Issue Date: September 16, 1999
City: Los Angeles, CA
Quantity: 8,500,000
Printed By: Sterling Sommer for Ashton-Potter (USA) Ltd
Printing Method: Lithographed
Perforations: 11
Color: Multicolored

 

The music in many classic movies can be attributed to Bernard Herrmann. Among the directors he worked with were Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock, and Martin Scorsese. The first film he contributed to was “Citizen Kane” (1941), and the last was “Taxi Driver” (1976).

 

Early in his career, Herrmann (1911-1975) scored many of Orson Welles’ radio shows, including his famous presentation of “The War of the Worlds.” His concert music was performed by the New York Philharmonic, and he was a chief conductor of the CBS Symphony.

 

The music Herrmann created for film is known as being unorthodox. He used short, identifiable themes in place of longer melodies. The work he did on many of Alfred Hitchcock’s movies won him lasting fame. Herrmann wrote the haunting scores for Hitchcock’s “The Man Who Knew Too Much” (1956) and “Vertigo” (1958). The violin “screams” he created for the shower scene in “Psycho” (1960) are still recognizable today.

 

Bernard Herrmann’s musical talents are showcased in several other films, including “The Devil and Daniel Webster” (1941), which won over his “Citizen Kane” score for an Academy Award, “The Day the Earth Stood Still” (1951), and “The Bride Wore Black” (1968). Herrmann’s music can be heard in over 40 films.