The
Fastest Gun Alive/House Of Numbers
(FSM Limited Edition CD Soundtrack)
Sound:
B- Music: B-
PLEASE
NOTE:
This CD is sadly out of print, but Warner Archive has issued The
Fastest
Gun Alive
in a restored Blu-ray edition and you can read more about it at:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/16320/Cimarron+(1931/RKO*)/Cisco+Kid:+Western+Movi
Andre
Previn's contributions to film are underrated and often even unknown,
a problem the new double feature soundtrack of two of his film scores
that are as obscure as the films themselves. The Fastest Gun Alive
(1956) offers a tale of an expert gunslinger (Glenn Ford) trying to
get away from the life of constant shootouts by hiding in a town
under another identity to start a new life. As expected, his past
and people from it hunt him down to get him to continue his old life.
House
Of Numbers
(1957) is a prison break movie in CinemaScope with Jack Palance
playing two roles, as written by a man known for stories about
identity and body switches, Invasion
Of The Body Snatchers
author Jack Finney. One has never been on video at all, the other
only once on VHS as of this posting, but we will reserve comment on
the films whenever Warner decides to issue them.
As
for the scores, they are not bad, but not great. On Fastest
Gun Alive,
Previn comes up with the kind of more thoughtful score Westerns were
turning to as they faced transition and competition from television.
House
Of Numbers
has Previn doing what he could to spice-up the film, maybe because he
was dealing with a widescreen format film. Both run into some theme
repetition and are not as well-rounded as his best work, but the
music literacy involved in what is here would be hard to match by
most composers today, which is the primary reason to hear both.
Though not a stellar set, they are both interesting in how they do
and do not succeed. To see how they work in their respective films
should be most interesting.
The
PCM 2.0 16/44.1 Mono on both show their age, with some brittleness in
parts of both House
Of Numbers
actually had to have some of its music presented with sound effects
tracks in a bonus section, so limited were the original soundmaster
resources. There is also the very informative booklet that is
included in all Film Score Monthly Magazine FSM soundtrack releases.
These are the kinds of scores from a composer that give you a unique
look at their work, which is why FSM should be applauded for going
out of their way to issue them.
-
Nicholas Sheffo
