Great Film Composers: The Music of the Movies on Sky Arts: The 1950's: A New Dawn

The 1950's in film music was described as a decade of innovation where the score became increasingly important in telling the story on the screen. The start of this episode concentrated on the influence of jazz on these composers. Alex North's score for 1951's A Streetcar Named Desire earned him an Oscar nomination, as did Leonard Bernstein's for On the Waterfront. Jazz musicians Miles Davis and Duke Ellington became involved in film music.

But it was Bernard Hermann who continued to gain in reputation from that he had gained in the previous decade. He continued to work with Alfred Hitchcock with Oscar nominations for The Trouble With Harry, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Vertigo and North By Northwest. At the end of the decade, his atmospheric music for Psycho.

Also repeating earlier success, Franz Waxman won the Academy Award for his music to 1950's Sunset Boulevard. His score for Rear Window deserved the same. Demitri Tiomkin had already gained a reputation for his music to A Wonderful Life and Mr Smith Goes To Washington. In the 1950's he won the Oscar for High Noon and The Old Man and the Sea as well as other nominations.

Victor Young was actually nominated 22 times for best score, only to win once with 1957's Around the World in 80 Days. However he died before he could receive the award.