May 22, 2019
The US-Italy co-production "Story of a Woman" is perceived as the Holy Grail of John Williams movies. Very few people have seen it, and many will do almost anything for a glimpse at this romantic drama made in 1968 but put into American theaters in 1970. Host Jeff Commings welcomes his first guest co-host, Gianmaria Caschetto, and the two talk about the poor quality of the filmmaking while praising John Williams for writing a score that provides some interesting musical moments. Join us for an analysis of this hard-to-find score, which was composed in Williams' downtime during Goodbye Mr. Chips.
May 15, 2019
If not for some divine intervention, John Williams might not have written one note of music for "The Reivers," and he might not have become the celebrated composer he is today. Host Jeff Commings talks about the rejected score that caused director Mark Rydell to hire Williams, and how Williams was able to quickly turn out a score that perfectly encapsulates the feel of 1900s Mississippi.
May 8, 2019
Before John Williams came onboard to work on the music for "Goodbye, Mr. Chips," the film had gone through so many years of turbulence. But Williams' involvement was one of the reasons why the film turned out as well as it did, as the Maestro worked diligently to turn the serviceable Leslie Bricusse songs into lush melodies. The finished film featured very little original music written by Williams, but his work shines mostly in the orchestrations, which are superb and show the evolving genius music writer that will break through in just a few more years. Join host Jeff Commings as he details the film's backstory and the music that highlights why Williams deserved his second Academy Award nomination.
May 1, 2019
The 1969 film "Daddy's Gone A-Hunting" should have been released as a B-movie, but with "Valley of the Dolls" director Mark Robson helming the film, it was viewed as a surefire hit. It turned out to be anything but that, though Robson tried to boost the quality of film by asking John Williams to write the score while on break from working on "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" in the summer of 1968. Williams experiments with some new instrumentation here, and host Jeff Commings walks you through these moments in a very sparse score.
April 24, 2019
A few years after he decided to leave a lucrative career writing music for television, John Williams returned to the small screen in 1968 with "Heidi." Though the film is infamous now for its interruption of a major professional football game, it has many great moments for Williams in terms of writing lush melodies to depict the young girl's maturation during her time in the Swiss Alps. From a smart comedic theme to a main theme so lyrical there was a song created from it, Williams' work deservedly did not go unnoticed at the time. Host Jeff Commings brings you some of the best moments from the score, including a love theme that got only one moment to shine.
April 17, 2019
The 1967 film "Valley of the Dolls" was, on the surface, like any other assignment John Williams had in his early film scoring career. His task was to adapt music from five original songs by Andre and Dory Previn, and put in some original music of his own. The gig turned out to be a major step forward for the Maestro, marking his first screen credit as "John Williams" since his debut as a film composer. Plenty more significance come from his work on this film, and host Jeff Commings discusses them and takes a listen to highlights from the score in this episode.
April 10, 2019
During a break in recording the score for Valley of the Dolls (the subject of the next episode), John Williams decided to take on a comedy film starring Dick Van Dyke fresh off his eponymous TV show. "Fitzwilly" featured a stately comic main theme for the main character, a butler who moonlights as a thief to fund his employer's bank account. Williams also composed a decent love theme, made into a song by the soon-to-be-famous team of Alan and Marilyn Bergman. This film also marked the final time Williams would be credited as "Johnny Williams" onscreen, and his final comedy for 12 years. Host Jeff Commings analyzes the top moments in the score as we say goodbye to Williams' very impressive comedy film era.
April 3, 2019
After composing scores to five films in 1966 -- and writing music for a failed TV sitcom -- John Williams had only three films on his plate in 1967. On the surface, they would turn out to be no different from what Williams had done previously, but they turned out to make a big impact in moving his career forward. His first film of the year, a bedroom farce starring newly-minted Oscar winner Walter Matthau, offers John Williams fans a chance to hear him compose music of numerous styles in one film. John Williams' work is the star of "Not With My Wife You Don't," especially because his music helps out in many dialogue-free scenes such as a travelogue around the globe and a silent film homage. Because the film did not do well at the box office, the score got very little notice -- until now! Enjoy this listen to an overlooked gem in the John Williams oeuvre.
March 27, 2019
John Williams' final film score of 1966 wasn't his best work of the year, but it does contain some decent moments, including music for a bar fight and a decent love theme. His collaboration with the Oscar-winning lyricist Johnny Mercer yielded three uninspiring songs that aren't very memorable outside the film. Though this isn't the best score Williams wrote in 1966, host Jeff Commings finds some hidden gems inside the music. We'll also take a look back at the five scores from 1966 and which one deserved the most recognition.
March 20, 2019
Natalie Wood is the star of "Penelope," but the film puts so much more focus on Edith Head's costumes that it takes away from the flimsy and uneven plot. John Williams manages to compose a very good theme for the film by way of a 60s-era song that begins his longtime collaboration with the English songwriter Leslie Bricusse. Host Jeff Commings talks about the numerous permutations of the Penelope theme in this episode, as well as the history behind the making of the film and how it affected Natalie Wood's film career.
