Elmer Bernstein (1922-2004)
Released halfway through 1963, The Great Escape, directed by John Sturges for MGM, has a distinguished cast (including Richard Attenborough, Steve McQueen, James Garner, Donald Pleasance, Charles Bronson, Gordon Jackson, and David McCullum). It stands up well to repetition, and was on the BBC again over this Christmas, reminding of a line from The Likely Lads when Rodney Bewes’s character – Bob Ferris – makes a sarky comment about its regularity (see below).
It also has a fine score from Elmer Bernstein, including an enduring earworm…
The above was inspired by the latest episode (4/26, Jan.16) of Soundtracks of Our Lives, in which Leonard Slatkin focussed on the movie music of Elmer Bernstein (pronounced ‘steen’, BTW), very interesting…
I should add that I had the pleasure of interviewing Mr Bernstein for What’s On in London previewing a concert of his film music that he was conducting in the Royal Albert Hall with the RPO. A very pleasant and amusing man.
Great Escape ‘moment’: 2:05-3:24.
>Soundtrack from the 1960 John Sturges film “The Magnificent Seven” with Yul Brynner, Eli Wallach, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn, Horst Buchholz, Brad Dexter & James Coburn. The film was a western version of Akira Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai.”<