Mr. Tiomkin and I

Probably the earliest piece of movie music I became aware of was "The Song From Moulin Rouge" but that was because we had the 78 RPM recording and you heard it on the radio all the time. I certainly didn't see the movie until many years later. The first movie I saw where I became aware of the music and wanted a record of the theme was Giant (1956). I fell in love with the movie (at 8-years old) and the music. The next two movies to catch my ear were in 1957, Night Passage, scored by Tiomkin, and The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, scored by Hermann.

Now, fifty years later, I still love these scores. I have also grown to appreciate many other composers such as A. Newman, Rozsa, Korngold, Steiner, Waxman, E. Bernstein, Goldsmith and Barry. However, I have come to the conclusion that my favorite film composer is Dimitri Tiomkin. It wasn't a conscious decision, but the realization that if I have the choice of a recording of Tiomkin or another composer I usually choose Tiomkin.

My first Tiomin soundtrack album was The Alamo. I still have the original LP and the later CD issue. And it remains one of my favorite scores.

During the seventies it was common of some reviewers, such as the late Page Cook, to dismiss anything Tiomkin had composed. I remember reading about some film studies professor prompting his class of boot-lickers to boo whenever Tiomkin's name appeared on screen. But Tiomkin ignored such behavior and continued working almost until his death.

Dimitri Tiomkin had the ability to make a movie seem better than it was through his music. Duel In The Sun would be a lot harder to watch without Tiomkin's magnificent score which helps draw the ear away from the banal dialogue. He also had the ability to support the story with song as in Night Passage. His music in Giant makes the romance between Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson seem so much more real. The dialogue in Land of the Pharaohs is pretty bad, but shut your eyes and listen to the music. It is an incredible score and worth the time.

In a way Tiomkin inadvertently created the popularity of a theme song that could also sell records. There were many differently recordings of the song High Noon which helped boost its take at the box office. Gunfight At The OK Corral successfully repeated the formula.

During the Sixties the epic film was on its way out, but Tiomkin scored three of the breed for Samuel Bronston, 55 Days At Peking, Fall of the Roman Empire (one of his greatest scores) and Circus World (aka The Magnificent Showman).

Many of Dimitri Tiomkin's scores are available now on CD, either reissues of the original soundtrack recordings, on new recordings. One example is a four-disk set from Silva, entitled The Alamo. Many of the arrangements in this set are excellent, but the singers are, at times, pretty terrible, especially making a hash of "Follow The River" from Night Passage and "Tennessee Babe" from The Alamo. On the other hand they earned their money on the recording of the theme from The War Wagon. It's a mixed bag, but worth getting.

So, sample some of Tiomkin's music, best starting with viewings of The High And The Mighty and The Alamo. So, until next time, go out and listen to some movies.