“SUNSET BOULEVARD”: THE CLASSIC FILM SCORES OF...

“SUNSET BOULEVARD”: THE CLASSIC FILM SCORES OF FRANZ WAXMAN: “THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN,” “A PLACE IN THE SUN,” “PRINCE VALIANT,” “REBECCA,” “THE PHILADELPHIA STORY,” “TARAS BULBA,” “THE TWO MRS. CARROLLS,” “OLD ACQUAINTANCE,” “OBJECTIVE, BURMA!,” “MR. SKEFFINGTON,” “TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT.” Charles Gerhardt conducting National Philharmonic. RCA Red Seal Compact Disc. RCD1-7017. Waxman’s late Romantic, Germanic-influenced film scores were some of the finest ever produced in Hollywood, sounds that often outlived the image. And when the music and the image were both inspired, the result was sheer magic: the finale of “Sunset Boulevard” when Norma Desmond, thinking she is Salome, moves down the staircase and into the camera. The score for “The Bride of Frankenstein” is arguably the best science-fiction music ever written for a film, far ahead of its time and copied shamelessly. This CD is a real bargain holding nearly 69 minutes.