George Duning (1908-2000) may not have the most familiar name in soundtrack composing, but his music is striking and unforgettable. Duning could write well for most any type of story, but he excelled at conveying tenderness. His ability to evoke empathy opened the hearts of millions of movie-goers to the characters in "Picnic," "From Here to Eternity," "Toys in the Attic," and other films.
Duning balanced a contemporary musical sensibility with a sense of restraint and sincerity, to make affecting, deeply-felt music that avoids overt sentimentality. David Garland presents tender highlights from several of Duning's film and TV scores.
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About Movies on the Radio
Saturday nights at 9:00 pm, host David Garland presents new and old film scores, emphasizing the delights and uniqueness of movie music, and sharing his encyclopedic knowledge of the field.
Hosted by David Garland
Comments [8]
His score for the Star Trek episode 'The Empath' is very touching and ranks with his motion picture scores.
David,,,,,,Forgot how great your shows are.......wonderful research and Musical taste , that touches us all listening .
listened to you on WKCR....years ago,,,,and always learned more about music , that I will always have .
Thankyou.......Tom
3:10 to Yuma sounds like a cross between Greensleeves and Almost Like Being in Love, to my ear.
...........Thank You!..........Thank You".......Thank You!........
....for playing the selection from 3:10 TO YUMA......one of favorite westerns and scores..........
....would have loved to hear the ending track with Frankie Laine singing the title song.....and the memory of Lorna Dana standing on the carriage face to the rain....waving to Van Heflin and Glenn Ford....on the train....the 3:10 TO YUMA....................
..............................iconic.........
Hi,
May I ask, is there a problem with the archive audio for the Jan. 19th and 26th episodes of "Movies N The Radio"? I can't seem to access these shows via the web site.
Bob
This music is just beautiful. PICNIC's score was so dead-on perfect. A really warm evening. I have so many memories of that - BELL, BOOK AND CANDLE, too.
Thank you, David!!!
Fascinating to see how Mr. Duning fashioned an entire career on one phrase, with variations, of George Gershwin's "I love you, Porgie." And another song, from another operetta, in your second selection that fled my memory when I discovered "Porgie" in it, too! Just goes to show....
Just like Bach, fashioning so many phrases, in works like The St. Matthew's Passion, et al., on a haunting phrase from Vivaldi's "Winter."
Perhaps you should mention these "borrowings"?
Dear David:
I have to correct you on your analogy of "Then Came Bronson". It was not a derivative of "The Fugitive" starring David Janssen. "Then Came Bronson" was a 2-wheel version of "Route 66", which featured 2 characters drifting around the country in a 4-wheel Chevy Corvette. So you could say, "Then Came Bronson" was half as good as "Route 66"!
Best Regards,
Paul
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