matt rogers

Bernard Herrmann’s 100th

June 29, 2011

It’s Bernard Herrmann’s 100th birthday today. He’s been one of my favorite film composers since I was a wee little lad when I saw the 1959 version of Journey to the Center of the Earth starring James Mason and a completely ridiculous but surprisingly effective Pat Boone. As a kid, I was absolutely enraptured by the idea of a “fabulous world beneath the world,” as the promotional posters of the time boasted, and Bernard Herrmann’s wonderfully mysterious score is a big reason the film worked for me then and still works for me today. Journey to the Center of the Earth is, I think, one of those rare cases of a movie that is better than the book–no offense to Jules Verne.

Bernard Herrmann is also responsible for composing the film scores to many of Alfred Hitchcock’s best movies. Ever seen Psycho, North by Northwest, or (my favorite) Vertigo? All feature Herrmann’s work. There was none like him. Happy birthday, Bernard!

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