Darryl F Zanuck’s lavish 1952 production for 20th Century Fox of The Snows of Kilimanjaro was a huge box­office hit and drew from Bernard Herrmann some of his most hauntingly pensive inspiration. As the mortally wounded Harry Street looks back over his life and loves‚ Herrmann’s predominantly slow­moving music taps into a vein of poignant heartache and brooding nostalgia that cast a strong spell. The complete score comprises some 20 cues and makes for a slightly bitty 37­minute sequence overall – there’s perhaps less to get one’s teeth into than on some other Herrmann offerings. Incidentally‚ the happy ending (in Hemingway’s original Harry dies) so incensed the author that he later quipped that the movie should have been entitled ‘The Snows of Zanuck’! After barely a second’s pause‚ we are plunged into the jagged swagger of the opening titles for Five Fingers‚ a stylish spy thriller directed by Joseph Mankiewicz and starring James Mason. Penned in the late autumn of 1951 and lasting just under 30 minutes‚ it’s a rewarding‚ highly inventive score that never outstays its welcome. Not only are Herrmann’s consistently imaginative orchestrations a very real pleasure (the film’s Turkish settings providing plenty of opportunity for local colour)‚ there’s also a greater variety of expression than in The Snows of Kilimanjaro. I hugely enjoyed making the acquaintance of this little­known gem. Film­music buffs once again owe a huge debt of gratitude to John Morgan for his pains­taking restorations (a task made trickier by the none­too­clear photocopies of the original manuscripts from which he had to work). Praise‚ too‚ for William Stromberg‚ who draws some agreeably sprightly playing from his hard­working Moscow forces. Good‚ if not top­drawer sound‚ and really excellent presentation. A very useful and likeable release‚ in sum‚ if one primarily for die­hards.

-- Gramophone [12/2001] Reviewing Marco Polo 8225168