. But Beethoven and Tchaikovsky would not have thought of having a whistler warble a memorable (and eerie) theme for one of their works - a theme that would become a huge popular success.

Tiomkin may have had roots in the classics, but he also was a powerful hit maker, writing both sweeping scores for his film assignments and theme music that often topped the charts.

Today we look at both sides of Tiomkin via:

• The Popular Dimitri Tiomkin, a set of 21 theme songs from his most fertile decade (1952-61), representing both huge successes and more modest but still worthy efforts.

• Movie Themes from Hollywood, Tiomkin's own 1955 LP of his compositions

• Return to Paradise, his unusual 1953 album of music from the film, with star Gary Cooper narrating the story

• Dimitri Tiomkin Obscurities (on my other blog), with such items as his first record (from 1934), foreign language versions of his themes, a mambo rendition of The High and the Mighty, and other items

The Popular Dimitri Tiomkin

Tiomkin's first huge hit was the theme from the Western High Noon, also known as "Do Not Forsake Me" with Gary Cooper's Quaker wife (Grace Kelly!) threatening to leave him if he shoots the bad guys. It's a bleak tale, with no one in the town willing to stand up to evil, except for Coop.

The story goes that the film was a flop in previews, so the studio wanted to shelve it. But Tiomkin paid for a recording of the title song - the version by Frankie Laine, which became a hit. That led the studio to release the film, which did well. The soundtrack version was by the sonorous Tex Ritter, who also recorded a single for Capitol that sold nicely. Both Laine and Ritter are in our collection.

It of course helped that the simple song was unforgettable. Catchy themes (and Westerns) would mark Tiomkin's career henceforth. The lyrics for "High Noon" were by the brilliant Ned Washington (1901-76), who won his second Oscar for this collaboration with Tiomkin. (The composer won a total of four.)

Our second film is another Western, The Big Sky, but it did not yield a hit for Tiomkin. From that score we do have a heartfelt ballad "When I Dream," sensitively done on a Capitol release by Bob Eberly, the former Jimmy Dorsey vocalist. I don't believe this is sung in the film.

Dimitri Tiomkin with Frankie Laine, Paul Francis Webster (seated), probably producer Milton Sperling, and Ray Heindorf, likely at the Blowing Wild sessions

Tiomkin again teamed with Gary Cooper and Frankie Laine for yet another Western, Blowing Wild, but Dimitri's music and Laine's histrionics did not lead to a hit the size of "High Noon." Paul Francis Webster (1907-84), another frequent Tiomkin collaborator, was the lyricist.

The war film Take the High Ground! did have a theme song, but today we hear the ballad "Julie," a tribute to Elaine Stewart's character. The beautiful Tiomkin melody is graced by a superior performance from studio vocalist Stuart Foster. I've presented this record before, but it merits a reprise.

Like South Pacific, Return to Paradise was based on a James Mitchener story, with Gary Cooper the filmic protagonist. The atmospheric title number was sung by the excellent Kitty White for the soundtrack, but here we have the fine singer Alan Dale with his lovely version for Coral.

The 'Hajji Baba' creative team: Nat King Cole, Dimitri Tiomkin and Ned Washington

Hollywood (and the musical world) were fixated on exotica in the 1950s, and Tiomkin and Washington managed to make it pay off with their hit title song for The Adventures of Hajji Baba. For "Hajji Baba" they had the good fortune to have the perfect vocalist, Nat King Cole, on both the soundtrack and the Capitol recording, arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle.

Cash Box ad

The song is very dated - and more than a little creepy - but nonetheless memorable, and a big hit.

The promotion for the Western A Bullet Is Waiting promised "Explosive and overpowering hate and drama in the High Sierras!", but the single from the film spares us the angst and instead provides a pleasing instrumental number called "Jamie," here performed by LeRoy Holmes and his orchestra. The title is mysterious because none of the film's characters is named Jamie. Also, the song has lyrics (which seem to be by Manny Curtis), but those aren't included here. Still, a nice number.

In a very real way, the star of the airplane melodrama The High and the Mighty is the theme music. Based on a tune whistled in the film by the first officer (John Wayne), it has an otherworldly aura that could portend tragedy or intervention by God (and Wayne). The latter is, of course, what happens. Otherwise, the film is an airborne Grand Hotel.

The theme became massively popular because of its haunting quality. The biggest-selling single may have been the LeRoy Holmes record with whistling by Fred Lowery. I've chosen Victor Young's version with perfect and rather godlike whistling by Muzzy Marcellino, who was also heard on the soundtrack. Marcellino was a former Ted Fio Rito vocalist.

Click to enlarge

There were no lack of recordings of the theme. Jumping on the bandwagon (or airplane) in this Cash Box graphic were Tiomkin, Harry James, Perez Prado, Johnny Desmond, Les Baxter, Richard Hayman, Georgie Auld, Eddie Manson, Young, Holmes, Joe Loco, Leo Diamond and the Dorsey Brothers. Prado's mambo version and Desmond's singing can be heard on my other blog. The lyrics, which have nothing to do with the film's plot, were by the ubiquitous Ned Washington. By the way, Tiomkin's own record, which is in his LP below, replaces the whistling with a theremin.

In Friendly Persuasion, Gary Cooper once again starred in a tale of Quaker pacifism contending with a threat to the community The film produced another hit record for Tiomkin, this time working with Paul Francis Webster.

"Friendly Persuasion (Thee I Love)" was sung both on the soundtrack and on records by Pat Boone, who was otherwise known for covers of R&B hits. (Note that the flip side of "Friendly Persuasion" was a remake of a Big Joe Turner single.) Boone was actually a crooner in the Crosby vein, and quite a talented one as his version of Tiomkin's gorgeous theme song amply displays.

The Rock Hudson-Elizabeth Taylor-James Dean epic Giant actually had two theme songs: "Giant" and "There's Never Been Anyone Else But You (Love Theme from Giant)." Both were recorded, but the love theme more often, so I've chosen it for this collection. It gives me a chance to showcase some excellent vocalese from June Brown on the Mercury record by David Carroll and band. 

Giant was Dean's final film before his early death in a car crash. About 15 years ago I posted two different Dean exploitation records, while are still available.

We're back in the old West with Tiomkin, Washington and Frankie Laine for the title song of Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. It's a legendary tale loosely based on real incidents in Tombstone, Arizona in 1881, involving the Earp brothers, Doc Holliday and a band of outlaws. In the film, Burt Lancaster is Wyatt Earp and Kirk Douglas is Doc Holliday.

Laine's inimitable singing was a popular success, although the record did not become as iconic as High Noon.

The film Wild Is the Wind takes place on a ranch but only in that sense is it a Western. Otherwise it's a tale of love, loss and betrayal among Anna Magnani, Anthony Quinn and Tony Franciosa.

Johnny Mathis sang the magnificent theme song both on the soundtrack and on records. It's a unique performance, and a favorite of mine. (I owned the single when I was eight.) It only rose to the 22nd spot on the Billboard listing, but even so sold a huge number of records by virtue of its inclusion on Johnny's Greatest Hits, an LP that was on the charts for 10 years!

This is one of the best things Tiomkin and Washington did, and it shows their range following Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.

Tiomkin and John Wayne re-teamed for Rio Bravo, bringing along two singers as accomplices - Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson. We have three songs from the film, all transferred from a Capitol promo disc in my collection. Dino sings the title song, as he did in the film, and "My Rifle, My Pony and Me," a better song than title. Paul Francis Webster was the lyricist.

Ricky also sings this in the film, but not on the disc. His hit from the film was the traditional song "Cindy," which I've not included here but which can be heard on YouTube in an extract from the Nelson family's TV show The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. You can spy guitarist James Burton in Ricky's band. The appropriate excerpt from Rio Bravo also is online.

Billboard ad

The third number is "El Degüello" (on the Capitol label "De Guello"). Tiomkin patterned this baleful trumpet motto on the music played by Gen. Santa Anna's buglers before the siege of the Alamo in 1836. "Degüello" literally means "throat-slashing" - it portends that the attackers will show no mercy. Santa Anna's men did not.

For the Capitol recording, Nelson Riddle was in charge, Manny Klein the trumpeter. Tiomkin and Wayne soon were to reuse the theme in Wayne's film The Alamo.

"Degüello" was very influential. Such ominous trumpet themes are a feature of the "spaghetti Westerns" of the 1960s.

When it came to the theme song for the Eric Fleming-Clint Eastwood Western TV show Rawhide, Tiomkin and Washington turned to (who else) Frankie Laine, and for inspiration Frankie's 1949 hit "Mule Train." In one, Laine was driving a team of mules, for the other a herd of cattle. In both cases, he got to shout "hee-yah!" to striking effect.

This stereo version is from Frankie's LP Hell Bent for Leather. The conductor is Johnny Williams, who later turned into famed film composer John Williams.

John Wayne's The Alamo spawned two outstanding songs. "The Ballad of the Alamo," written by Tiomkin and Paul Francis Webster, was clearly inspired by Marty Robbins' incredible "El Paso" of the year before. Fittingly, Robbins got the assignment to perform Tiomkin's story-song. It's an affecting record, even if it does use the same Spanish guitar backing as "El Paso," played by the same guitarist, Grady Martin.

Ads from Cash Box

Almost as fine is the elegiac ballad "The Green Leaves of Summer," here in the hit version by the folk group The Brothers Four. They are effective, but I also recommend the intense Spanish language single by the superb Lucho Gatica, which can be found in the collection on my other blog.

There were no big hits from the war film The Guns of Navarone, but the theme music did stimulate several instrumental versions. This collection includes the adaptation by guitarist Al Caiola, who simplified the film's title to "Guns of Navarone."

The final selection from Tiomkin's great period is the title song from "Town without Pity." Washington's lyrics don't have anything to do with the plot except in a general way. I believe the song is used in the film as source music from a jukebox.

Cash Box ad

Despite this throwaway use, it's a great number that was a huge hit for Gene Pitney in his first outing on record. Pitney's distinctive vocalizing became one of the best things about early 1960s music. The singer's next hit was "(The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance," based on the Western of the same name but not used in the film. This is the type of song that Tiomkin and Washington could write, but it was actually by Burt Bacharach and Hal David.

These selections come from Internet Archive and my collection.

LINK to The Popular Dimitri Tiomkin

Movie Themes from Hollywood

The Coral label invited Tiomkin to make an instrumental LP of his finest movie themes in 1955. Here are a few words about each of the songs, many of which are covered elsewhere.

The High and the Mighty - as mentioned above, Tiomkin uses a theremin rather than a whistler in this version. Heretical but ethereal (and spooky).

Champion - For this Kirk Douglas boxing melodrama, Tiomkin produced a tune that veers too close to "The March of the Wooden Soldiers" at times. There also was a ballad from the film called "Never Be It Said," which can be found in the collection on my other blog.

A Bullet Is Waiting - Tiomkin's version of the ballad "Jamie," also in the collection above via the LeRoy Holmes single.

Strange Lady in Town - This ambling Western tune was a tribute to the "strange lady" - Greer Garson as a doctor who moves to Santa Fe.

Dial "M" for Murder - Tiomkin's dramatic theme for the Hitchcock film can also be found in my collection of "Alfred Hitchcock Obscurities."

Return to Paradise - We have full coverage of this score, with Tiomkin's theme here, the music from the soundtrack below, and a vocal version of the theme on my other blog.

High Noon - Tex and Frankie are above, Dimitri here, "Forlad mig ikke" on the other blog.

Land of the Pharaohs - This one involves Jack Hawkins designing a tomb for a pharaoh. Somehow Joan Collins shows up in a bikini. The music is good, though, and if you want to hear it on a harmonica we have that, too. There's also a song based on the the score, added as a bonus below.

Hajji Baba - You certainly don't need anything but Nat Cole above, but Tiomkin's version is from the source.

Duel in the Sun - This dates back to 1946. A Western with Joseph Cotten and Gregory Peck vying for Jennifer Jones. Fiedler and the Boston Pops did an album of the music back in the day.

I Confess - Another score for Hitchcock. An enjoyable theme that also can be found in an odd tea-dance version on my other blog.

Lost Horizon - Tiomkin's first big success was with the score for this popular 1937 film.

BONUS: "This Too Shall Pass" from Land of the Pharaohs. Tiomkin recorded a single of this number for Coral with Johnny Desmond singing Ned Washington's words. Worth hearing even if Johnny is a little overbearing. I don't believe a vocal was used in the film.

The LP is from my collection.

LINK to Movie Themes from Hollywood

Return to Paradise

Return to Paradise came soon after High Noon, and was a departure in locale and music. The soundtrack LP also was a departure - Coral took music from Tiomkin's soundtrack and added a narration voiced by the lead character, Gary Cooper.

It's a good idea that comes across well on the first listen, but I'm not sure how often you might want to listen to Coop's laid-back delivery.

The music is, however, well worth your time.

I remastered this from an LP on Internet Archive. 

All the selections throughout this post are in ambient stereo, with the exception of Frankie Laine's stereo running of the cattle in Rawhide.

LINK to Return to Paradise

'Twas Brillig - The Songs of 'Alice in Wonderland'

The idea of doing an animated or hybrid live action/animation version of the perennially popular Alice in Wonderland - or as its author, Lewis Carroll called it, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - was in the back of Walt Disney's mind for many years before he got around to producing the famous 1951 film.

Lewis Carroll

Before Disney's film, there had been at least six film versions (not counting a few shorts by Walt himself), and two television productions, including one that aired while the 1951 film version was in production.

In the 1940s, Disney had contemplated a live-action/animated version with Ginger Rogers in the title role. This did not come to pass, but Rogers (a strange choice) recorded some Victor Young-Frank Luther songs for the project. The resulting album can be found here.

Bob Hilliard and Sammy Fain

In 1946, Disney asked the well-known Mack David, Al Hoffman and Jerry Livingston to work up some Alice songs, as they had done for Cinderella. Only one was eventually used - "The Unbirthday Song." Disney's next choice was the pairing of Sammy Fain and Bob Hilliard. Composer Fain had only just started working with the lyricist, but they already had a success with "Dear Hearts and Gentle People." Their songs ultimately became the backbone of the film's score, although the teams of Cy Coben-Oliver Wallace, Don Raye-Gene de Paul and Mack David-Jerry Livingston-Al Hoffman also contributed excellent numbers.

Despite the film's patchwork of composers, the songs from Alice hold together very well, and were taken up by some of the best performers of the day. As such they make for a entertaining playlist, which I've put together for you. This set does not include anything from the soundtrack itself, which Disney did not get around to issuing until the CD era.

Here are the Alice songs, presented in the order of their appearance in the film, with one exception. All numbers are by Fain and Hilliard unless noted otherwise.

I hope I don't get too many details of the film wrong: I haven't seen Alice since I was seven. And that was a while ago.

'Alice in Wonderland'

Alice

The idea for doing this post actually originated in one of my items devoted to the superb vocalist Stuart Foster. I was mightily impressed by the recording he made with Hugo Winterhalter of Alice's title song. This dreamy reverie perfectly sets off the more eccentric songs in the score.

At the risk of repeating myself, I've included the Foster-Winterhalter recording to start off this collection.

'I'm Late'

The White Rabbit

Danny Kaye

The lament of the White Rabbit - "I'm Late" - was for many years the most often heard song from the score. Here is a version by Danny Kaye, whose ability to sing very fast while conveying comic neurosis is perfect for the Rabbit. The clever lyrics are a big help, of course. Dave Terry conducted the band for this Coral recording.

Kaye makes two return appearances below.

'How D'Ye Do and Shake Hands'

One of these is Tweedledee, the other Tweedledum

The next two songs are given over to the ever-popular Tweedledee and Tweedledum. Their first number is the wacky "How D'Ye Do and Shake Hands." It's an item that did have some currency on the televised variety shows of the time because it lends itself to an ensemble presentation.

Two of the leading labels of the day - RCA Victor and Decca - gathered four of their biggest names to have a go at it. I've included both recordings, hopefully not trying your patience in the process.

RCA's effort starred Betty Hutton, Dinah Shore, Phil Harris and Tony Martin - two who specialized in comic songs (Hutton and Harris) and two who did not. Phil and Betty come off better; the other two sound a little embarrassed to be there. Henri René led the band with "horns by courtesy of Spike Jones."

Jimmy, Jane, Groucho

The competition from Decca started off with the ever-present Danny Kaye, adding Jimmy Durante and Groucho Marx. The fourth voice belonged to Jane Wyman, who not only could sing, but was adept with comic numbers - as she proved that same year with her duet with Bing on "In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening" in Here Comes the Groom.

The Decca recording, with Sonny Burke leading the band, is the better of the two. Thanks to my pal Ernie for bringing these to my attention!

'The Walrus and the Carpenter'

Danny Kaye returns with another Tweedledum/dee specialty, their tale of the "The Walrus and the Carpenter," a setting of a Carroll poem. The backing is again by Dave Terry.

Carroll's off-center approach to words was perfect for Kaye - the carpenter and walrus are on a beach, and the carpenter assures the walrus, "We'll sweep this clear / In 'alf a year, / If you don't mind the work!"

'All in the Golden Afternoon'

"All in the Golden Afternoon" is the preface poem to Carroll's book, but in the film Fain's setting is used for a scene with Alice and the flowers.

Kukla, Burr, Ollie and Fran

"Golden Afternoon" inspired commercial recordings by Rosemary Clooney and Anne Shelton, but I have chosen the version by a sentimental favorite, Fran Allison, working with Wayne King's orchestra. Allison was the "Fran" in Kukla, Fran and Ollie, Burr Tillstrom's puppet show that was a favorite of early TV viewers, especially me.

Allison was not a great singer - not as good as Clooney or Shelton, anyway - but her vocalizing here is charming.

'Twas Brillig

We're in a different world altogether with the next song, "'Twas Brillig," which was allotted to the Cheshire Cat and his perma-grin. (Parenthetically, there are many explanations of the genesis of the phrase, "grinning like a Cheshire cat," but it's clear the expression and character did not originate with Carroll.)

The song was borrowed from Carroll's Alice follow-up Through the Looking Glass. The author called it "Jabberwocky," but the film goes by its first words, "'Twas Brillig," which continues, "and the slithy toves / Did gyre and gimble in the wabe". It's often called a nonsense poem, but Carroll's initial version was a send-up of Old English. Nonsense or not, the poem did contribute at least two words to the dictionary - "chortled" and "galumphing," both favorites of mine.

Lucy Ann Polk

"'Twas Brillig" being a sort of Victorian jive talk, it appealed to some of the musicians of the mid-20th century. Hollywood songwriters Don Raye and Gene de Paul set it to music, and a nice job they did of it, too. I've included the fine recording by Les Brown's band, with a accomplished vocal from the talented Lucy Ann Polk. This is one of the best things in the collection. The Brown record makes use of only the first stanza of Carroll's poem. (The complete poem and more about its language can be found here.)

'The Unbirthday Song'

Alice at tea with the Hatter and Hare

A second number that found some life outside of the film was "The Unbirthday Song," another clever piece, this one given to the Mad Hatter and the March Hare. It was contributed by the popular songwriters Mack David, Jerry Livingston and Al Hoffman.

I've chosen the version by Rosemary Clooney, one of the four Alice songs she recorded for Columbia's children's label. Rosie can seem perfunctory in kiddie material, but she gets this one right. Percy Faith leads the band.

'Very Good Advice'

Peggy King

"Very Good Advice" is Alice's song of disillusionment. She fears she won't return home, and sings, "I give myself very good advice / But I very seldom follow it / That explains the trouble that I'm always in."

Here, too, we turn to the big band ranks for the RCA recording by Ralph Flanagan and his orchestra, with a vocal by Peggy King, 20 years old and sounding younger. Her simple approach is right for the song, one of the best by Fain and Hilliard.

You may note on the record label that King was spelling her first name "Pegge" early in her career. One of her few LPs is available here.

'Painting the Roses Red'

Fred Waring

Alice encounters playing cards who are busying themselves by painting the roses red. Why? Because they mistakenly planted white roses and the Queen of Hearts prefers red. (She catches on anyway and has them beheaded - which is her impulse on most occasions. This may seem to be a not-very-oblique commentary on Queen Victoria, but it's said that she loved the book.)

The abbreviated version here is from the song-storybook by Fred Waring and His Pennsylvanians, a polished production for Decca.

'The March of the Cards'

The Three Suns

I am not the biggest fan of the Three Suns, but their foursquare approach to music suits "The March of the Cards." (The Three Suns were reportedly the favorite group of noted hipster Mamie Eisenhower.) The Sammy Fain tune was taken up by a number of other artists - among them Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops, Waring and pianist Winifred Atwell.

This is the only strictly instrumental piece in this collection, and is well in keeping with the jaunty approach of some of the other selections.

From the top in the photo above are Artie Dunn, organ, Morty Nevins, accordion, and Al Nevins, guitar.

'In a World of My Own'

The song "In a World of My Own" is introduced at the beginning of the film, but the best version on record may be by Fred Waring's group, which segues into a reprise of the "Alice in Wonderland" theme music at the end of their set. For that reason, I've kept it in that place to close this collection, save for the bonus track below.

A Jazz Version of the Theme

Paul Desmond and Dave Brubeck

The "Alice in Wonderland" theme was unexpectedly popular with certain jazz musicians. I've capped this collection with Dave Brubeck's first recording of the composition, dating from 1952. He would return to it five years later for Columbia and a complete LP called Dave Digs Disney.

Brubeck's pianism often seemed labored, as it does here. But the compensation is the wonderful alto saxophonist Paul Desmond, who contributes a typically lyrical solo, drawing an evocative tone from an instrument that can sound shrill.

Disney's Alice in Wonderland is highly regarded today, but lost money at the box office on its initial release. Walt himself was unhappy with the product, thinking it had insufficient heart. One critic complained that it "utterly lacked enchantment." To me, the opposite is true - Disney's artists brought Carroll's wonderland to life with great skill. Gracing it all was a diverse score that nonetheless hangs together and is a entertaining complement to Carroll's story and the Disney storytellers.

These records are primarily from Internet Archive, as refurbished by me.

One final note - "Lewis Carroll" was a pen name. The author was in reality Rev. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832-98), who was at once a clergyman, an Oxford don in mathematics, a poet, an author and a photographer. You may have noticed that the title card at the top of this post has a typo in Carroll's name.