The Buccaneer ome directors were as big A great cast was assembled, in- Bernstein had, of course, done the or bigger than the films they cluding Yul Brynner, Charles Boyer score for DeMille’s The Ten Com- Smade – Alfred Hitchcock, and Claire Bloom. Charlton Heston mandments so he was a natural John Ford, Orson Welles – and appeared as Andrew Jackson, a for The Buccaneer. He delivered certainly high on that list would be role he’d played a few years earlier a beauty of a score, filled with big the name Cecil B. DeMille. It’s a in The President’s Lady. The large and bold music and classic Ber- name that was born for the mov- supporting cast included Inger nstein themes. The “Main Title” ies. It conjures up a larger-than-life Steverns, Henry Hull, E.G. Mar- begins with a wonderful Bernstein personality, a flamboyant show- shall, Lorne Greene, Ted de Cor- fanfare leading into a glorious and man – which DeMille certainly was sia and Douglas Dumbrille (who’d heroic theme, more fanfares, and in spades. He began as an actor appeared in the 1938 version). Be- then an exquisitely beautiful theme in theater, then graduated to writ- cause Quinn was a first-time direc- followed by more fanfares – it’s ev- ing and directing for the stage. He tor (and only time – The Buccaneer erything you’d want in a main title directed his first film, The Squaw is his sole directorial effort), DeMi- from a time when composers re- Man, in 1914. He became legend- lle gave him the crème de la crème ally knew how to set the tone of the ary in the 1920s with two epic films, behind the scenes. This included film in its first minutes. The rest of The Ten Commandments and The the great cameraman Loyal Griggs his marvelous score is loaded with King of Kings. He successfully (Shane, White Christmas, The Ten drama, romance and intrigue, all in made the transition to sound and Commandments), ace editor Ar- the unique and colorful Bernstein in 1938 he filmed The Buccaneer chie Marshak (This Gun for Hire, style. for Paramount Pictures. Based on The Glass Key, Ministry of Fear, the tale of Jean Lafitte and the Bat- One-Eyed Jacks) and Academy The Buccaneer was originally tle of New Orleans, it starred Fred- Award-winning costume designer released on LP by Columbia Re- ric March, Akim Tamiroff, Walter Edith Head. cords and that LP program has Brennan, Beulah Bondi and new- had several CD releases over the comer Anthony Quinn. The result was a handsome, col- years, all out of print. This is the orful, historical costume epic with first release of the complete score, Flash forward twenty years. De- impressive battle sequences. The taken from the three-track session Mille had had his greatest success film featured witty dialogue; great scoring masters and the original by remaking The Ten Command- sets, costumes, makeup; interest- 15 IPS three-track album master, ments for Paramount in 1956, and ing American history and some all freshly transferred and sounding so he decided that his next film for good old-fashioned pirates – all wonderful in full-bodied stereo. In the studio where he’d toiled for so looking and feeling very much like addition to the complete dramatic many years would be a remake of the real Cecil B. DeMille deal. Yul score, we also present all of Bern- The Buccaneer. As with The Ten Brynner is a wonderful Jean Lafitte, stein’s source music cues, a couple Commandments, this time it would and the rest of the large cast, es- of alternates, and some Bernstein be in Technicolor and VistaVision. pecially Boyer and Heston, turn in piano demos. But by 1958, having prepared the wonderful performances. Critics film, DeMille’s health was failing, were cool to the film and it didn’t — Bruce Kimmel so he asked Anthony Quinn to di- light up the box office, but it man- rect (Quinn was his son-in-law at aged to snag one Oscar nomina- the time) and longtime friend and tion (for Best Costumes). Indeed, associate Henry Wilcoxon to pro- the film holds up very well today, duce. Although DeMille took no is very entertaining, looks incredi- credit on the film, he appears in a ble and has an absolutely stunning brief prologue. score by Elmer Bernstein..