Well, dear readers, perhaps it’s time to praise George Duning. Yes, you heard it here, dear readers, perhaps it’s time to praise George Duning. Who is George Duning you might ask and I might tell you because why should I withhold such information from you dear readers? George Duning was and is one of my favorite composers of a little thing I like to call film music. My first time really taking notice of his name was in 1961 when I was thirteen years of age. I already loved a handful of other film composers – most especially Bernard Herrmann, so I always took note of the composer’s name if I loved the music in the movie. In this case, the movie was entitled The Devil at 4 O’Clock, starring Spencer Tracy and Frank Sinatra. It was, most likely, the last film I saw at the Stadium Theatre before it closed and became a temple – the Stadium of course was my favorite childhood movie theater in my neighborhood, mentioned prominently in all three Kritzer books. I always thought the last film I saw at the Stadium was The Naked Edge starring Gary Cooper, but that opened during the summer and The Devil at 4 O’Clock opened in October and I believe the theater closed shortly thereafter.
Anyway, I absolutely went nuts for the score to Devil at 4 O’Clock. I loved everything about it, and I’m sure I saw the film at least one more time just to hear the music. Now, truth be told, I had to have heard Duning’s music prior to that, as I know I saw The Wreck of the Mary Deare at the Stadium as well as Operation Mad Ball and Houseboat, but I didn’t take notice as I did with Devil at 4 O’Clock. Thankfully there was a soundtrack album in stereophonic sound on the Colpix label and I bought that and played it over and over again.
The next time I took notice was when I attended a sneak preview of the movie Toys in the Attic at, I think, the Picwood Theater in Westwood. That was 1963, and the minute the music came on I somehow knew it was Duning and I was right. I didn’t love the movie, but when it finally opened I went back three times to see it just to hear that great music. Sadly, no soundtrack album, just a 45 of the theme song sung by Jack Jones, which I of course had. Then a few years later I saw Any Wednesday and loved his score for that, too. Around that time, I also saw Picnic for the first time, and From Here to Eternity, and some of the Judy Holliday pictures from the 1950s, all of which he’d scored, all great. But mostly he was doing television by that time and only did infrequent movie scores. He did The Big Valley and some great original Star Trek episodes. It seems he retired around 1983, although he’s credited on a Law and Order score from 1997 but I’m guessing that was tracked in music. He passed away in 2000 at 92 if I did the math right.
But that’s not quite the end. In 1971 I did my first episode of The Partridge Family. I really took no notice of the credits other than mine own. The second episode was The Partridge Papers and when it got to my big scene with Shirley Jones I thought the music was just exquisite – and on this show there was a composer credit – George Duning. I couldn’t believe it – one of my all-time favorite movie composers had scored an episode I was in. If you don’t know Mr. Duning’s work, I recommend you correcting that oversight. His score to Picnic has always been available on CD, but there’s also an isolated score on the Twilight Time Blu-ray and that’s the entire score. Film Score Monthly did both Toys in the Attic and The Devil at 4 O’Clock and both can be had pretty cheaply and both are great.
Yesterday was a somewhat irritating day interrupted by a couple of nice things – they didn’t quite offset the irritants, but during a day like that you take what you can get, nice things-wise. It was not the kind of day I wanted after doing a great show the night before. I got about seven hours of sleep, got up, answered e-mails, had irritants, then went and had a bacon and cheese omelet, an English muffin, and fruit. Then I picked up a couple of packages, then came back home and had one astonishing irritant that was pretty unbelievable. Bad behavior by someone (not to me, though) and something I’m going to have to address in a day or two because the person involved needs to hear that what they did was bad form. After hearing about that nonsense, I did a two-and-a-half mile jog, showered, and then we had a little group rehearsal for the choral number we’re recording this evening – six singers. Richard Allen, who did the vocal arrangement, hired the three guys – I think I’ve met them before, but I got the three gals – Sami, Amy Gillette, and Brittney Bertier. Richard Sherman was with us. It went very well and it will sound lovelier than lovely.
Then I agreed to attend a little meeting that ran longer than it should of and I was kind of stuck there, but I left as soon as I could. Then I just came home, listened to – drum roll – George Duning’s Toys in the Attic and The Devil at 4 O’Clock – oh, how I love that music.
Today, I have a phone meeting at eleven, then I’ll do a jog, hopefully pick up packages, then around four-fifteen I’ll leave and go pick up the Shermans and we’ll have a little bite to eat before the session and then we’ll do our little vocal session – the choral number up first, and then two duets. Then I’ll take the Shermans home.
The rest of the week is meetings and meals, but not too much stuff other than getting the November Kritzerland music to the singers, and seeing what two or three numbers I’m switching up from the first iteration of the show. I may be seeing a show – can’t remember.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, have a phone meeting, jog, hopefully pick up packages, pick up the Shermans, sup, and then do a recording session. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite films of Spencer Tracy, one of the finest actors who ever lived. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, hoping for a day with no irritants and happy to have written about Discovering Duning.