David Buttolph
Encyclopedia
David Buttolph was a film composer who scored over 300 movies in his career. Born in New York City, Buttolph showed musical talent at an early age, and eventually studied music formally. After earning a music degree, Buttolph moved to Europe in 1923 and studied in Austria and Germany supporting himself as a nightclub pianist. He returned to the U.S. in 1927 and, a few years later, began working for NBC radio network as an arranger and conductor. In 1933, Buttolph moved to Los Angeles and began working in films. Buttolph's best work, according to many, was his work as an arranger on Alfred Newman
-directed The Mark of Zorro
(1940).
In the mid-1950s, Buttolph started to write scores television, the most memorable being the theme for the TV western Maverick
with the same music appearing in his score of The Lone Ranger
(1956). He continued write music for television, many times westerns until his retirement in 1963.
Alfred Newman
Alfred Newman was an American composer, arranger, and conductor of music for films.In a career which spanned over forty years, Newman composed music for over two hundred films. He was one of the most respected film score composers of his time, and is today regarded as one of the greatest...
-directed The Mark of Zorro
The Mark of Zorro (1940 film)
The Mark of Zorro is a 1940 American adventure film directed by Rouben Mamoulian and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck for 20th Century Fox. The action movie stars Tyrone Power as Don Diego Vega , Linda Darnell as his love interest, and Basil Rathbone as the villain...
(1940).
In the mid-1950s, Buttolph started to write scores television, the most memorable being the theme for the TV western Maverick
Maverick (TV series)
Maverick is a western television series with comedic overtones created by Roy Huggins. The show ran from September 22, 1957 to July 8, 1962 on ABC and stars James Garner as Bret Maverick, a cagey, articulate cardsharp. Eight episodes into the first season, he was joined by Jack Kelly as his brother...
with the same music appearing in his score of The Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked Texas Ranger who, with his Native American companion Tonto, fights injustice in the American Old West. The character has become an enduring icon of American culture....
(1956). He continued write music for television, many times westerns until his retirement in 1963.
Filmography
- The New MaverickThe New MaverickThe New Maverick is a 1978 made-for-TV movie based on the 1957 television series Maverick, with James Garner as Bret Maverick, Charles Frank as newcomer cousin Ben Maverick , Jack Kelly as Bart Maverick, and Susan Sullivan as "Poker Alice" Ivers. The TV-movie was a pilot for the series Young...
(1978) (TV) (theme song) - The Man from Galveston (1963)
- PT 109PT 109 (film)PT 109 is a 1963 biographical film which depicts the actions of John F. Kennedy in command of Motor Torpedo Boat PT-109 as an officer of the United States Navy during World War II. The movie was adapted by Vincent Flaherty and Howard Sheehan from the book PT 109: John F. Kennedy in World War II by...
(1963) - The VirginianThe Virginian (TV series)The Virginian is an American Western television series starring James Drury and Doug McClure, which aired on NBC from 1962 to 1971 for a total of 249 episodes. Filmed in color, The Virginian became television's first 90-minute western series...
(1962) TV Series - Guns of the TimberlandGuns of the TimberlandGuns of the Timberland is a 1960 feature film starring Alan Ladd and Jeanne Crain. It was made by Ladd's Jaguar Productions and released through Warner Bros..-Plot:...
(1960) - Adventures in ParadiseAdventures in ParadiseAdventures in Paradise is an American television series which ran on ABC from 1959 until 1962. It starred Gardner McKay as Adam Troy, the captain of the schooner Tiki III which sailed the South Pacific looking for passengers and adventure. The show was created by James Michener...
(1959) TV Series (uncredited) - The AlaskansThe AlaskansThe Alaskans is a 1959 television series set in the port of Skagway, Alaska during the 1890s. The show features Roger Moore as "Silky Harris" and Jeff York as "Reno McKee", a pair of adventurers intent on swindling travelers bound for the Yukon Territories during the height of the Klondike Gold...
(1959) TV Series - The Horse SoldiersThe Horse SoldiersThe Horse Soldiers is a 1959 DeLuxe Color war film, set in the American Civil War, directed by John Ford, starring John Wayne, William Holden and Constance Towers...
(1959) - Westbound (movie) (1959)
- Home Before Dark (1958) (stock music) (uncredited)
- 77 Sunset Strip77 Sunset Strip77 Sunset Strip is an hour-length American television private detective series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Roger Smith, and Edd Byrnes....
(1958) TV Series - OnionheadOnionheadOnionhead is a 1958 movie, set on a U.S. Coast Guard cutter during World War II, starring Andy Griffith and featuring Felicia Farr, Walter Matthau, and Erin O'Brien....
(1958) - The Deep SixThe Deep SixThe Deep Six is a 1958 Warnercolor World War II drama film directed by Rudolph Maté, was based on a novel with the same name by Martin Dibner...
(1958) - Shirley Temple's StorybookShirley Temple's StorybookShirley Temple's Storybook is an American children's anthology series hosted and narrated by Shirley Temple. The series features adaptations of fairy tales and other family-oriented stories performed by well-known actors, although one episode, an adaptation of The House of the Seven Gables, was...
(1958) TV Series - Satan's Satellites (1958) (stock music) (uncredited)
- MaverickMaverick (TV series)Maverick is a western television series with comedic overtones created by Roy Huggins. The show ran from September 22, 1957 to July 8, 1962 on ABC and stars James Garner as Bret Maverick, a cagey, articulate cardsharp. Eight episodes into the first season, he was joined by Jack Kelly as his brother...
(1957) TV Series (theme) - Wagon TrainWagon TrainWagon Train is an American Western series that ran on NBC from 1957–62 and then on ABC from 1962–65...
(1957) TV Series - SugarfootSugarfootSugarfoot is the title of a TV western that aired from 1957 to 1961. The series featured Will Hutchins as fledgling frontier lawyer Tom Brewster and Jack Elam as sidekick Toothy Thompson...
(1957) TV Series (uncredited) - The D.I. (1957)
- The Big Land (1957)
- ConflictConflict (TV series)Conflict is a 1956 ABC series that directly succeeded Warner Brothers Presents. It is most famous for having hosted the effective pilots of 77 Sunset Strip and Maverick....
(1956) TV Series (also theme) - Noah's Ark (1956) TV Series
- The Burning HillsThe Burning HillsThe Burning Hills is a 1956 Warner Bros. CinemaScope Western based on a 1956 novel by Louis L'Amour. The film features young stars popular with the teenagers of the time such as Tab Hunter and Natalie Wood and has a strong emphasis on the importance of tracking....
(1956) - A Cry in the Night (1956)
- Santiago (1956)
- The Steel Jungle (1956)
- I Died a Thousand TimesI Died a Thousand TimesI Died a Thousand Times is a color film noir directed by Stuart Heisler. The drama features Jack Palance as paroled bank robber Roy Earle, with Shelley Winters, Lee Marvin, Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez, and Lon Chaney, Jr....
(1955) - Jump Into HellJump Into HellJump into Hill is a 1955 film directed by David Butler. It stars Jacques Sernas and Kurt Kasznar.-Cast:*Jacques Sernas as Captain Guy Bertrand*Kurt Kasznar as Captain Jean Calluox*Arnold Moss as General Christian De Castries...
(1955) - Kings RowKings RowKings Row is a 1942 film starring Ann Sheridan, Robert Cummings, and Ronald Reagan that tells a story of young people growing up in a small American town at the turn of the twentieth century, beset by social pressure, dark secrets, and the challenges and tragedies one must face as a result of these...
(1955) TV Series - Pete Kelly's BluesPete Kelly's Blues (1955 film)Pete Kelly's Blues is a 1955 film based on the 1951 original radio series. It was directed by and starred Jack Webb in the title role. Janet Leigh is featured as party girl Ivy Conrad, and Peggy Lee portrays alcoholic jazz singer Rose Hopkins. Ella Fitzgerald makes a memorable cameo as singer...
(1955) (incidental music) (uncredited) - Pirates of Tripoli (1955) (stock music) (uncredited)
- The Adventures of Long John Silver (1955) TV Series
- Secret of the IncasSecret of the IncasSecret of the Incas is a 1954 adventure film starring Charlton Heston as adventurer Harry Steele, on the trail of an ancient Incan artifact.-Cast:*Charlton Heston as Harry Steele, adventurer*Robert Young as Stanley Moorhead...
(1954) - Riding Shotgun (1954)
- Phantom of the Rue MorguePhantom of the Rue MorguePhantom of the Rue Morgue is a 1954 film directed by Roy Del Ruth. It stars Karl Malden and Claude Dauphin.-Cast:*Karl Malden as Dr. Marais*Claude Dauphin as Insp. Bonnard*Patricia Medina as Jeanette*Steve Forrest as Prof. Paul Dupin...
(1954) - The Boy from OklahomaThe Boy from OklahomaThe Boy from Oklahoma is a 1954 Western movie directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Will Rogers, Jr. The film became the basis for the 1957 Warner Bros. television series Sugarfoot, in which Will Hutchins replaced Rogers as lead character Tom Brewster. The movie features Lon Chaney, Jr. and...
(1954) (stock music) (uncredited) - Crime WaveCrime Wave (1954 film)Crime Wave is a 1954 film noir, directed by André De Toth. It was adapted from a short story which originally appeared in The Saturday Evening Post - Criminal Mark by John and Ward Hawkins.-Plot:...
(1954) - Calamity JaneCalamity Jane (1953 film)Calamity Jane is a "Wild West"-themed film musical released in 1953. It is loosely based on the life of Wild West heroine Calamity Jane and explores an alleged romance between Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickok in the American Old West. The film starred Doris Day as the title character and Howard...
(1953) (uncredited) - Prisoners of the Casbah (1953) (stock music) (uncredited)
- Thunder Over the PlainsThunder Over the PlainsThunder Over The Plains is a 1953 western film directed by André de Toth and starring Randolph Scott and Lex Barker. This was the first film that Lex Barker appeared in after completing a series of 5 Tarzan films...
(1953) - The Beast from 20,000 FathomsThe Beast from 20,000 FathomsThe Beast from 20,000 Fathoms is a 1953 science fiction film directed by Eugène Lourié and stars Paul Christian, Paula Raymond and Cecil Kellaway with visual effects by Ray Harryhausen. The film is about an atomic bomb test in the Arctic Circle that unfreezes a hibernating fictional dinosaur, a...
(1953) - South Sea WomanSouth Sea WomanSouth Sea Woman is a 1953 action-comedy-drama film directed by Arthur Lubin and starring Burt Lancaster, Virginia Mayo and Chuck Connors.Jeanine Basinger's and Jeremy Arnold's book The World War II Combat Film – Anatomy of a Genre calls the film a significant mixture of genres:...
(1953) - House of WaxHouse of Wax (1953 film)House of Wax is a 1953 American horror film starring Vincent Price. It is a remake of Warners' Mystery of the Wax Museum without the comic relief featured in the earlier film, and was directed by André de Toth...
(1953) - The Man Behind the Gun (1953)
- My Man and I (1952)
- Carson CityCarson City (1952 film)Carson City is a 1952 western film starring Randolph Scott, Lucille Norman, Raymond Massey, and Richard Webb. Carson City was Warner Bros.' first film shot in WarnerColor.-Plot:...
(1952) - Talk About a StrangerTalk About a StrangerTalk About a Stranger is an American film noir released in 1952 and directed by David Bradley. The drama features George Murphy, Nancy Davis, Billy Gray, and others.The motion picture was shot by noted cinematographer John Alton, A.S.C.-Plot:...
(1952) - This Woman Is DangerousThis Woman Is DangerousThis Woman is Dangerous is a Warner Bros. feature film starring Joan Crawford, David Brian, and Dennis Morgan in a story about a gun moll's romances with two different men. The screenplay by Geoffrey Homes and George Worthing Yates was based on a story by Bernard Girard. The film was directed by...
(1952) - Lone StarLone Star (1952 film)Lone Star is a 1952 Western film starring Clark Gable, Ava Gardner, Broderick Crawford, Ed Begley, and Lionel Barrymore as President Andrew Jackson...
(1952) - Submarine CommandSubmarine commandSubmarine Command is a 1951 film starring William Holden, Don Taylor, Nancy Olson, William Bendix, and Darryl Hickman, directed by John Farrow...
(1951) - Ten Tall MenTen Tall MenTen Tall Men is a 1951 Technicolor comedy adventure film about the French Foreign Legion. It starred Burt Lancaster, Jody Lawrance and Gerald Mohr. Though co-written and directed by Willis Goldbeck, Goldbeck walked off the film due to disputes with Lancaster with the film being completed by Robert...
(1951) - A Place in the Sun (1951) (uncredited)
- Along the Great DivideAlong the Great DivideAlong the Great Divide is a 1951 American western film directed by Raoul Walsh. The movie stars Kirk Douglas, Virginia Mayo, John Agar, and Walter Brennan.-Plot:...
(1951) - Roseanna McCoyRoseanna McCoyRoseanna McCoy is a 1949 American drama film directed by Irving Reis. The screenplay by John Collier, based on the 1947 novel of the same title by Alberta Hannum, is a romanticized and semi-fictionalized account of the Hatfield-McCoy feud.-Plot:...
(1949) - Colorado TerritoryColorado Territory (film)Colorado Territory is a 1949 western film, a remake of the 1941 High Sierra. Both films were directed by Raoul Walsh. It was the first film premiered at a drive-in theater...
(1949) - June BrideJune BrideJune Bride is a 1948 American comedy film directed by Bretaigne Windust. Ranald MacDougall's screenplay, based on the unproduced play Feature for June by Eileen Tighe and Graeme Lorimer, was nominated for the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written American Comedy. The film starred Bette...
(1948) - Kiss of DeathKiss of Death (1947 film)Kiss of Death is a 1947 film noir movie directed by Henry Hathaway and written by Ben Hecht and Charles Lederer from a story by Eleazar Lipsky. The story revolves around the film's protagonist, a former robber, and the antagonist, the ruthless, violent Tommy Udo...
(1947)