September 20, 2007
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HB: Frank De Vol
It's been a while since I've done a retrospective of someone. Today is the birthday of composer Frank De Vol (1911-1999). De Vol's name will be familiar to fans of 1960s TV where he served as composer for various episodes. But he will be remembered as the composer for the theme songs for such popular cult favorites as The Brady Bunch, My Three Sons, and Family Affair.
De Vol wrote some 50 film scores, many of them for quite interesting dramas from Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (nominated for an Oscar in 1968) to a couple of great Bette Davis films in the mid-1960s. My personal favorite being his song and score for Hush, Hush...Sweet Charlotte from 1964 for which he was nominated for both the song and score. The score itself was released on Intrada a year or so ago.
De Vol's dramatic underscore is a rare thing on CD but each one that is released brings a deeper appreciation for his abilities. Some will also recall his music for The Dirty Dozen (1967) coming in a stream of film scores for Disney family films. He wrote the music for the original versions of Flight of the Phoenix and The Longest Yard. But for the most part, De Vol's music has a lighter orchestral style, it is not as intense as say some of North's scores for similar films of the same period. His approach though is quite sensitive, sometimes playing up the emotional tug of a film in ways that really grab you.
Incidentally, De Vol often appeared in guest appearrances on TV mostly in sitcoms.
Comments (1)
I watched "Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte" last week, loved the score and song. Now I'm kicking myself for not buying that Intrada cd when it was still available.
I didn't pick up "The Dirty Dozen", just because it looked to be a little heavy on source music for my tastes... but I'm loving the release of "The Devil's Brigade", one of my favorite re-releases this year!
Back at ya later
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