Herrmann coudn't save this one anyway....

One of the odd things about Hitchcock firing Herrmann off of "Torn Curtain" is the feeling that, though Herrmann was reportedly upset at the time (his collaborations with Hitchcock had made Herrmann all the more famous and he wanted to continuewith Hitch) -- you could say that Herrmann "got off just in time."

For the four Hitchcock films made from "Torn Curtain" on had very bad critical notices and middling-to-awful box office success -- with the exception of "Frenzy," which, while well-reviewed, still struck some as an ugly film unworthy of Hitchcock at his best, and which wasn't a huge hit.

But I think it is too bad that Herrmann wasn't allowed to score the final four Hitchcock films. Herrmann could have -- just barely. He died in December of 1975, which would have allowed for him to make it all the way to the end with Hitch, and to score "Family Plot" for early 1976 release.

Of the Final Four scores:

John Addison's score for "Torn Curtain" has an exciting overture -- but it sounds rather like Bernard Herrmann, after all. Herrmann's own "Torn Curtain" overture (which, along with other aspects of his score, can be heard on the DVD in a special secion) is exciting, too. Meanwhile, except for the overture (which is well-used in the bus chase),Addison's score is AWFUL in its romantic moments, in its occasional silliness, in its use of the Hitchcock TV theme for Hitchcock's cameo. Herrmann's score would have been better than that.

"Topaz" is a rather dull movie with a surprisingly dull score by Maurice Jarre ("Lawrence of Arabia," "The Professionals.") There is a nice "military march" overture and somewhat exotic themes for Cuba and Paris, but Jarre's work in "Topaz" is generally "musical wallpaper." Herrmann could have done something here, too.

"Frenzy" has an awful score by Ron Goodwin, except for the Hitchcock-ordered opening "royal overture" over the Thames. Elsewhere, Goodwin's music is industrial-strength TV detective show thriller music: obvious and heavy. As "Frenzy" is Hitchcock's "Best of the Final Four," with the worst score, Herrmann here would have be a wonderful collaborator (Henry Mancini was fired from this -- was Hitchcock getting squirelly about his composers' fame?)

"Family Plot" has the best of the Final Four Hitchcock scores, by the Spielberg/Lucas guy, John Williams. It's a droll and whimsical score fitting the fanciful comedy of the thriller. Still, it would have been best to keep Hitchcock and Herrmann connected to the very end -- just as Henry Mancini and Blake Edwards were til Mancini's death, and as Spielberg and John Williams are now.

Whether or not Bernard Herrmann could have "saved" any of Hitchcock's final four films, they should have stayed together. "Vertigo," "North by Northwest" and "Psycho" are classics because Hitchcock does the visual and Herrmann does the musical, and together, a fusion of greatness was acheived.
One reason that the Final Four Hitchcock's don't quite seem like "real Hitchcock movies" (even "Frenzy"), is because they don't have the distinctive Herrmann music; indeed the composers are different for each movie. (Which tells you how much Hitch missed Herrmann.)

"Torn Curtain" and "Frenzy" have bad scores. Herrmann would have helped.

"Topaz" has a dull score. Herrmann would have bettered it.

"Family Plot" has a fine score -- but Herrmann would have kept it "all in the family" with his longtime collaborator, Hitchcock.

I have heard the unused suite of Herrmann's score for Torn Curtain and it is vastly superior to Addison's lame score. Since Herrmann enhanced many of Hitchcock's movies, it is a shame that the loyalty was not returned. Torn Curtain would have been a better movie had they kept Herrmann's score. Also Frenzy's score (I know Hitchcok wanted an all English cast) is quite weak. It needed some of Herrmann's musical abilities to spice it up.

"He should be beaten every Saturday like a dog"