Episode 7 - Diamond Head

The first of two films that John Williams would score in 1963 took him back to dramatic territory, specifically the lush locales of Hawaii in the Charlton Heston film "Diamond Head." There wasn't much opportunity for Williams to stretch his composing muscles, as he was restrained by the existence of a theme composed by Hugo Winterhalter. The score to "Diamond Head" was full of Winterhalter's theme, with Williams simply filling in the gaps in this sparse score. At least Williams gets a "Music By" credit on the film. Take a listen to this score with host Jeff Commings, and examine how well Williams works with his orchestrator to put his stamp on the score. And we'll discuss the situation concerning the casting of white actors in roles that should have gone to Hawaiian actors, something Hollywood continues to do in the 21st century.