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"Why is it so important for a film to have good music? The answer to that question is rather simple: good music will enhance the emotional content of any movie. A good piece of music can be uplifting: it can even save a boring scene. Bad music, on the other hand, can ruin everything. A famous film composer once said that a score can only be considered successful if the audience doesn't remember hearing it. No doubt, a filmscore should always be an intergral part of the events onscreen, but good films often linger in a viewers mind because of their outstanding main themes. There are countless examples of this: the famous Harry Lime theme from THE THIRD MAN, performed by Anton Karras; the facinating harmonica piece from ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST by Ennio Morricone; Francis Lai's theme from LOVE STORY, Laura's theme from DOCTOR ZHIVAGO. Even today, I get chills when I hear Morricone's remarkable score for LA PIOVRA ("The Octopus"). Morricone ranks high among my favorite film composers, as well as Quincy Jones, Henry Mancini, Miklos Roza and Dmitri Tiomkin.
When it comes to krimis (German crime thrillers, that is), the composer's job is to create a mood of nerve-wracking suspense and to provide the atmosphere of a specific milleu. Sadly, I've noticed that recent thriller scores, with a few exceptions, have been following a very negative trend. Very often, one would not be justified in calling them "compositions". Nowadays, anyone owning the right computer software can score a thriller with more or less suitable techno-sounds; perhaps this is the most suitable accompaniment to the brainless car chases and shootouts that dominate our screens today.
None of the numerous krimis I scored were in danger of winning an Oscar, but one could always follow the story, understand the characters and have a good time watching them. In those days, even on low budget films, a composer still had to think about musical themes, had to write actual cue sheets for real, living musicians. By today's standards, this method of working has almost become an anachronism.
When it came to budgeting the scores for their films, producers were as reluctant then as they are today. Every producer's dream was to have another THIRD MAN score, a worldwide success performed in it's entirety by one man.
I was very popular among producers - for example, with Artur Brauner and his Berlin-based CCC-Film. They knew I could do good things with very little means. On my first job for Brauner - the Brian Edgar Wallace krimi DAS GEHEIMNIS DER SCHWARZEN KOFFER (THE SECRET OF THE BLACK TRUNK) - I worked with only seven musicians (three guitars, one bass, and three drummers). Much to Artur's chagrin, I couldn't stick to such a tiny ensemble for every project, especially when I was composing for his big revue films.
I have no end of good memories of scoring films in the 1960's and 70's. It was a marvelous, interesting time, full of great people, fun, and lots of worthwhile work. I should say "bye-bye" to you now, before I run out of space, because it's hard to stop talking about the good old days."
Gert Wilden
Munich, 10/15/1996
Sax Rohmer's super-villian Fu Manchu, German pulp novel hero Rolf Torring, James Feninmore Cooper's Leatherstocking and Gunther Hunold's schoolgirls: when their German movie incarnations premiered on the big screen, they were all accompanied by the music of one man: Gert Wilden.
Born April 15, 1923 in Mahrisch Trubau, Chechoslovakia, he studied composition and conduction at the Prague conservatorium under George Szell, Fritz Rieger and Fidelio Fincke. In the late '40s, Wilden composed and arranged for most German radio stations and worked as a "ghost-writer" in collaboration with Michael Jary, H.M. Majewski, Alfred Newman and Victor Young.
Beginning 1956, Wilden worked as a free-lanced film composer and his music has complimented more than 50 feature films of all genres. From 1961 to '64, he spearheaded the orchestra of the Bavarian Television Orchestra responsible for countless music shows and cabaret broadcasts. He was supervisor and arranger for recording by such artists as Hildegard Knef, Zarah Leander, Elke Sommer, Hans Albers, and Heinz Ruhmann.
His music for the German erotic flicks of the '70s proves to be as uncomplicated and joyful as the man himself. When asked by a colleague why he accepted composing for such suggestive films, Wilden answered with his unmistakable charm: "If these actors can fake sex naked on the big screen, why can't I compose for them fully dressed?"
Even in the age of the internet, information on Gert Wilden is still hard to find. That's why this fan page was created... to spread the word.
So, c'mon... Show Gert your love.
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