| |
Dragon's Domain Records presents THE GRISSOM GANG, featuring music composed by Gerald Fried (THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E., STAR TREK, ROOTS) for the 1971 dramatic film directed by Robert Aldrich (THE FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX, THE DIRTY DOZEN, WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE?), starring Scott Wilson, Kim Darby, Tony Musante, Robert Lansing, Connie Stevens, Irene Dailey, Wesley Addy, Michael Baseleon, Ralph Waite, Hal Baylor and Matt Clark.
Released in 1971, THE GRISSOM GANG follows a group of small-time criminals as they attempt to rob a wealthy socialite's jewelry. During the bungled robbery, they impulsively kidnap Barbara Blandish (Darby), the sheltered daughter of a powerful millionaire. Their poorly planned crime quickly spirals out of control when the ruthless Grissom family, an organized gang of criminals led by domineering matriarch Ma Grissom (Dailey), learns of the kidnapping. Seeing an opportunity for a large ransom, the Grissoms seize Barbara from the original kidnappers and take control of the operation...
Director Robert Aldrich and composer Gerald Fried worked together several times, on films such as TOO LATE THE HERO and THE KILLING OF SISTER GEORGE. Rather than emphasizing traditional gangster-film excitement, Fried wrote a score for THE GRISSOM GANG that underscores the film's disturbing psychological tone. The music frequently uses sparse orchestration, haunting melodies, and uneasy harmonic textures to evoke the emotional instability of the characters.
Born February 1928 in the Bronx, Gerald Fried's interest in music found its first fruition at the High School of Music & Art in New York City. He attended The Juilliard School of Music as an oboe major, graduating in 1945. Among his earliest friends was a bright kid named Stanley Kubrick. The two of them used to hang around Greenwich Village and talk about their budding interests, Fried's in classical music and Kubrick's in filmmaking. Their interests merged when Kubrick began filming DAY OF THE FIGHT, an 18-minute short about boxing. Knowing Fried was a music major, Kubrick asked him if he could write the score for his boxing picture. Fried agreed, then spent months going to the movies to learn how film scores worked, there being no schools or courses on film music in those days. Fried wrote an effective score, and Kubrick sold the film to RKO Pathé. Fried rejoined Kubrick to score four more of his films, including THE KILLING and PATHS TO GLORY, where the young filmmaker first gained his reputation.
After the success of THE KILLING in 1956, Kubrick moved to Los Angeles, shortly followed by Fried, who was immediately hired to compose and arrange music for several films, including THE VAMPIRE, THE RETURN OF DRACULA, MACHINE GUN KELLY and I, MOBSTER, I BURY THE LIVING, and TIMBUKTU (1959). By the 1960s, Fried moved into television, scoring episodes of such seminal shows of the decade as GILLIGAN'S ISLAND, THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E., MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE and STAR TREK. By the 1970s Fried was composing music for numerous made-for-TV movies. His best-known score of the decade was for the 1977 miniseries ROOTS, which he took over scoring when Quincy Jones. Both Jones and Fried won Emmy Awards for their musical efforts on the series. During the '80s, Fried continued to compose music for television series, movies, and documentaries, and an occasional feature film. These are just two of the many magnificent scores Fried wrote throughout his career. The composer passed away on February 17, 2023 at the age of 95. His work remains a testament to his talent and dedication to the art of composition and he is remembered as a key figure in the evolution of music for film and television.
- BSX
|
|
