Halloween-A-Thon 2011: Betty Boop's Halloween Party.

Halloween-A-Thon 2011: A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing (re-post)

1981 was the year of the werewolf. Along with this classic, The Howling and Wolfen also saw the light of day. The make-up effects for this film were groundbreaking and still hold up to this day and you can't beat any film that features Jenny Agutter! Elmer Bernstein wrote the music for the film but the studio never released an official soundtrack. Instead, they asked MECO to give the world his interpretation and thus we have this!

An American Werewolf in London OST

Halloween-A-Thon 2011: Scrappy's Ghost Story

Halloween-A-Thon 2011: Dracula Under Glass

When the classic Bela Lugosi Dracula film was first released in 1930, talkies were still something new. As a result, the men behind the film made it so that it could be shown to audiences both as a silent movie and as a talkie, though conversation was limited to basic narrative elements. Unusually, it did not have a specific score and only two pieces of music on its soundtrack: Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake during the opening credits, and the overture of Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg during a scene at an opera. That's the way the film remained until 1999 when Philip Glass was commissioned to write the score by Universal Studios Home Entertainment, which released the movie with the Glass-soundtrack on VHS and DVD. According to Glass, the choice of chamber music played by a string quartet rather than an orchestral score followed from the movie's setting, "libraries and drawing rooms and gardens." The string quartet that Glass hired to perform his score was the great, Kronos Quartet. Kronos (accompanied by Glass on piano) performed the score during viewings of the movie across the United States in 1999 and 2000 to promote the album. The soundtrack and the performances thereof have received mixed reviews. Entertainment Weekly was very positive, praising the "hypnotic new score," while The Essential Monster Movie Guide calls the score "unnecessary," and a Lugosi-biography calls it "ill-considered." Being a fan of all three components, I was excited to see the collaboration and enjoyed it thorougly. I hope you do as well when you listen to the soundtrack that Glass wrote those twelve years ago. Here is "Dracula" by Philip Glass. Enjoy!

Dracula Soundtrack - Philip Glass & Kronos Quartet

Dartman's Advent Calendar 2010: Day 2

Here's the second flap being pulled back on our Advent Calendar! Today we get to hear the great Eddie Cantor all the way from 1939. Here's Eddie's answer to the question. "What Do You Want For Christmas?". Enjoy!

Eddie Cantor - The Only Thing I Want for Christmas

The Best of The World Of Wonder: Follow The Yellow Brick Road

Meinhardt Raabe, the little person who played the coroner of Munchkinland passed away Friday morning at the youthful age of 94. In his honor, I thought I would repost the original release of the soundtrack to The Wizard of Oz.


I was thinking that of with all of the Wizard of Oz CD releases out there, they have still never released the soundtrack the way it was originally put out. It's great that there are boxed sets of all of the music and it's great that there are single discs that also showcase more of the music than most people remember but what's missing is the dialogue in between the songs. The original release had that. I loved it. When I received my copy one Christmas, I was ecstatic and was even more thrilled to listen to it over and over again. Remember, this was when they only showed the film once a year on TV and it was long before anyone thought they would ever own it to play whenever they felt like it. This was the only way to enjoy the film at your leisure. Anyway, I have been meaning to post the original version of the soundtrack ever since I started the World of Wonder but have never had a chance to do so. Until today! Here is what I like to call my "Super Mega Wizard of Oz Soundtrack Post!" I present for you the original LP release of the soundtrack as well as a re-post of the Lux Radio Theatre production of "The Wizard of Oz" from Christmas Day, 1950. By then, Judy was 28 and was the only original cast member of the MGM film to be in this Lux program. Rounding out the cast were: Herb Vigran (Tin Man), Hans Conreid (Scarecrow), Ed Max (Lion), Herb Butterfield (Wizard), Betty Lou Gerson (Good Witch), Noreen Gammill (Wicked Witch) William Johnson (Uncle Henry), Ruth Perrott (Auntie Em), Gil Stratton (Mayor) and David Light was the voice of Toto. Now, just when you are saying, Dartman, thanks for this great post, there's more! I am also re-posting the 70s disco version of the Wizard of Oz by Meco! (I told you it was a super post!!!) So, here is the original soundtrack as it was originally released, the Lux Radio version from 1950 and the disco version by MECO! But wait!!!!! If you act now, you also get a repost of "Snagglepuss and The Wizard of Oz" children's record! All right here at Dartman's World of Wonder! Enjoy!

The Wizard of Oz OST

Lux Radio Theater presents The Wizard of Oz

MECO-The Wizard of Oz

Snagglepuss and The Wizard of Oz

The 25 Posts of Christmas: Christmas With The King

No, it's not a post featuring Elvis but a great cartoon from 1933 entitled, "Christmas Night"! Enjoy!

Super 8 Theater Presents: The Marx Brothers

Here is the Castle Films' Digest Version of The Marx Brothers' classic, "Duck Soup" entitled, "This Is War...?" Enjoy!

Betty Boop's Halloween Party

Freaks

The complete 1932 classic directed by Tod Browning! Enjoy!

September of Soundtracks: The Marx Brothers Get Cultured

In Seattle a few months ago, I came across an LP I had never seen before. It was obviously not a legitimate release but it did intrigue me as it stated that it was the original soundtrack to "A Night At The Opera". I purchased it and sent it home only to hear it a few weeks later when I cam home for a quick week off. To my surprise, it was indeed the soundtrack to the film. The entire soundtrack. Basically, it is the film on record and unlike the story records of the 70s and 80s that featured films on record, this is pretty much the entire film. The only thing that is missing, ironically, are the harp and piano solos by Harpo and Chico. All of the opera songs are here, just not the Marx Brothers' performances. I also had to speed it up as the album features a slower recording of the film. I don't know how that happened but I corrected it for your listening pleasure. Here is that album. Enjoy!

A Night At The Opera OST

BONUS!!!
Here's a re-post of a Marx Brothers album featuring sound clips from their films that was released in the 70s:


The brothers Marx were by far the greatest comedy team ever! Their mad cap humor extended from the stage and screen right into their real lives! I have so much Marx Brothers stuff that I thought I would post this as a "starter kit" for those who are unknown to the genius of these fine gentlemen! It is actually not one of my personal favorites but it does showcase their comedic talents from their films. It's "The Marx Brothers :Actual Voice Tracks From Their Movies." This came out in the 70s as part of a series of old time film comedians' voice tracks from old movies. There's much more from the Marx Brothers coming soon! Enjoy!

The Marx Brothers: Actual Voice Tracks From Their Movies

September of Soundtracks: It's Only A Paper Moon

Seeing as how Ryan O'Neil has been making headlines this past week, I thought I would post the soundtrack to one of his great films, "Paper Moon". This film is best remembered as the introduction of Tatum O'Neil into the world of film. Her portrayal of "Addie Loggins" won her an academy award for best supporting actress making her the youngest actor ever to receive an oscar. In fact, she actually beat out her co-star, Madeline Kahn, for the award! The film is actually based on a book called "Addie Pray" which was later changed to "Paper Moon" after the film came out. Both are excellent. What's even more excellent is the collection of depression era music used for the soundtrack! Here it is for you now. Enjoy!

Paper Moon OST