BENJAMIN FRANKEL
The Battle of the Bulge (1965)
Queensland SO/Werner Andreas
Albert
CPO 999
696-2
Crotchet
The Battle of the Bulge
(1965) is Frankel's last film score. The film is an epic war movie dealing
with what was the largest battle of W.W. II in Europe as well as the last
German effort to counter the allied forces on their way to Germany. The battle
was fought around Christmas 1944 (one of the worst winters of the century)
and involved several hundred thousands soldiers on both sides including quite
a number of young inexperienced recruits in the German camp, a general
characteristic of Germany's ultimate resistance when both young men and elderly
people were forced into military service often at the expense of their own
lives for little result, if any.
The Battle of the
Bulge called for an epic score
matching that of the events. As a result Frankel's score is large-scale (over
78 minutes of music) of which the half had never been recorded before and
of which the other half had been used with many cuts in the final edited
film. Ironically enough the part of the score which is likely to impress
the audience (when young German recruits sing Das Panzerlied) is the
only music not composed by Frankel. (Think of Colonel Bogey in Lean's
The Bridge on the River Kwai which was not written by Arnold.)
Conceived as a long-term structure Frankel's score generously uses a number
of themes which are all heard either in the Prelude or in the first long
sequence. The Prelude is based on a rhythmic pattern in the upper strings
that gives way to Das Panzerlied (a slightly ironic tuba solo) merging
into Guffy's Tank Theme (a string hoe-down depicting the American
bravado embodied by Guffy [Telly Savalas]). A short interplay of these themes
leads into the triumphant Victory Theme which of course will be restated
at the end of the film.
The second sequence introduces two more themes, i.e. Lt.Col. Kiley's Theme
(a beautiful horn theme and the finest invention in the whole score)
and Hessler's Theme (a dark impenetrable tune played by the brass
and basses suggesting the cold-headed, emotionless Hessler [Robert Shaw]).
All these themes will be quoted later in the film either completely or partially,
straight or slightly varied.
Two other themes will soon appear to play an important part in the later
stages of the score: the Armoured Night Theme "conveying rampant
militarism and armoured might associated with tanks" (E.D. Kennaway in his
excellent notes) and Lt. Weaver's Theme (a trumpet solo). There is,
appropriately, a good deal of martial, at times rawly brutal, music (generally
brass and percussion, sometimes with high screaming woodwind) though Frankel's
dramatic gift also yields some finely wrought slower, calmer music.
A particular example of Frankel's dramatic flair is found in the scene depicting
the meeting at night of Hessler and a Courtesan 1st Class sent by
his superior to boost Hessler's morale before the battle and whom Hessler
bluntly dismisses. The music for this deeply unsentimental scene almost entirely
relies on cold string harmonics and sparse woodwind. A really chilly love
scene if ever there was one. Worth mentioning too the delightful vignette
Christmas in Ambleve based on snippets from Good King Wenceslas
and The First Noel. One of the most quoted themes however is Das
Panzerlied which also receives its choral setting with foot-tapping (as
in the similar scene in the film) superbly done by uncredited male voices
(possibly members of the orchestra).
All in all this magnificent release of a large-scale score is a fine tribute
to Frankel as a composer of highly distinguished film scores. A very welcome
offshoot in CPO's Frankel series. Recommended and not only to film buffs.
© Hubert Culot
See also review by Gary Dalkin in
Film Music on the
Web
