The Golden Age of Hollywood is characterized by the immense number of films produced annually, many of which employed famous stars. To get a deeper insight into this era, it is essential to examine “the star system, the workings of censorship, and the centrality of the genre in particular” (Jones 94). The adventure was among the most popular genres of that time, the film King Kong produced in 1933 can characterize it best. This film also has the elements of fantasy and horror genres. Nevertheless, the distinctive feature of the movie is the revolutionary approach towards music. It was composed by Max Steiner to continuously accompany and emotionally supplement the actions on the screen. For instance, the King Kong theme is expressed in three descending notes with thematic transformation, terrorizing at the beginning, and sympathetic at the end. The two main leitmotifs are those of Beauty and Beast, where the first theme is initially perceived as a love song but then reflects a terror.
Adventures of Robin Hood is another prominent film of the Golden Age in Hollywood. Similar to King Kong, it has the elements of adventure but also focuses on the action because of swashbuckler, and drama. The movie is based on the legend reviving it on the screen and presenting it to the spectators. The film is marked by triumph success and the Oscar prizes for the best work of art director and best music composed by Erich Korngold. As for the musical accompaniment, it is rich in leitmotifs and orchestral colors.
Apart from regular films, Hollywood produced animated movies with the elements of musical, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is among those. Similar to Adventures of Robin Hood film, this movie is based on the story – a fairytale written by the Grimm brothers. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was produced by Disney studio in 1937 with the implementation of technical innovations. In this animated musical film, human characters sing complete songs, while cartoon figures sing short and catchy songs.
The Roles of Source Music in Casablanca
When the war started, Hollywood decided to incorporate the appropriate themes in the films. Casablanca managed to impress the audience by telling the story of Casablanca city, a place saturated with refugees waiting their turn to travel to Portugal and then escape to the US. The major role of the source music in the film is to trigger the appropriate emotion, supplementing the events on the screen and creating a characteristic mood.
When recalling the Casablanca film, the first song that comes into mind is “As Time Goes By”. Even though all music elements were composed by Max Steiner, this particular song was written by Herman Hupfeld in 1931 but became famous in 1942 when the character Sam performed it. Much of Casablanca is set in Rick’s Cafe where popular American music was playing constantly, which characterizes the cafe as American. Steiner had to deal with an incredible amount of diegetic music “as conspirators, refugees, Fascists, patriots, and desperate gamblers take the foreground, those songs, subliminally, make the café an outpost of America, an oasis in a foreign land” (Davelaar 69). These songs often underscore the dramatic content on the screen. For instance, “Tango Delle Rose” explains the multicultural contingent at Rick’s cafe. Each scene is adequately supplemented and supported by the appropriate musical background. In many cases, the association between the action on the screen and the source music is rather ironic. That way, cheerful American music in Rick’s cafe describes the mood of desperate refugees, while Arabian music is heard in the Blue Parrot cafe, bringing the spectators back to Morocco, where the actions actually take place. Max Steiner managed to create the kind of music that can suspend reality for the audience.
Popular Music in Films
In the post-war period, Hollywood evidenced the transition by incorporating popular music and new styles in the films. Hollywood discovered significant financial rewards resulting from using more popular music in the films of the late 1940s throughout the 1950s. Jazz, country-western, and rock’n’roll were among the most popular new styles, which were disturbing and exciting at the same time.
The epoch of rock’n’roll started with the “Rock Around the Clock” song that became a sensation after being used in The Blackboard Jungle film produced in 1955. This tune aimed to depict juvenile delinquents, but at the same time, it created a dancing mood. Moreover, rock’n’roll was central in the youth stylistic revolution during the post-war period. This is “the first genre of popular music that youth could claim as its own” (Bennett 22). Numerous films with rock’n’roll music starred Elvis Presley, who performed the songs “Love Me Tender” (1956) and “Jailhouse Rock” (1957).
Another music style that was very popular in the 1950s is jazz. The film A Streetcar Named Desire directed by Elia Kazan in 1951, depicts a story set in New Orleans, the birthplace of jazz. In this film, jazz is a frequent source of music, but it is also used as underscoring to create the appropriate mood. In particular, the most famous scene with jazz music is when Stella plays the saxophone, an instrument that best characterizes this music style. The popularity of jazz increased because the filmmakers depicted the life and performance of musicians more realistically, which triggered the feeling of modernism and excitement.
Country Western music style was also very popular in the middle of the twentieth century. High Noon is one of the films that best describes the incorporation of country-style music in Western movies. Tomkin, the composer of music for High Noon managed to create ballads that became hits. Moreover, the movie received an award for Best Music and Best Picture. Country songs and ballads precisely support the emphasis in each scene. For instance, when the first fight scene emerges and lasts for more than a minute, this strained moment is intensified by the sharp orchestral rhythms in the background.
While rock’n’roll, jazz, and country-western types of popular music were the most common in Hollywood films of the late 1940s and 1950s, music in other popular films of that epoch must be also reviewed and analyzed. The Third Man film, released in 1949, is the highest-rated British picture. Moreover, its main musical theme was at the top of the charts for about two months. Music was written and performed exclusively on a zither by Anton Karas. Another famous film is The Best Years of Our Lives, which supports the spirit of American Nationalism, won the 1946 Best Picture award. The movie incorporates music played on the strings and woodwinds, which helps to depict and emotionally support the scenes of love, memories, and national spirit.
Works Cited
Bennett, Andy. Cultures of Popular Music. Open University Press, 2001.
Davelaar, Coralin. “Max Steiner and the Music of Casablanca.” The Hilltop Review, vol. 6, no. 1, 2012, pp. 69-75.
Jones, Eileen. “A Review of “The Golden Age of Cinema: Hollywood 1929–1945.” Quarterly Review of Film and Video, vol. 28, no. 1, 2010, 94-96.