Frederick Hollander may not be a familiar name to many film music fans, but he was a superb composer who wrote some terrific scores over the years. He was also a wonderful songwriter, dating back to his work in German cabaret and films – his most iconic and well-known song being the gorgeous ''Falling in Love Again'' from Josef von Sternberg's The Blue Angel.
The 1954 Billy Wilder film Sabrina, was an absolute delight with a brilliant cast. Humphrey Bogart and William Holden played the brothers Larrabee, Linus and David, and the wonderful British character actor John Williams played their chauffeur, Thomas Fairchild, whose daughter is the title character, Sabrina. But it was the magical, winsome and altogether lovable Audrey Hepburn who made the film into pure cinematic magic. She'd become an overnight star the year before with Roman Holiday, and Sabrina was the perfect follow-up, cementing her place as one of the fastest-rising stars in Hollywood.
Wilder wanted to use popular tunes throughout Sabrina, and Hollander was the perfect choice to do those adaptations, as well as provide a few original themes. The resulting score was a memorable and charming pastiche – in fact, it's impossible to think of Sabrina without hearing Hollander's incredible arrangements of such standards as ''My Ideal,'' ''I Don't Want to Walk Without You,'' ''Lover,'' ''Dream Girl,'' ''Isn't It Romantic?'' and more. No one did this kind of score better than Hollander, and Sabrina is pure unadulterated movie scoring magic.
Two years later, Paramount released a wonderful Christmas comedy called We're No Angels, starring Humphrey Bogart, Peter Ustinov and Aldo Ray as the titular angels. Once again, Hollander provides an incredibly appealing score, which has both original and memorable themes along with interpolations such as ''Silent Night.''
Frederick Hollander had a really long and fruitful tenure at Paramount, and to fill out this CD, we present surviving cues from several of his film scores for the studio, including The Bride Wore Boots, The Affairs of Susan, The Great McGinty, Remember the Night and Disputed Passage. It is a pleasure to bring an entire album of Hollander music to CD. Though he is perhaps unsung these days, we hope that this potpourri of delightful music will show what an amazing talent he was.
Track listing
1. Prelude
2. Isn't It Romantic?
Rodgers–Hart
3. I Don't Want to Walk Without You
Styne–Loesser
4. Medley (I Wished on the Moon/Isn't It Romantic?/Sabrina)
Rainger–Parker/Rodgers–Hart/Stone
5. I'm Yours
Green–Harburg
6. Larrabee Building
7. Dream Girl / I Don't Want to Walk Without You
Livingston & Evans / Styne–Loesser
8. Lover Waltz
Rodgers–Hart
9. Isn't It Romantic?
Rodgers–Hart
10. My Ideal / Whispers in the Dark
Chase–Robin–Whiting / Hollander–Robin
11. Bridge to Meeting
12. Sabrina (vocal)
Stone
Tracks 1-12 from SABRINA
13. Main Title*
14. French Guiana
15. Christmas Eve (inc. ''Silent Night'')
16. Three Angels / Concertina
Hopkins–Sanders, arr. Van Cleave
17. The Snake Hunt Pt. 1
18. Finale* (inc. ''Plaisir d'Amour'')
Tracks 13-18 from WE'RE NO ANGELS
* Contains ''Sentimental Moments'' by Frederick Hollander and Ralph Freed
19. Prelude**
20. Cupid the Reindeer (''Jingle Bells'')
21. Mary Lou/Great Work, Albert**/End Title
Tracks 19-21 from THE BRIDE WORE BOOTS
** Contains ''Horses, Horses, Horses'' by Richard Whiting and Bryon Gay
22. Prelude / Main Title†
Hollander / Simeone
23. The Show Closes
24. Love in Bloom
Rainger–Robin
25. Narrow Escape/Pursuit†/Finale†
Webb
Tracks 22-25 from THE AFFAIRS OF SUSAN
† Contains ''If You Knew Susie'' by Buddy DeSylva and Joseph Meyer
26. On a Tropic Night
Lara–Washington
27. Louise / Just One More Chance
Whiting–Robin / Coslow–Johnston
Tracks 26-27 from THE GREAT McGINTY
28. Indiana Patch Work††
Bradshaw
29. Arrival in Indiana Home††
30. End of a Perfect Day in Indiana (inc. ''End of a Perfect Day'')††
31. Indiana Waltz††
Tracks 28-31 from REMEMBER THE NIGHT
†† Contains ''Back Home in Indiana'' by J.F. Hanley and Ballard MacDonald
32. End Title from DISPUTED PASSAGE
Music by Frederick Hollander (except as noted)
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