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Composed by
JERRY GOLDSMITH

Rating
* * *

Album running time
41:22

Performed by
UNNAMED ORCHESTRA
conducted by
JERRY GOLDSMITH
Tuba
JIM SELF
Harmonica
TOMMY MORGAN

Orchestrations
ARTHUR MORTON
ALEXANDER COURAGE

Engineered by
BRUCE BOTNICK
Music Editor
KEN HALL
Produced by
JERRY GOLDSMITH

Released by
BIG SCREEN RECORDS
Serial number
9 24514-2

Artwork copyright (c) 1993 Warner Bros.; review copyright (c) 2004 James Southall

 

DENNIS THE MENACE

Rambunctious comedy score

A review by JAMES SOUTHALL

Dennis the Menace is pretty much a one-off in Jerry Goldsmith's filmography, a children's comedy from producer John Hughes based on the popular cartoon (which was based on the popular comic strip).  No doubt everyone was hoping to recreate the success of Home Alone from the same producer, but as ever Goldsmith ended up getting shafted and, once again, playing bridesmaid to John Williams.  (It's interesting to speculate just how different the world of film music might be today if the pair's luck had gone the other way round, if Goldsmith had got it all instead of Williams - but that's probably for another time and place.)

Goldsmith's comedy scores are a mixed bag.  There are his ones for Joe Dante, but those movies are mostly wickedly funny and probably more fun for adults than children (though the latter can of course enjoy them too), resulting in scores that keep their tongues firmly in cheek.  Otherwise, he has rarely tackled comedy, and here he breaks the golden rule set by Elmer Bernstein and John Landis on Animal House that comedy music shouldn't attempt to be funny.  It follows every twist and turn of the action on-screen and so can be a little schizophrenic, but the composer manages to keep it impressively musical and it never seems quite so disjointed as most scores for this type of film are.

The album opens with a great main theme, the most boistrous to come from the composer since The Secret of NIMH a decade earlier.  Featuring prominently are tuba and harmonica (as they do through the whole score) and Goldsmith injects real energy and vitality.  (It's strangely similar to the composer's classic theme for The Great Train Robbery, a classic - just imagine if Joe Dante made a remake of it, well this is probably how the theme would sound!)  Most of the score drives by at a cracking pace, though there are a few moments for calm, such as the beautiful, tender piano solo in "The Shaggy Dog Story".  There's some entertaining action music, like "The Heist", which is great fun, again moving along very quickly, with real energy; and also the particularly impressive "Beans".  Things end on a great note with the fun "Toasted Marshmallow".

This sort of thing probably isn't Goldsmith's strongpoint, but he pulls Dennis the Menace off with some aplomb.  It's a lot more coherent than most kids' comedy scores are, has a great main theme (it's worth it just for that) and is a lot of fun.  Of course, it is hardly a substantial work of Goldsmith's career, but it is a nice example of his lighter side.

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Tracks

  1. Dennis the Menace (2:52)
  2. Baby Sitting (3:50)
  3. Fun with False Teeth (1:54)
  4. Bed Time (5:10)
  5. The Shaggy Dog Story (4:02)
  6. The Heist (4:14)
  7. Wanna See My Sling Shot? (1:21)
  8. Tied Up (2:08)
  9. Beans (4:09)
  10. Real Love (1:29)
  11. Hung Up (1:29)
  12. He's Back (2:18)
  13. Forgetful Sam (1:28)
  14. Toasted Marshmallow (4:22)