Press Release from Dragon's Domain:
Dragon’s Domain Records presents the premiere release of the unused score for TABLE FOR FIVE composed by John Morris (BLAZING SADDLES, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, THE ELEPHANT MAN, THE SCARLET LETTER) for the 1983 drama directed by Robert Lieberman, written by David Seltzer, starring Jon Voight, Richard Crenna, Marie-Christine Barrault, Millie Perkins, Roxana Zal, Robby Kiger, Son Hoang Bui and Maria O’Brien.
Released in 1983, TABLE FOR FIVE follows a divorced couple at odds over the welfare of their three children. Jon Voight plays J.P. Tanner, a former professional golfer, who is estranged from his children and longs to re-enter their lives. J.P. comes up with the idea of springing a surprise Mediterranean cruise to Egypt on them, in spite of his ex-wife Kathleen’s acquiescing and contrarian instincts. On the cruise, J.P. uses the time to reacquaint himself with his children while also pursuing a romance with Marie (Barrault), a French archaeologist. The plot thickens when news reaches the boat that Kathleen has been killed in a terrible car accident back in New York, leaving J.P. in conflict over the fate of the children with Mitchell (Crenna), Kathleen’s surviving husband.
John Morris was the original composer brought on to compose the music for TABLE FOR FIVE. For reasons not publicly known, the majority of his music went unused in the final cut of the film and the filmmakers brought in composer Miles Goodman to provide additional music. Morris’ score is lush and full of kaleidoscopic orchestral color, in contrast with Goodman’s music for the film.
John Morris was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, to Thomas and Helen. He became interested in music as early as three years old when he started learning to play the piano and visiting friends in The Bronx with his parents. His family moved to Independence, Kansas, while he was young, and Morris continued studying piano. By the late 1940s, he moved back to New York City, where he studied at both Juilliard School and at The New School for Social Research. From the 1950s through the 1970s, Morris helped to compose incidental music and dance numbers for a number of Broadway productions. Morris worked with Mel Brooks, starting with Brooks' first film THE PRODUCERS. Prior to this, the two had worked together on two musicals, SHINBONE ALLEY and ALL-AMERICAN. Morris did the original arrangement for ‘Springtime for Hitler’ and the rest of the film's underscore. Morris would continue to work with Brooks on many of his films, including those produced by his production company, Brooksfilms. His filmography includes THE PRODUCERS, THE TWELVE CHAIRS, BLAZING SADDLES, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, THE ADVENTURE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES’ SMARTER BROTHER, SILENT MOVIE, THE LAST REMAKE OF BEAU GESTE, HIGH ANXIETY, THE IN-LAWS, THE ELEPHANT MAN, CLUE, HAUNTED HONEYMOON and IRONWEED.
Dragon’s Domain Records presents TABLE FOR FIVE, featuring the premiere release of music from the original score composed and conducted by John Morris. The album includes liner notes written by composer and author Brian Satterwhite. The music has been mastered by James Nelson at Digital Outland.
