The Hollywood Sound Discussion questions

Gone with the Wind What is the relationship of musical themes and the spectator’s memory in this film? Do you agree with John Mauceri’s analysis of the use of themes in this film? Who wrote the music for Gone with the Wind?

Musical cues What are they? How is the musical structure of a film based on discrete cues different from a work for the concert hall (a symphony movement, for example)?

The “Classic” Style Who were the main film composers who set the style for cinematic music of the 1930’s and 1940’s? How are their styles and approaches to film scoring different?

The Nuts and Bolts What did cinema demand of music that the concert hall and theater had not demanded before? How did synchronous recording affect the kind of music that could accompany film? What is the “click track” and what is its function? What do composers/music editors do when they “spot” a film?

Larger Questions In discussing The Song of Bernadette, Mauceri asserts that music in Western society seems to tell stories, but at the same time it also is ambiguous. What do you think he means by this? How does this seeming contradiction between musical representation and ambiguity enhance music’s power in film? What does The Hollywood Sound imply about the role women played in Hollywood’s musical scene in the 30’s and 40’s? Why does Mauceri emphasize the ethnic backgrounds of Hollywood’s greatest early composers?