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Dragon's Domain Records presents WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO AUNT ALICE?, featuring music composed by Gerald Fried (THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E., STAR TREK, ROOTS) for the 1969 dark horror comedy directed by Lee H. Katzin, written by Theodore Apstein and Ursula Curtiss, starring Geraldine Page, Ruth Gordon, Rosemary Forsyth, Robert Fuller, Mildred Dunnock, Joan Huntington, Peter Brandon, Michael Barbera, Peter Bonerz, Richard Angarola, Claire Kelly and Valerie Allen.
Released in 1969, WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO AUNT ALICE? was based on the novel 'The Forbidden Garden' by Ursula Curtiss. WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO AUNT ALICE? is the story of an aging Arizona widow named Claire Marrable (Page) left destitute after her husband, a prominent wealthy businessman, passes away leaving behind considerable debts. Penniless and desperate, Ms. Marrable retreats to Tucson where she cons elderly female housekeepers out of their life savings before murdering them and burying their bodies in her desert garden. Shortly after Mrs. Marrable hires petite Alice Dimmock (Gordon) as her next housekeeper (victim), the conniving black widow's homicidal schemes begin to unravel...
The original director of the picture, Bernard Girard, was fired from the project after shooting only half the film. Lee H. Katzin was then brought aboard to complete the movie receiving sole directorial credit. WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO AUNT ALICE? is the third installment in producer Robert Aldrich's loose trilogy of psycho-biddy "Grand Guignol" films, horror thrillers featuring elderly women going crazy, following WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? and HUSH…HUSH, SWEET CHARLOTTE.
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 fell behind and was unable to meet the broadcast deadline for the eight-hour miniseries. 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.
Dragon's Domain Records presents the world premiere release of WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO AUNT ALICE?, featuring music composed by Gerald Fried. The music has been mastered by James Nelson at Digital Outland and the liner notes have been written author and composer Brian Satterwhite.
- BSX
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