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It couldn't possibly be "Isle of the Dead" (1945, dir. Mark Robson, prod. Val Lewton), could it? [SPOILERS for that movie] That's in black and white, and there's a brilliant scene in which a woman is moving, essentially floating, through the island. She was thought to be dead but was actually buried alive and has gone insane. It remains one of the scariest scenes I, at least, have ever watched.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isle_of_the_Dead_(film)
http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/94924/Isle-of-the-Dead-Original-Trailer-.html
Thanks again, Keybored!
I don't think it's the first one, but...as for the second one...
That's Frank Luther singing with Leo Reisman's orchestra. That's who WillEd, some of whose posts are here (all of them are here: https://www.imdbarchive.com/board/p/12213/1/), thought it was at first, but he later came to the conclusion that it was not in fact Luther but, in fact, someone copying Luther's style. That was also the conclusion of MusicProf78, who had posted the Luther track to YouTube. That was one of the several reasons that WillEd, MusicProf, and "Lyncounion" all thought it was done exclusively for the film, because it was so similar to the Luther-Reisman version but not the same.
Thanks again, as always!
Salzmank
P.S. Yes, I have seen the list of Wikipedia: I haven't gone through every singer, but I have listened to most of them.
Thanks for the link, Keybored--it's something I haven't seen!
(By the way, just like for Moviefan, the "list of singers" link isn't working for me, but the geocities one does.)
Unfortunately, I've just been through that list, and none of those singers is our man. If you're interested, the video in which the songs are played is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_VVr8ScGOc
Thanks again so much!
Thanks, Moviefan.
He said he's out of town at the moment but that when he gets back he'll start doing some investigative work. If I hear back from him, he says, then he has found something. If not, then he hasn't.
I'll let you know if I hear back from him--which means, if I do, it'll (hopefully) be good news!
I know it's probably deducible from the post, but, just to clarify, James D'Arc is the curator of the BYU Film Music Archive, which has John Addison's papers. Sorry, should have specified who he is!
Hey, everyone—
Jackpot!
I just received an e-mail from D'Arc. He states that, while this request is unusual and he normally couldn't do anything without my being a patron of the BYU library, because the mystery has been going on so long and he's curious about it now, he's going to start investigating anyway.
So, uh—how's that for news?
Of course, he may not discover anything and we'll have to go back to the drawing board once again, but it's a definite step in the right direction!
Actually, a few days I hunted down Hughes's other work--there's very little of it--on IMDb and tried exactly the course you suggested. Unfortunately, while he has done other re-arrangements, I didn't find anything else there for Cole Porter or set in the '30s or '40s. Ah, if it were only that easy! :)
I highly recommend "Sleuth." It's a fun, witty, literate movie with some clever plotting and surprisingly intelligent social commentary that, at the very least, made me think.
It may be less effective, in toto, than the play on which it was based, but the acting (Olivier and Michael Caine!), Mankiewicz's direction, and the set design (by Ken Adam) are so good that on the whole I don't mind.
Having seen some, not all of Mankiewicz's work, I don't see it as some kind of radical deviation. To be sure, it's different from "Julius Caesar," "Cleopatra," and such. But it has the same focus on plotting and dialogue that characterize many of Mankiewicz's smaller and, to my mind, better pictures, such as "Dragonwyck," "All About Eve," and "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir."
Mankiewicz had something of an inclination for whodunits, the genre "Sleuth" mocks, by the way. "The Honey Pot" is pure whodunit, though it is more reliant on the work of its actors, Rex Harrison in particular.
Well, I do want to solve the darn' thing...
I wouldn't mind it at all if someone picked up the pieces where and when I leave off, especially as I've been busy and don't always have the time to devote to this. I know that, in the scheme of things, it's a relatively small matter, but it may just be that the human soul wants desperately to solve a mystery, especially when the pieces of the puzzle just aren't adding up... How's that for waxing philosophical? ;)
I suppose the great question is exactly why he should have wished to keep himself anonymous for the songs, especially after all these years. I mean, if he has since passed, I can understand that, but--I don't know!--his wife, his family, his employer all haven't come forward and said, "Ah, yes, that's...!"
It's utterly remarkable. He seems like a ghost who existed just to sing these songs and then disappear into obscurity. Perhaps that is exactly why the mystery is so very intriguing.
Hi Moviefan--
No, you're not dumb at all, don't put yourself down like that!
In fact, you've given me a very good and useful suggestion.
I am not, to be sure, absolutely positive that these were created exclusively for the film. For all I know, there could have been a singer who gave these performances long before it. (I'm skeptical, however, that they were for a revival of the musical: they don't sound exactly as if they come from the stage or an album therefrom.)
With that said, I think the evidence leans in the "created for the film" direction, for various reasons that have been pointed out by several different individuals with whom I've spoken. For just one example, "Lyncounion" wrote, "More significantly, in 'Anything Goes' there are multiple instrumental verses after the vocal verse, which very conveniently occur exactly when the characters in the film start talking." (All of his comments are here: http://imdb2.freeforums.net/thread/195/singer-sleuth-unsolvable?page=2&scrollTo=128832#ixzz4bLxcpiXS)
That doesn't force us to stop searching, however, because I would think that the singer has sung some other time in his life, therefore suggesting another source or album, etc., especially as he's got such a great voice!
My thanks again for your response!
Hi StyxNyx--
Thanks for your research.
However, I'm pretty sure it was neither Dino nor Mel Tormé--though, curiously enough, Tormé was proposed as a possibility all the way back on the Soundtrack Collector board. On that subject, though I'll have to quote mcneal_182 from that board: "For all of you who are suggesting that Mel Torme is a possibility I would seriously re-consider your speculations. This recording is clearly an early 1930s recording and surely not the vocals of an Italian from the early 1950s."
To be perfectly honest, we're pretty sure it's not even a '30s recording but a studio re-creation of one. A few links, where I've posted, that may interest you: http://imdb2.freeforums.net/thread/195/singer-sleuth-unsolvable?page=2&scrollTo=128832 , http://imdb2.freeforums.net/thread/1408/singer-sleuth , and https://www.imdforums.com/threads/singer-in-sleuth-unsolvable-mystery.523/page-2#post-8124 .
Thanks again for helping with the search! We'd make Andrew Wyke proud yet!
Just chiming in again to let everyone here know I'm still here. I don't know if I'm allowed to link to another site, but https://www.imdbarchive.com/board/p/12213/1/ has the complete archived "Sleuth" board from IMDb, just in case anyone's interested. Any thoughts, recommendations, etc. are very, very welcome!
In that case, then, yes! Both someone on the "Soundtrack Collector" forum and I have tried one of those "tell you what the music is" sites. Unfortunately, mine came back with "could not find match," or some such thing, and the other person's came back with Frank Luther's version, which is what we originally thought at first but which has been substantiated is not the version in "Sleuth." WillEd, some of whose posts are above, albeit wildly out-of-order, thought it was Luther's at first before he eventually came to the conclusion that it was somebody singing like Luther in particular. That opinion was verified by two '30s music experts.
I've tried sending e-mails both to the BYU Music Film Archive, which has composer John Addison's papers (Addison wrote the music for "Sleuth"), and Warner Bros. Music Publishing, which is credited in the movie's credits as "by arrangement with." As yet, though, no response from either one.
Thanks for your interest!
Salzmank
@ Louise Bayera
Unfortunately, the producer, Morton Gottlieb, passed away in 2009, and it seems that his company, Palomar Pictures, went with him. I have tried several different ways to find this out because it has fascinated and puzzled many people for years, but no such luck as yet. If you're interested, there's a pretty detailed conversation about it going on here: http://imdb2.freeforums.net/thread/195/singer-sleuth-unsolvable.
@ Helenelisechat
Apologies if I'm ignorant of it, but what's "Shazam"?
Only about half of the original thread is on here, but nevertheless, as the original poster, I'd like to thank whoever created this site for having the foresight and energy to copy a large number of the IMDb posts on here. A few things. If anyone here has any suggestions, the crux of the entire thread is available here: http://imdb2.freeforums.net/thread/1408/singer-sleuth. Also on IMDf and several other "IMDb-esque sites" created in the wake of the forum's deactivation/elimination. I hope someone will be able to come up with an answer some day!
Best,
Salzmank
P.S. I thought I'd also just clarify that all the posts above are wildly out-of-order. The person who didn't know about the "Sleuth" posts on IMDb would be very confused if reading these for the first time!