Adolph Deutsch (20 October 1897 – 1 January 1980)
was a British-American composer, conductor and arranger.
Born Adolph Sender Charles Deutsch in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, England, he emigrated to the United States in 1911, and settled in
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...
. His parents, Alex (Alexander) Deutsch and Dena née Gerst, were German Jews.
In 1914, Deutsch was "a Buffalo movie house musician", accompanying
silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...
s. Deutsch began his composing career on Broadway in the 1920s and 1930s, before working for Hollywood films beginning in the late 1930s.
For Broadway, he orchestrated
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook.
Born in Imperial Russi ...
's ''
As Thousands Cheer
''As Thousands Cheer'' is a revue with a book by Moss Hart and music and lyrics by Irving Berlin, first performed in 1933. The revue contained satirical sketches and witty or poignant musical numbers, several of which became standards, including ...
'' and
George
George may refer to:
People
* George (given name)
* George (surname)
* George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George
* George Washington, First President of the United States
* George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...
and
Ira Gershwin
Ira Gershwin (born Israel Gershovitz; December 6, 1896 – August 17, 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs in the English language of the 2 ...
's ''
Pardon My English
''Pardon My English'' is a musical with a book by Herbert Fields and Morrie Ryskind, lyrics by Ira Gershwin, and music by George Gershwin. Set in 1933 Dresden, the farcical plot satirizes the Prohibition era.
Production history
Producers Alex A ...
''.
Deutsch won
Oscars
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
for his
background music
Background music (British English: piped music) is a mode of musical performance in which the music is not intended to be a primary focus of potential listeners, but its content, character, and volume level are deliberately chosen to affect behav ...
for ''
Oklahoma!
''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical theater, musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs (play), Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of ...
'' (1955), and for conducting the music for ''
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
''Seven Brides for Seven Brothers'' is a 1954 American musical film, directed by Stanley Donen, with music by Gene de Paul, lyrics by Johnny Mercer, and choreography by Michael Kidd. The screenplay, by Albert Hackett, Frances Goodrich, and Dorot ...
'' (1954) and ''
Annie Get Your Gun'' (1950).
He was nominated for ''
The Band Wagon
''The Band Wagon'' is a 1953 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Vincente Minnelli, starring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. It tells the story of an aging musical star who hopes a Broadway show will restart his career. However, th ...
'' (1953) and the 1951 film version of ''
Show Boat
''Show Boat'' is a musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the performers, stagehands and dock worke ...
'',
for which he conducted the orchestra. For Broadway and Hollywood, he conducted, composed and arranged music, but did not write songs, not even for the Broadway shows on which he worked. In addition to his music for westerns and his conducting of the scores for musicals, Deutsch composed for
films noir
Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American '' ...
, including ''
The Mask of Dimitrios
''The Mask of Dimitrios'' is a 1944 American film noir directed by Jean Negulesco and written by Frank Gruber, based on the 1939 novel of the same title written by Eric Ambler (in the United States, it was published as ''A Coffin for Dimitrios'' ...
'' (1944), ''
The Maltese Falcon'' (1941), and ''
Nobody Lives Forever'' (1946), as well as ''
Little Women
''Little Women'' is a coming-of-age novel written by American novelist Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888).
Alcott wrote the book, originally published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869, at the request of her publisher. The story follows the lives ...
'' (the 1949 adaptation), and the
Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder (; ; born Samuel Wilder; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an Austrian-American filmmaker. His career in Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Classic Holl ...
comedies ''
Some Like It Hot
''Some Like It Hot'' is a 1959 American crime comedy film directed, produced and co-written by Billy Wilder. It stars Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, with George Raft, Pat O'Brien, Joe E. Brown, Joan Shawlee, Grace Lee Whitney and N ...
'' (1959), and ''
The Apartment
''The Apartment'' is a 1960 American romantic comedy-drama film directed and produced by Billy Wilder from a screenplay he co-wrote with I. A. L. Diamond. It stars Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray, Ray Walston, Jack Kruschen, David ...
'' (1960).
He retired in 1961.
Deutsch died in 1980, at the age of 82. He died due to heart failure and at his home in
Palm Desert, California
Palm Desert is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, in the Coachella Valley, approximately east of Palm Springs, northeast of San Diego and east of Los Angeles. The population was 48,445 at the 2010 census. The city has bee ...
.
Filmography
*1937 ''
They Won't Forget
''They Won't Forget'' is a 1937 American drama film directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starring Claude Rains, Gloria Dickson, Edward Norris, and Lana Turner, in her feature debut. It was based on a novel by Ward Greene called ''Death in the Deep South' ...
''
*1937 ''
The Great Garrick
''The Great Garrick'' is a 1937 American historical comedy film directed by James Whale and starring Brian Aherne, Olivia de Havilland, and Edward Everett Horton. The film also features Lionel Atwill, Luis Alberni, Melville Cooper, and future star ...
''
*1938 ''
Swing Your Lady
''Swing Your Lady'' is a 1938 country musical comedy film directed by Ray Enright, starring Humphrey Bogart, Frank McHugh, and Louise Fazenda. Ronald Reagan is also in the cast in one of his early roles. Daniel Boone Savage, a professional wre ...
''
*1938 ''
Racket Busters
''Racket Busters'' is a 1938 film about crime in the trucking industry starring Humphrey Bogart and George Brent. The film was directed by Lloyd Bacon.
Plot summary
Attorney Hugh Allison (Walter Abel) is appointed Special Prosecutor to invest ...
''
*1938 ''
Valley of the Giants''
*1938 ''Heart of the North''
*1939 ''Off the Record''
*1939 ''
The Kid from Kokomo
''The Kid from Kokomo'' is a 1939 American comedy film directed by Lewis Seiler and written by Richard Macaulay and Jerry Wald. The film stars Pat O'Brien, Wayne Morris, Joan Blondell, May Robson, Jane Wyman and Stanley Fields. The film was rele ...
''
*1939 ''Indianapolis Speedway''
*1939 ''
The Angels Wash Their Faces
''The Angels Wash Their Faces'' is a 1939 Warner Bros. film directed by Ray Enright and starring Ann Sheridan, Ronald Reagan and the Dead End Kids.
Plot
Gabe Ryan is released from reform school and is taken to a new house by his sister Joy to st ...
''
*1939 ''
Espionage Agent
''Espionage Agent'' is a pre–World War II spy melodrama produced by Hal B. Wallis in 1939. Directed by Lloyd Bacon, ''Espionage Agent'', like many Warner Bros. movies, clearly identifies the Germans as the enemy. This was unlike many other mov ...
''
*1940 ''
The Fighting 69th
''The Fighting 69th'' is a 1940 American war film starring James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, and George Brent. The plot is based upon the actual exploits of New York City's 69th Infantry Regiment during World War I. The regiment was given that nickna ...
''
*1940 ''
Castle on the Hudson
''Castle on the Hudson'' (UK title: ''Years Without Days'') is a 1940 American film noir drama (film and television), drama directed by Anatole Litvak and starring John Garfield, Ann Sheridan, and Pat O'Brien (actor), Pat O'Brien. A thief is sent ...
''
*1940 ''
Three Cheers for the Irish
''Three Cheers for the Irish'' is a 1940 comedy film directed by Lloyd Bacon, written by Richard Macaulay and Jerry Wald, and starring Priscilla Lane, Thomas Mitchell and Dennis Morgan. The supporting cast features Virginia Grey, Alan Hale, Sr. a ...
''
*1940 ''
Saturday's Children
Saturday's Children may refer to:
* ''Saturday's Children'' (1929 film), a romantic comedy film by Gregory La Cava
* ''Saturday's Children'' (1940 film), a drama film by Vincent Sherman
*''Saturday's Children'', a 1927 play by Maxwell Anderson
...
''
*1940 ''
Torrid Zone
The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in
the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...
''
*1940 ''
They Drive by Night''
*1940 ''
Flowing Gold''
*1940 ''
Tugboat Annie Sails Again
''Tugboat Annie Sails Again'' is a 1940 American comedy romance film directed by Lewis Seiler. The picture is a sequel to ''Tugboat Annie'' (1933). Marjorie Rambeau took over the late Marie Dressler's role, and the supporting cast features Alan H ...
''
*1940 ''
East of the River
''East of the River'' is a 1940 American drama film directed by Alfred E. Green and written by Fred Niblo, Jr. The film stars John Garfield, Brenda Marshall, Marjorie Rambeau, George Tobias, William Lundigan and Moroni Olsen. The film was release ...
''
*1941 ''
All Through the Night''
*1941 ''
The Maltese Falcon''
*1941 ''
Manpower
Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms include ...
''
*1941 ''
Kisses for Breakfast''
*1941 ''
Underground
Underground most commonly refers to:
* Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth
Underground may also refer to:
Places
* The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston
* The Underground (S ...
''
*1941 ''
Singapore Woman
''Singapore Woman'' is a 1941 American drama film directed by Jean Negulesco and starring Brenda Marshall and David Bruce.
The Warner Bros. B picture is a remake of ''Dangerous'' (1935) using leftover sets from '' The Letter'' (1940). The story ...
''
*1941 ''
The Great Mr. Nobody
''The Great Mr. Nobody'' is a 1941 American comedy film directed by Benjamin Stoloff and written by Ben Markson and Kenneth Gamet. The film stars Eddie Albert, Joan Leslie, Alan Hale, Sr., William Lundigan, John Litel, Charles Trowbridge and Paul ...
''
*1941 ''
High Sierra''
*1942 ''
Lucky Jordan
''Lucky Jordan'' is a 1942 film directed by Frank Tuttle, starring Alan Ladd in his first leading role, Helen Walker in her film debut, and Sheldon Leonard. The screenplay concerns a self-centered gangster who tangles with Nazi spies.
Plot
During ...
''
*1942 ''
George Washington Slept Here
''George Washington Slept Here'' is a 1942 comedy film starring Jack Benny, Ann Sheridan, Charles Coburn, Percy Kilbride, and Hattie McDaniel. It was based on the 1940 play of the same name by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman, adapted by Everett ...
''
*1942 ''
You Can't Escape Forever
''You Can't Escape Forever'' is a 1942 American drama film directed by Jo Graham and written by Fred Niblo, Jr. and Hector Chevigny. The film stars George Brent, Brenda Marshall, Gene Lockhart, Roscoe Karns, Eduardo Ciannelli and Paul Harvey. Th ...
''
*1942 ''
Across the Pacific
''Across the Pacific'' is a 1942 American spy film set on the eve of the entry of the United States into World War II. It was directed first by John Huston, then by Vincent Sherman after Huston joined the United States Army Signal Corps. It star ...
''
*1942 ''
The Big Shot''
*1942 ''
Juke Girl
''Juke Girl'' is a 1942 American drama film directed by Curtis Bernhardt, written by A. I. Bezzerides, and starring Ann Sheridan and Ronald Reagan. The supporting cast includes Richard Whorf, George Tobias, Gene Lockhart, Alan Hale Sr., Howard Da ...
''
*1942 ''
Larceny, Inc.
''Larceny, Inc.'' is a 1942 American film. Originally released on May 2, 1942, by Warner Bros., the film is a cross between comedy and gangster genres. Directed by Lloyd Bacon, the film stars Edward G. Robinson, Jane Wyman, Broderick Crawford, a ...
''
*1943 ''
Northern Pursuit
''Northern Pursuit'' is a 1943 American World War II film directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Errol Flynn as a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) who tries to uncover a Nazi plot against the Allied war effort. The film was set in ...
''
*1943 ''
Action in the North Atlantic
''Action in the North Atlantic'', also known as ''Heroes Without Uniforms'', is a 1943 American black-and-white war film from Warner Bros. Pictures, produced by Jerry Wald, directed by Lloyd Bacon, that stars Humphrey Bogart and Raymond Massey a ...
''
*1944 ''
The Doughgirls
''The Doughgirls'' is a 1944 American comedy film directed by James V. Kern based on the 1942 hit Broadway play written by Joseph Fields. The film works around three newlywed couples, focusing on the Halstead couple, played by Jane Wyman and ...
''
*1944 ''
The Mask of Dimitrios
''The Mask of Dimitrios'' is a 1944 American film noir directed by Jean Negulesco and written by Frank Gruber, based on the 1939 novel of the same title written by Eric Ambler (in the United States, it was published as ''A Coffin for Dimitrios'' ...
''
*1944 ''
Uncertain Glory''
*1945 ''
Danger Signal
''Danger Signal'' is a 1945 film noir starring Faye Emerson and Zachary Scott. The screenplay was adapted from the 1939 novel of the same name by Phyllis Bottome.
Plot
A mysterious pulp writer—and psychopath—named Ronnie Mason, steals a de ...
''
*1945 ''
Escape in the Desert''
*1946 ''
Nobody Lives Forever''
*1946 ''
Shadow of a Woman
''Shadow of a Woman'' is a 1946 American drama film, drama film noir directed by Joseph Santley and starring Helmut Dantine, Andrea King and William Prince (actor), William Prince. The film is based on the novel ''He Fell Down Dead'' written by Vi ...
''
*1946 ''
Three Strangers
''Three Strangers'' is a 1946 American film noir crime film, crime drama directed by Jean Negulesco, written by John Huston and Howard Koch (screenwriter), Howard Koch, starring Sydney Greenstreet, Geraldine Fitzgerald, and Peter Lorre, and featu ...
''
*1947 ''
Blaze of Noon
''Blaze of Noon'' is a 1947 aviation adventure film directed by John Farrow and based on writer and aviator Ernest K. Gann's best-selling novel ''Blaze of Noon'' (1946), a story about early air mail operations. The screenplay was from well-known w ...
''
*1947 ''
Ramrod
A ramrod (or scouring stick) is a metal or wooden device used with muzzleloading firearms to push the projectile up against the propellant (mainly blackpowder). The ramrod was used with weapons such as muskets and cannons and was usually held i ...
''
*1948 ''
Whispering Smith
''Whispering Smith'' is a 1948 American Western film directed by Leslie Fenton and starring Alan Ladd as a railroad detective assigned to stop a gang of train robbers. The supporting cast includes Robert Preston, Brenda Marshall and Donald Cri ...
''
*1948 ''
Julia Misbehaves
''Julia Misbehaves'' is a 1948 American romantic comedy film starring Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon as a married couple who are separated by the man's snobbish family. They meet again many years later, when the daughter whom the man has raised ...
''
*1949 ''
Intruder in the Dust
''Intruder in the Dust '' is a 1948 crime novel written by American author William Faulkner. Taking place in Mississippi, it revolves around an African American farmer accused of murdering a Caucasian man.
Overview
The novel focuses on Lucas B ...
''
*1949 ''
The Stratton Story
''The Stratton Story'' is a 1949 American biographical film directed by Sam Wood that tells the true story of Monty Stratton, a Major League Baseball pitcher who pitched for the Chicago White Sox from 1934 to 1938. The film is the first of three ...
'' (uncredited)
*1949 ''
Little Women
''Little Women'' is a coming-of-age novel written by American novelist Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888).
Alcott wrote the book, originally published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869, at the request of her publisher. The story follows the lives ...
''
*1950 ''
Pagan Love Song
''Pagan Love Song'' is a 1950 American romantic musical film released by MGM and starring Esther Williams and Howard Keel. Set in Tahiti, it was based on the novel ''Tahiti Landfall'' by William S. Stone.
Plot
Mimi Bennett lives with her weal ...
'' (uncredited)
*1950 ''
Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone
''Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone'' is a 1950 comedy/murder mystery film set on board a train. It stars Marjorie Main and James Whitmore. It is based on the short story "Once Upon a Train (The Loco Motive)" by Stuart Palmer and Craig Rice.
Plot
M ...
''
*1950 ''
Father of the Bride The Father of the Bride is commonly one of the wedding ceremony participants.
Father of the Bride may also refer to:
* ''Father of the Bride'' (novel), 1949, by Edward Streeter
** ''Father of the Bride'' (franchise), media franchise based on the 1 ...
''
*1950 ''
The Big Hangover
''The Big Hangover'' is a 1950 American comedy film released by MGM. The film starred Van Johnson and Elizabeth Taylor and was written and directed by Norman Krasna. Supporting players include Percy Waram, Fay Holden, Leon Ames, Edgar Buchanan, S ...
''
*1950 ''
Stars in My Crown''
*1951 ''
Show Boat
''Show Boat'' is a musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the performers, stagehands and dock worke ...
'' (uncredited)
*1951 ''
Soldiers Three
''Soldiers Three'' is a collection of short stories by Rudyard Kipling. The three soldiers of the title are Learoyd, Mulvaney and Ortheris, who had also appeared previously in the collection '' Plain Tales from the Hills''. The current version, ...
''
*1952 ''
Million Dollar Mermaid
''Million Dollar Mermaid'' (also known as ''The One Piece Bathing Suit'' in the UK) is a 1952 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer biographical film of the life of Australian swimming star Annette Kellerman. It was directed by Mervyn LeRoy and produced by Arthur ...
'' (uncredited)
*1953 ''
The Band Wagon
''The Band Wagon'' is a 1953 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Vincente Minnelli, starring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. It tells the story of an aging musical star who hopes a Broadway show will restart his career. However, th ...
'' (uncredited)
*1953 ''
Torch Song
A torch song is a sentimental love song, typically one in which the singer laments an unrequited or lost love, either where one party is oblivious to the existence of the other, where one party has moved on, or where a romantic affair has affecte ...
''
*1953 ''
The Long, Long Trailer
''The Long, Long Trailer'' is a 1954 American Anscocolor road comedy film based on a novel of the same name written by Clinton Twiss in 1951 about a couple who buy a new travel trailer home and spend a year traveling across the United States.''V ...
''
*1954 ''
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
''Seven Brides for Seven Brothers'' is a 1954 American musical film, directed by Stanley Donen, with music by Gene de Paul, lyrics by Johnny Mercer, and choreography by Michael Kidd. The screenplay, by Albert Hackett, Frances Goodrich, and Dorot ...
'' (uncredited)
*1955 ''
Interrupted Melody
''Interrupted Melody'' is a 1955 biographical musical film, filmed in CinemaScope and Eastman Color, directed by Curtis Bernhardt and starring Glenn Ford, Eleanor Parker, Roger Moore, and Cecil Kellaway. The film was produced for Metro-Goldwyn-Ma ...
'' (uncredited)
*1956 ''
Tea and Sympathy''
*1956 ''
The Rack
The rack is a torture device consisting of a rectangular, usually wooden frame, slightly raised from the ground, with a roller at one or both ends. The victim's ankles are fastened to one roller and the wrists are chained to the other. As the in ...
''
*1958 ''
The Matchmaker
''The Matchmaker'' is a 1954 play by Thornton Wilder, a rewritten version of his 1938 play ''The Merchant of Yonkers''.
History
The play has a long and colorful history. John Oxenford's 1835 one-act farce ''A Day Well Spent'' had been extende ...
''
*1959 ''
Some Like It Hot
''Some Like It Hot'' is a 1959 American crime comedy film directed, produced and co-written by Billy Wilder. It stars Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, with George Raft, Pat O'Brien, Joe E. Brown, Joan Shawlee, Grace Lee Whitney and N ...
'' (background score)
*1960 ''
The Apartment
''The Apartment'' is a 1960 American romantic comedy-drama film directed and produced by Billy Wilder from a screenplay he co-wrote with I. A. L. Diamond. It stars Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray, Ray Walston, Jack Kruschen, David ...
''
*1961 ''
Go Naked in the World
''Go Naked in the World'' is a 1961 American drama film written and directed by Ranald MacDougall and co-directed by an uncredited Charles Walters and produced by Aaron Rosenberg. The film stars Gina Lollobrigida, Anthony Franciosa, and Ernest Bo ...
''
References
External links
*
Adolph Deutsch - New Songs, Playlists & Latest News - BBC Musicat the BBC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deutsch, Adolph
1897 births
1980 deaths
Best Original Music Score Academy Award winners
English conductors (music)
British male conductors (music)
English film score composers
English male film score composers
Jewish composers
English people of German-Jewish descent
Musicians from London
Musicians from Buffalo, New York
People from Palm Desert, California
20th-century British conductors (music)
20th-century English composers
20th-century American male musicians
British emigrants to the United States