The 1935 RKO Radio
Pictures film of She was based on the fantasy adventure
novel of the same name by H Rider Haggard (1856-1925). The film
followed the novel, in essence; although the original 1887 novel’s
initial African setting was transferred to the frozen wastes
of the Arctic. The film, rarely seen today, is available on
DVD:
“To an unrepentant
Haggard fan, [the film] does seem to catch the thrill
as well as the childishness of his invention”
- Graham Greene
The film starred
Randolph Scott in the role of the hero, Leo Vincey. Scott went
on to achieve fame as a western hero in a number of films for
Warner Bros. and Columbia in the 1950s. Others in the She
cast included Nigel Bruce, Helen Mack as the heroine Tanya and
Helen Gahagan as Hash-A-Mo-Tep (She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed) (Ayesha
in the novel) the dreaded queen who had made herself immortal
by bathing in a pillar of fire. She had waited for 2000 years
for the reincarnation of her lover whom she had slain in a fit
of jealous rage. When Leo encounters her after various adventures,
she believes that he is her slain lover returned from the dead.
Max Steiner’s original
score for She - one of his favourites - was painstakingly
put together from original materials and issued on a CD in December 1999.
The quality of that composite mono recording was, as to be expected,
somewhat primitive. Of the Tribute team, John Morgan who was
responsible for music reconstruction and orchestration. Anna
Bonn prepared the music together with conductor William Stromberg.
Together they clearly realised the remarkable quality of this
score and, after much meticulous restoration work, have produced
Steiner’s complete score in a brilliant new performance delivered
in excellent sound.
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Max Steiner – and (right)
conducting the RKO
Orchestra (mid-1930s)
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Like Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Steiner came from Vienna
where he studied composition with Gustav Mahler at the Conservatoire.
By 1935 he had accrued a considerable reputation as a, even
the,
pioneer in the art of film music. His early masterpiece, the music
for RKO’s 1933 classic,
King Kong,
to all intents and purposes, set the standard for the subsequent
scores of Hollywood’s Golden Age: (please scroll down past Nino
Rota collection). The score for
King Kong followed in the
tradition of Wagner in the use of leitmotivs to delineate the
major characters, their feelings and the often perilous situations
they meet.
This use of leitmotivs
is prevalent in Steiner’s She score. The theme for She,
stated immediately and grandly in the Main Title music, is subject
to many variations according to on-screen mood and action. In
her first appearance, in the cue ‘The Queen’, a wordless choir
wails the theme longingly. Hash-A-Mo-Tep has endured centuries
without love and accordingly her theme in the same cue later
becomes irresolute and painfully slow and devoid of joy. In
‘The Trial’, her theme is majestic, dramatic and threatening
as She sits on her throne to pass judgment on those who had
previously attacked Vincey’s party. In contrast, there is a
warmer, lovely romantic melody for the heroine, Tanya, stated
in ‘At the campfire’ for harp and strings with solo cello. There
are so many highlights in this memorable score including the
thrilling and highly evocative writing for the ‘Avalanche’ and
the extraordinary music for the three Stravinskian ‘The Hall
of the Kings’ cues that employ a huge and exotic percussion
section with augmented brass and woodwinds.
Steiner’s music
had its critics notably Aaron Copland who accused him of mimicking
whatever was on-screen: Mickey Mousing. An example is heard
in ‘The Escape’ as the music graphically represents a burning
staircase. This whole cue might be a reminder of Saturday matinee
serial melodrama material but, for this reviewer, it is all
part of the charm of this score.
Conductor William
Stromberg, following Steiner’s practice, deliberately chose
to use the film’s soundtrack as his guide even though Steiner’s
printed music may have shown a completely different indication.
Like Steiner, Stromberg spontaneously speeded up or slowed down
the music to catch on-screen action, thus adding an unsettling
tension and increased dramatic effect. Not surprisingly this
practice sometimes disconcerted the Moscow Symphony Orchestra
players when he strayed from the printed score.
Interestingly, an
unusual and special screening of She was held for Los
Angeles music critics. “The last word in modern dissonance -
and harmonies,” wrote one. Another noted the score’s scope and
breadth and suggested it was “practically an opera wherein the
vocal lines are spoken.” Tempo stated that Steiner’s
music “seems to compare favourably with that of Debussy and
Ravel [and] de Falla.”
The 32-page CD booklet
is lavish indeed with many stills from the films, pictures of
Max Steiner and commentaries on his score and the making of
the CD plus details about the production of the film
A must for all Max
Steiner enthusiasts.
Ian Lace
Footnotes:
1) The
album includes a 1˝-minute bonus track devoted to the Main Title
of James Whale’s Frankenstein composed by Steiner’s orchestrator,
Bernhard Kahn, adapting some of the She music for the
purpose.
2) She
was remade in 1965 with Ursula Andress; a rather lacklustre
production, in Technicolor. Haggard’s proper name for She, Ayesha,
was used and his African settings preferred.
3) Max
Steiner would go on to conduct Dimitri Tiomkin’s music for the
1937 film of James Hilton’s novel Lost Horizon a rather
similar story about a lost but idyllic civilization in a remote
Tibetan valley.
Track Listing:
1. Main Title/Time Passes (02:07) 2. Uncle John’s Vision
(01:06) 3. To the Northern Rim (00:35) 4. The Barrier (01:07)
5. At the Campfire (01:21) 6. The Saber-Tooth Tiger (02:19) 7.
Avalanche (01:21) 8. The Cave (03:14) 9. Fight With the Natives
(00:49) 10. Trek to Kor (03:39) 11. At the Gate (00:29)
12. The Queen/Tanya in Bed (05:07) 13. Tanya’s Unrest (03:21)
14. Leo Asleep (03:06) 15. Fanfares (00:40) 16. The Trial (05:10)
17. Forgotten Place (01:51) 18. The Memory Pool/Cremation (04:29)
19. The Terrace (07:46) 20. Hall of Kings Part 1 (03:55) 21.
Hall of Kings Part 2 (03:35) 22. Hall of Kings Part 3 (01:19)
23. The Escape (03:22) 24. The Flame of Life (05:01) 25. Finale
(02:39)
Total Time: 71:07
Moscow Symphony Orchestra/William
Stromberg
