HIGH NOON

Long-overdue original soundtrack from legendary Fred Zinneman western with Gary Cooper, Grace Kelly. Dimitri Tiomkin anchors - of course - with equally celebrated ballad sung by Tex Ritter ("Do Not Forsake Me") but gentle tune holds up to much scrutiny: first part is melodic line over simple harmony, second part is square-jawed rhythmic bridge. Two ideas appear alone, in tandem, in reverse order, in fragments, you name it. How Tiomkin works both becomes all-important architecture of entire score. Main melody is diatonic line, serves as character support, romantic aspect of tense tale. Secondary bridge plays as tense pulse, action that advances story. Dramatic highlight: Tiomkin works secondary idea with considerable bravado, spotlights final minutes to climactic showdown with incredible build-up ("Two Minutes to Twelve"), then unleashes exciting variants as gun battle takes over. Great musical support! SAE world premiere release offers complete score in mono from original acetate elements in excellent condition, includes booklet with full details of film, musical scoring, more. Additional asset: actors Cooper & Kelly look great in solid cover art! Dimitri Tiomkin conducts, aims for the target, hits a bullseye!