Nelson Riddle, U.N.C.L.E., Batman... in '60s Horror and Sci-Fi Forum

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Nelson Riddle, U.N.C.L.E., Batman...

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Jim Burns	Nelson Riddle, U.N.C.L.E., Batman...	Lead	[-]
Jan 24 12 4:08 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Warner Archives has released THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. feature film releases-- Eight "movies," all two-part episodes combined, except for the first two, which had a bunch of extra stuff shot, which was later combined for ANOTHER episode ;-) A bonus which was kind of inexplicably left off the UNCLE DVD series release a while back! I was watching THE MAN IN THE GREEN HAT, the compilation of the third season "Concrete Overcoat Affair, Parts 1 and 2..." (Intriguingly, this is one of the few episodes Robert Vaughn and David McCallum remember shooting, for the fun they had working with some of the "gangster actors" from their youths, including Eduardo Cianelli! (The shows also guest-starred Jack Palance and Janet Leigh.)) As the disc played, I was kind of stunned that Nelson Riddle's score seemed to lift all sorts of cues, from his BATMAN work... Now, although this was UNCLE's "campy season," wasn't this kind of unusual, for a composer to borrow his own work from another hit series, currently playing? (They may be Riddle's BATMAN movie music, but the question remains the same...) Jon Heitland's invaluable book on THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. says that the series' executive producer, Norman Felton especially engaged Riddle for the episode/movie-- And was then FURIOUS at the result, writing Riddle an incensed letter... I like Riddle, often quite a lot, but was just kind of surprised by all this. Best, Jim
clore103051		#1	[-]
Jan 24 12 5:48 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	It's similar lifting of cues that has me expecting John Wayne and Robert Mitchum in EL DORADO to morph into Batman and Robin.
Helrunar		#2	[-]
Jan 24 12 10:11 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I think one of the cues you are thinking of, this campy harpsichord riff, was used by Riddle in the score for Lolita (1962). I've never seen El Dorado--did he use it there, too? I've seen other UNCLE episodes in which cues I associated with Batman suddenly showed up. H.
clore103051		#3	[-]
Jan 24 12 10:33 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	With UNCLE it was almost appropriate as the success of BATMAN had NBC demanding an even campier tone to the series in the third season. By the fourth episode, I bailed out of watching what was appointment TV for me. Apparently many others did the same thing as ratings dropped and the decision was made to go back to sterner stuff for the fourth season. That I watched faithfully but it was too late and soon LAUGH-IN took its place and even had Mr. Waverly in the first show calling for Solo and Kuryakin to "come back, you're needed." The riff I'm thinking of is a trumpet one, usually heard while the dynamic duo was prowling around looking over the villain's lair. In EL DORADO one can hear it as Wayne and Mitchum are prowling the street, looking for a gunman who had just shot someone.

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