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A review by JAMES SOUTHALL

While he had already scored several films of note, 1965 was something of a breakout year for Jerry Goldsmith, with scores for In Harm's Way (his first really big movie), The Satan Bug, Von Ryan's Express, A Patch of Blue, Our Man Flint and Morituri.  You've never heard of Morituri?  Well, join the club!  Few people have, and few people saw it, though at the time it was noteworthy because its star, Marlon Brando, dismissed the film at every opportunity during its marketing, and said he only did it for the money.  The film's about a German defector during the second world war who is made to infiltrate a German boat and attempt sabotage.

Goldsmith took his cue for the main theme from The Third Man; it's a solo zither piece, and not a particularly memorable one.  Indeed, the score as a whole seems more serviceable than interesting, with generally dull suspense music dominating from start to finish.  There's a subtle main theme which isn't a million miles away from the (vastly superior) The List of Adrian Messenger, but frankly it doesn't really warrant much attention.  Hints of the composer's now-familiar action style are the definite standouts; "Boat Drill" is a taut, tense piece highlighted by the usual low-end piano, while "Traffic Jam / Caught in the Act" is a really terrific piece with fantastically complicated percussion parts and some brass and string writing that is a clear prelude to the dogfighting music of The Blue Max (and, hence, Star Wars).  "A Lost Cause" is another good piece, this time with the thrilling orchestral mayhem being accompanied by an electric guitar, of all things.  It's the best piece in the score.  Unforrtunately, the suspense music which dominates really just isn't terribly interesting.  In fact, the cues set against a vibraphone backdrop verge on being irritatingly dirge-like and certainly aren't the sort of thing I can see many people being keen to listen to with any great frequency.  I don't know why I was expecting it to be like The Sand Pebbles, but for some reason I did.  It isn't, either in terms of style or quality.

After Goldsmith's 42-minute score comes, for no apparent reason, the completely-unrelated Raid on Entebbe, composed by David Shire.  It was a tv movie directed by Irvin Kirschner about the Israeli hostage-retrieval mission in Uganda in the late 1970s, and won quite some acclaim in its time, not least for Shire's wonderful score, certainly among his best.  Unfortunately only 15 minutes of it are presented here (I don't know why the entire 30-minute score wasn't included - it would have fit - but maybe the remaining music was just variations on what is already here).

The score opens with "The Hijacking", which is actually begun with the kind of muzak you hear on an aeroplane when it lands; but then this segues into some dark, dank suspense music which is actually far more interesting than Goldsmith's was in Morituri.  "The Imprisonment" is a particularly anguished piece, fairly low-key but it certainly leaves an impression.  The highlight is the magnificent "The Raid", five minutes of sheer film music bliss, with the thrilling action piece being introduced by four pianos, and the melody then taken on by the brass and woodwind sections.  It's a driving, propulsive piece that's one of the most memorable of Shire's career.  Finally, "The Return" is a poignant elegy for the lives lost.

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Tracks

1. Morituri: Main Title / Tokyo (2:11)
2. Assignment in Macao (2:02)
3. Bon Voyage / Hot Wire (3:38)
4. Boat Drill (1:15)
5. What to do Next (1:03)
6. Theme from Morituri (1:46)
7. A Change of Fate / Sneak Attack (1:53)
8. Nine Days Out (1:36)
9. Traffic Jam / Caught in the Act (4:49)
10. Boarding Party (1:04)
11. The Meeting (:57)
12. The Prisoners (2:44)
13. Change of Command / Prepare for Mutiny (4:30)
14. A Lost Cause (1:34)
15. A Change of Heart (2:08)
16. Break Out (3:07)
17. Abandoned Ship (3:58)
18. End Title (1:14)
19. Raid on Entebbe: The Hijacking (4:09)
20. The Imprisonment (3:38)
21. The Raid (4:41)
22. The Return (2:58)