The World of Suzie Wong

The World of Suzie Wong began life road company of the play, under - gift for melody, starting with his stun - as a novel by British author Richard studying the title role. And so, filming ning main theme using a device he Mason. The book, published first in began all over again. From then on, and other film composers love – England and then in the United everything went smoothly and the re - using the syllables of the title to cre - States, proved very popular. It led to sulting film was a complete delight. ate their melody. In this case the syl - a stage adaptation by Paul Osborn, lables of “Suzie Wong” create a which opened on Broadway at the The plot revolves around an Ameri - delicious three-note motif that occurs Broadhurst Theater on October 14, can artist named Robert Lomax throughout the main theme and the 1958, and ran for over a year. The (William Holden), who puts his nine- score. James Van Heusen and play, produced by David Merrick and to-five job on hold and moves to Hong Sammy Cahn also wrote a song for directed by Joshua Logan, starred Kong, giving himself a year to see if the film called “Suzie Wong (The France Nuyen as Suzie and, opposite he has what it takes to actually make Cloud Song),” and Duning uses that her, an up-and-coming young actor a living as an artist. On the ferry, he as a secondary theme throughout the named William Shatner. Because of meets a beautiful young woman score. There is some source music, the success of both novel and play, named Mei Ling (Nancy Kwan) – a mostly heard coming from the bar in Paramount brought The World of “meet cute” if ever there was one. She the Namkok Hotel – a lot of those Suzie Wong to the screen in 1960, tells him she is a very proper young cues are Duning originals, but he starring William Holden and Nancy lady of high social status. Later, he sprinkles in some classic standards, Kwan. checks into the Namkok Hotel and too. The score has a lot of variety and there he catches sight of Mei Ling, perfectly blends the picturesque visu - The road to the screen started out a dressed in a slinky outfit and in the als with the human drama, capturing little rocky: France Nuyen was signed company of a sailor. She’s now calling every emotion and every scene per - to recreate her Broadway role, and herself Suzie Wong and she fectly. In a career filled with classic the director was Jean Negulesco. unashamedly admits to Lomax that scores, Suzie Wong is one of Dun - However, Nuyen fell ill during produc - she’s a prostitute. From there it’s the ing’s finest achievements. tion and the producers decided to re - usual mix of comedy and drama, filled place her rather than delay the film. with arguing, falling in love, arguing, The World of Suzie Wong had a The producers also replaced the di - more falling in love, painting, more ar - soundtrack release on RCA Records rector, hiring Richard Quine to guing, and finally more falling in love, back in 1960. Side A of the album ba - reshoot everything that had been shot with lovely performances from Holden sically had the main title and then a up to then. Quine had begun as an and newcomer Kwan, all set against lot of the Duning source music, while actor, but quickly graduated to the di - stunningly photographed locations Side B had some of the score cues – rector chair in 1951 with the film mu - (Geoffrey Unsworth was the camera - the album ran around thirty-five min - sical The Sunny Side of the Street . man) and played out against the gor - utes, which was a pretty standard He directed a terrific noir called geous musical score of George running time for LPs back then. For Pushover , the film musical My Sister Duning. this release, we have Duning’s entire Eileen, Full of Life, Operation Mad score, which we’ve put in film order Ball, Bell, Book and Candle, It Hap - Duning and Quine had already because it plays so beautifully that pened to Jane and, the same year as worked together several times – be - way. We’ve kept all the Duning source The World of Suzie Wong, Strangers ginning with Quine’s first film, The music cues in the film sequence be - When We Meet . The screenplay was Sunny Side of the Street, and contin - cause they’re really part of the fabric by John Patrick, who certainly knew uing with My Sister Eileen, Full of Life, of his score. In the bonus section, his way around Asian themes, having Operation Mad Ball, Bell, Book and we’ve put the source music cues that written the stage adaptation of Tea - Candle, It Happened to Jane and aren’t by Duning, along with the LP house of the August Moon (for which Strangers When We Meet . Duning version of the main title and a few he’d won a Pulitzer Prize for drama). had an innate musical sense of what other odds and ends. made Quine’s films tick, and their col - Nancy Kwan had read for the title role laboration together produced some — Bruce Kimmel in the film, and when she was tapped unique and wonderful film scores, of to replace France Nuyen she was, in which Suzie Wong is a classic exam - fact, touring the United States in the ple. It is filled with Duning’s incredible