THE GERALD FRIED COLLECTION: VOLUME 1
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Dragon’s Domain Records presents THE GERALD FRIED COLLECTION, VOLUME 1, featuring music composed by Gerald Fried (THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E., STAR TREK, ROOTS) for two films from his extensive filmography.
Airing on television in 1978, CRUISE INTO TERROR tells the story of the son of Satan hitching a ride inside an Egyptian sarcophagus and causing havoc when shipped as cargo on a pleasure cruise ship. The story as written has a kind of a Love Boat Meets Hellraiser kind of sensibility, although much less frightening. To score the film, Fried utilized an approach he had favored in the horror films he scored during the ‘50s: paraphrasing from traditional material, which included the Dies Irae , a medieval plainsong chant that is one of the most quoted in musical literature, appearing in numerous classical compositions and film scores alike. Fried recorded the score with a 40-piece orchestra, as he recalls, which gave a sense of size and assertion to the music as the film plays out.
Released in 1976, SURVIVE! is a Mexican film released under the Spanish title SUPERVIVIENTES DE LOS ANDES (Survivors Of The Andes) and tells the true story of the crash of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, which was chartered to carry the country’s rugby team to a match in Santiago, Chile when it crashed in the Andes Mountains. Rescuers could not find the crash site as the plane was far off course when it plowed into snow and rock on a mountainside; without food, survivors had to choose between starvation and eating the flesh of the dead; of the 45 persons on board the plane, 33 initially survived the crash, but only 16 would survive to be rescued after 72 days on the mountain top, trapped by injuries, lack of food, and severe weather, with only the aircraft’s torn fuselage for shelter. The tragedy was later filmed by Frank Marshall as ALIVE (1993).
Dragon’s Domain Records presents THE GERALD FRIED COLLECTION, VOLUME 1, featuring music composed by Gerald Fried for CRUISE INTO TERROR and SURVIVE! for the first time on compact disc. The music has been mastered by James Nelson at Digital Outland and the liner notes have been written by noted author Randall Larson.
THE GERALD FRIED COLLECTION, VOLUME 1 is a limited edition release of 500 units.
CD 1 - CRUISE INTO TERROR (1978)
01. Prologue and Main Title (3:10)
02. Out to Sea (1:59)
03. Who Is Buried There?/Overboard (2:50)
04. It Wasn’t an Accident/Repressed Wife (2:51)
05. Shark Attack (4:45)
06. Passengers/Underwater Search (7:41)
07. Underwater Discovery and Nathan’s Death (5:02)
08. Troubled Waters (1:41)
09. The Reverend’s Rant (3:06)
10. The End of Dr. Bakkun (2:12)
11. Voyage of Evil (5:22)
12. You Are the Guardian! (4:53)
13. Finale (5:57)
Total Time: 52:01
CD 2 - SURVIVE! (1976)
01. Opening Titles (1:36)
02. Off Course (3:04)
03. After The Crash (2:24)
04. The Search Begins (3:14)
05. Burying the Dead (7:16)
06. Trying to Survive (2:57)
07. Prayers and Death (3:09)
08. The Tall Section Search (3:49)
09. Death of Sylvia (2:36)
10. Friends for Dinner (7:48)
11. Growing Stronger (1:56)
12. My Birthday/After the Avalanche (3:11)
13. Another Death/Montage (5:42)
14. The Trek Begins (2:59)
15. You Can’t Give Up (2:28)
16. Helicopter Rescue (1:38)
17. Finale and End Credits (3:35)
Total Time: 60:05
Review
The Gerald Fried Collection, Vol. 1 (1978/1976) *** 1/2
Dragon’s Domain 717
Disc One: 13 tracks - 51:29
Disc Two: 17 tracks - 57:40
Back in the 1990s, the Film Score Monthly label released a collection of scores by Gerald Fried (Roots, Star Trek), including 1962’s The Cabinet of Caligari. Film music fans who grew up in the 1960s and ’70s are aware of a host of similar guilty pleasures by the composer. This new 2-CD from Dragon’s Domain collects two of Fried’s scores from the latter part of the ’70s, both making their premiere appearance on compact disc.
Disc one features the score for a made-for-TV horror film, Cruise Into Terror (1978). The story unfolds on a cruise ship in the Gulf of Mexico, where a group of passengers are beset by all manner of odd events and accidents related to a historian’s (Ray Milland) insistence that the Son of Satan has been placed in an Egyptian sarcophagus in a sunken pyramid—it’s basically a Love Boat horror story. For the score, Fried harkens back to his multitude of horror outings from the ’50s (The Return of Dracula, I Bury the Living). The composer makes use of the familiar Dies Irae chant as a unifying thematic element, introducing it in the “Prologue and Main Title” with creepy chanting (a nod to The Omen).
Once we get our fill of looming terror, Fried changes pace with the more lyrical “Out to Sea,” a pops-like thematic presentation with fun rhythmic ideas that propel things forward. For the score’s more traditional dramatic sections, electronics and strings mix with electric guitar. The playlist moves nicely between the catchy, lyrical theme and the horror scoring that punctuates the terror.
The score also boasts melodramatic segments (“The Reverend’s Rant”), lounge jazz (“Passengers”), and yet another example of a tension-driving heartbeat effect (“Voyage of Evil.”) Overall, Cruise Into Terror is a solid genre outing, and a reminder of Fried’s facility with this type of material.
Some folks may recall the 1972 crash of the Uruguayan Rugby team in the Andes Mountains, which became a well known story following a book of the incident by Charles Blair, Jr. While the men waited for rescue over the course of 72 days, they had to resort to cannibalism to stay alive. This is what makes 1976’s Survive! (and later 1993’s Alive) one of the more unusual entries in the disaster film genre. The Mexican movie was released with a score by composer Raul Lavista, but when Paramount picked it up for a late August release with an English dub, Fried was brought in to provide a new score.
While the opening titles have some dramatic flair, the score proper is a decidedly austere affair. “After the Crash” captures some of the static bleakness the survivors faced during their long ordeal. A plaintive bassoon theme accompanies “Burying the Dead,” with some nice interplay as additional winds are added to the texture.
The score feels repetitive, but in some ways this complements the film’s narrative. Everything is tied together by an impassioned thematic idea that receives a fine statement in “Prayers and Death.” “The Tail Section Search” offers another recurring melody, this one with elements of hope and progress.
The two scores on display here showcase different sides of Fried’s dramatic scoring, but both benefit from strong thematic ideas and excellent orchestrations. This first volume (hopefully indicating more to come) is a must-have for any fans of the underappreciated composer. —Steven A. Kennedy
Comments regarding this review can be sent to: stev4uth@hotmail.com.
