The Styrous® Viewfinder: Duke Ellington

Showing posts with label Duke Ellington. Show all posts

May 17, 2026

Margaret Hamilton articles/mentions

Margaret Hamilton - 1929

publicity photo

mentions:

L Frank Baum ~ A Wiz of a Wiz

Duke Ellington ~ A Drum Is a Woman

The Wizard of Oz

The Wizard of Oz LaserDisc

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Movie Articles

Movie People

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December 5, 2025

20,000 vinyl LPs 401: Duke Ellington & His Orchestra – Otto Preminger's Anatomy Of A Murder

Duke Ellington And His Orchestra ~ Anatomy Of A Murder

vinyl LP front cover

cover design by Saul Bass

photo of album cover by Styrous®

Today is the birthday of Austrian-American film and theater director, film producer and actor, Otto Preminger who was born on December 5, 1905, in Wischnitz, Bukovina, Austria-Hungary (present-day Vyzhnytsia, Ukraine), into a Jewish family. He directed more than 35 feature films in a five-decade career after leaving the theater, and was one of the most influential directors in Hollywood during the 1940s and 1950s.

After achieving theatrical prominence in Vienna, Preminger emigrated to the United States in the mid-1930s, working as a director for 20th Century Fox. He first gained attention for film noir mysteries such as Laura (1944) and Fallen Angel (1945). Several of his later films pushed the boundaries of censorship by dealing with themes which were then taboo in Hollywood, such as premarital sexuality The Moon Is Blue (1953), drug addiction The Man with the Golden Arm (1955) (link below), rape Anatomy of a Murder (1959) and homosexuality Advise & Consent (1962).

The screenplay for Anatomy of a Murder by Wendell Mayes was based on the 1958 novel of the same name written by Michigan Supreme Court Justice John D. Voelker under the pen name of Robert Traver. Voelker based the novel on a 1952 murder case in which he was the defense attorney.

The Duke Ellington score won three Grammy Awards in 1959, for Best Performance by a Dance Band, Best Musical Composition First Recorded and Released in 1959 and Best Sound Track Album.

There are two cuts from the album I particularly like; one is Midnight Indigo, a dreamy tune with a great chime intro and end. The second is Flirtibird, a song with a classic strip beat that I used with one of the girls I worked with at the Hungry i on Broadway in San Francisco (link below).

The film stars James Stewart, Lee Remick, Ben Gazzara, Eve Arden, George C. Scott, Arthur O'Connell, Kathryn Grant, Brooks West (Arden's husband), Orson Bean, and Murray Hamilton. The judge was played by Joseph N. Welch, a real-life lawyer famous for dressing down Joseph McCarthy during the Army–McCarthy hearings. It has a musical score by Duke Ellington, who also appears in the film. It has been described by Michael Asimow, UCLA law professor and co-author of Reel Justice: The Courtroom Goes to the Movies (2006), as "probably the finest pure trial movie ever made".

Duke Ellington And His Orchestra ~ Anatomy Of A Murder

vinyl LP back cover

cover design by Saul Bass

photo of album cover by Styrous®

In 2012, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Duke Ellington And His Orchestra ~ Anatomy Of A Murder

vinyl LP labels side 1 & side 2

photo of album cover by Styrous®

Tracklist:

Side 1:

A1 - Main Title And Anatomy Of A Murder, Featuring – Jimmy Hamilton, Ray Nance
A2 - Flirtibird, Featuring – Johnny Hodges
A3 - Way Early Subtone, Featuring – Russell Procope
A4 - Hero To Zero, Featuring – Harry Carney, Paul Gonzalves*
A5 - Low Key Lightly, Featuring – Ray Nance
A6 - Happy Anatomy, Featuring – Clark Terry, Paul Gonzalves*

Side 2:

B1 - Midnight Indigo, B2 - Almost Cried
Featuring – Shorty Baker*, B3 - Sunswept Sunday
Featuring – Jimmy Hamilton, B4 - Grace Valse
B5 - Happy Anatomy, Featuring – The P. I. Five
B6 - Haupé, Featuring – Johnny Hodges
B7 - Upper And Cutest, Featuring – Cat Anderson

Companies, etc.

Pressed By – Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Terre Haute
Printed By – Imperial Packing Co., Inc.

Credits:

Composed By, Music By – Duke Ellington
Design – Saul Bass
Written By D. Ellington*

Notes:

"T" stamped in runouts denotes Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Terre Haute, pressing. Remainder of runouts stamped, plating hashes etched.

On front cover:
Music By Duke Ellington • From The Sound Track Of The Motion Picture
Otto Preminger's Anatomy Of A Murder

On back cover:
Music By Duke Ellington
From The Sound Track Of The Motion Picture
Anatomy Of A Murder
An Otto Preminger Film

On spine:
Anatomy Of A Murder | Music By Duke Ellington From The Sound Track Of The Motion Picture

On labels:
Recorded directly from the Sound Track of Otto Preminger's
Anatomy Of A Murder
(A Columbia Pictures Release)
Duke Ellington and his Orchestra

Barcode and Other Identifiers

Other (Jacket back bottom right): 6
Pressing Plant ID (In runouts): T
Matrix / Runout (Side A label): x"Lp" 47374
Matrix / Runout (Side B label): x"Lp" 47375
Matrix / Runout (Side A runout, variant 1): XLP47374-1F T E IIII IIII
Matrix / Runout (Side B runout, variant 1): XLP47375-1E T A IIIII IIIII
Matrix / Runout (Side A runout, variant 2): XLP47374-1F T A IIIIII/
Matrix / Runout (Side B runout, variant 2): XLP47375-1AB T C /

Duke Ellington And His Orchestra – Otto Preminger's Anatomy Of A Murder (From The Sound Track Of The Motion Picture)
Label: Columbia – CL 1360
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Mono, Terre Haute Pressing
Country: US
Released: Jun 1959
Genre: Jazz, Stage & Screen
Style: Soundtrack, Big Band, Swing

Viewfinder links:

Eve Arden

Ben Gazzara

Johnny Hodges

Hungry i

The Man With The Golden Arm

Otto Preminger

George C. Scott

James Stewart

Clark Terry

Joseph N. Welch

Net links:

Anatomy Of A Murder ~ Anatomy Of A Murder

Art of the Title ~ Anatomy Of A Murder

Classic Film TV Cafe ~ The Case for Anatomy of a Murder

Criterion ~ Anatomy Of A Murder

EBSCO ~ Anatomy Of A Murder

YouTube links:

Anatomy Of A Murder trailer

Anatomy Of A Murder score

Styrous® ~ Friday, December 5, 2025

20,000 Vinyl LPs Archive
MAIN MENU - Blog Articles
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Johnny Hodges articles/mentions

mentions:

Duke Ellington ~

Anatomy of a Murder

A Drum Is a Woman

Johnny Hodges

date & photographer unknown

Music People

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October 3, 2025

20,000 vinyl LPs 400: Michael Gambon ~ The Singing Detective

Dennis Potter ~ The Singing Detective

film still

Today is the birthday of Irish-English actor, Michael Gambon who was born in 1940, in the Cabra suburb of Dublin. He performed with Laurence Olivier as one of the original members of the Royal National Theatre. He received four BAFTA Awards for the British film The Singing Detective.

The Singing Detective - vinyl LP front cover

photo of album cover by Styrous®

	The Singing Detective is a six-part BBC television serial drama, written by Dennis Potter, starring Michael Gambon and directed by Jon Amiel. Its six episodes are "Skin", "Heat", "Lovely Days", "Clues", "Pitter Patter" and "Who Done It". The serial was broadcast in the United Kingdom in 1986 on Sunday nights from 16 November to 21 December, with later PBS and cable television showings in the United States. It won a Peabody Award in 1989 and ranks 20th on the British Film Institute list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes, as voted by industry professionals in 2000. It was included in the 1992 Dennis Potter retrospective at the Museum of Television & Radio and became a permanent addition to the museum's collections in New York and Los Angeles.

The plot: Mystery writer Philip E. Marlow is suffering writer's block and is hospitalized because his psoriatic arthropathy, a chronic skin and joint disease, is at an acute stage, forming lesions and sores over his entire body and partially crippling his hands and feet. Dennis Potter suffered from this disease and he wrote with a pen tied to his fist in much the same fashion Marlow does in the last episode. (Although severe, Marlow's condition was intentionally understated compared to Potter's, whose skin would sometimes crack and bleed.) Being a sufferer of this condition, it is one of my favorite films of all time.

As a result of constant pain, a fever caused by the condition and his refusal to take medication, Marlow falls into a fantasy world involving his Chandleresque novel The Singing Detective, an escapist and noir adventure about a detective (also named "Philip Marlow") who sings at a dance hall and takes the jobs refused by "the guys who don't sing". Marlow is "plot-dreaming", trying out various solutions to a working plot in his head, deciding as he goes what plot element works best with what character or situation, interspersed with bits of ideas that occur to him off the top of his head and discarding (with some afterthoughts) parts of his story that no longer work when other changes have been made.

Some members of the cast play several roles. Marlow and his alter ego, the singing detective, are played by Michael Gambon. Patrick Malahide plays three characters—the contemporary Finney, who Marlow thinks is having an affair with his ex-wife Nicola, played by Janet Suzman; the imaginary Binney, a central character in the murder plot; and Raymond, a friend of Marlow's father who has an affair with his mother (Alison Steadman). Steadman plays Marlow's mother and the mysterious "Lili", one of the murder victims. At the end of the serial, Marlow and Nicola appear to have repaired their relationship.

Dennis Potter ~ The Singing Detective

vinyl LP back cover

photo of album cover by Styrous®

In Potter's original script, the hospital scenes were to be shot with television (video), the noir scenes with film cameras, and the period material (Marlow's childhood) filmed in black-and-white. All scenes were shot on film, over Potter's objections.

Potter added autobiographical aspects (or, as he put it, deeply "personal" aspects), along with 1940s popular music and the noir style. The result is regarded by some as one of the peaks of 20th-century drama.

Dennis Potter ~ The Singing Detective

vinyl LP back cover details

photos by Styrous®

The Singing Detective - vinyl LP side 1

photos by Styrous®

The Singing Detective - vinyl LP side 2

photos by Styrous®

Tracklist:

Side 1:

A1 - Max Harris & His Novelty Trio – Peg O' My Heart, written by Bryan*, Fisher*
A2 - Ambrose & His Orchestra – Limehouse Blues, written by Furber*, Braham*
A3 - Anne Shelton – Blues In The Night, written by Arlen, Mercer*
A4 - Fred Waring & The Pennsylvanians – Dry Bones, written by Livingston Gearhart
A5 - Duke Ellington And His Famous Orchestra* – Rockin' In Rhythm, written by Ellington*, Carney*, Mills*
A6 - Lou Preager & His Orchestra – Cruising Down The River, Vocals – Paul Rich, written by Beadle*, Tollerton*
A7 - Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters – Don't Fence Me In, written by Cole Porter
A8 - Dick Haymes – It Might As Well Be Spring, written by Rodgers, Hammerstein*
A9 - The Mills Brothers – Paper Doll, written by J. Black*
A10 - Lale Anderson* – Lili Marlene, written by Leip*, Schultze*, Connor*

Side 2:

B1 - Sam Browne With The Lew Stone Band* – I Get Along Without You Very Well, written by Carmichael*
B2 - The Ink Spots – Do I Worry?, written by Worth*, Cowan*
B3 - Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters – Ac-cent-tchu-ate The Positive, written by Arlen, Mercer*
B4 - The Mills Brothers – You Always Hurt The One You Love, written by Roberts*, Fisher*
B5 - Al Jolson With Matty Malneck's Orchestra* And The Four Hits And A Miss* – After You've Gone, written by Creamer*, Layton*
B6 - Jack Payne & His Orchestra* – It's A Lovely Day Tomorrow, written by Berlin*
B7 - Ella Fitzgerald & The Ink Spots – Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall, written by Roberts*, Fisher*
B8 - Al Bowlly With The Ray Noble Orchestra* – The Very Thought Of You, written by Noble*
B9 - Henry Hall & His Orchestra – The Teddy Bears' Picnic, written by Kennedy*, Bratton*
B10 - Vera Lynn With Arthur Young (2) – We'll Meet Again, Organ [Novachord] – Arthur Young (2), written by Charles*, Parker*

Companies, etc.

Phonographic Copyright ℗ – BBC Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright © – BBC Enterprises Ltd.
Manufactured By – EMI Records
Distributed By – EMI Records

Credits:

Liner Notes – Dennis Potter, Kenith Trodd
Producer [Album Production] – Bruce Talbot
Remastered By [Re-mastering Engineer] – Paul Gilham

Notes:

Track A5: Duke Ellington & His Famous Orchestra are also credited as "The Jungle Band". Recorded 14th January 1931.
Track B10: credited as "Vera Lynn with Arthur Young at the Novachord".

Barcode and Other Identifiers

Barcode: 5011755130213
Rights Society: MCPS
Matrix / Runout (Stamped runout side A, variant 1): REN 608 A-4C-1-1- D
Matrix / Runout (Stamped runout side B, variant 1): REN 608 B-1U-1-
Matrix / Runout (Stamped runout side A, variant 2): REN 608 A-4C-1-1- D
Matrix / Runout (Stamped runout side B, variant 2): REN 608 B-3C-1-1- 11 D
Matrix / Runout (Stamped runout side A, variant 3): REN 608 A-3C-1-1-1 D
Matrix / Runout (Stamped runout side B, variant 3): REN 608 B-1U-1-2-
Matrix / Runout (Stamped runout side A, (?=unreadable char) variant 4): REN 608 A-3C-1-1-? D
Matrix / Runout (Stamped runout side B, (?=unreadable char) variant 4): REN 608 B-3C-1-1-? D
Matrix / Runout (Stamped runout side A, variant 5): REN 608 A-2C-1-1 D
Matrix / Runout (Stamped runout side B, variant 5): REN 608 B-1U-1-3 (Unreadable)

Various – The Singing Detective (Music From The BBC-TV Serial)
Label: BBC Records And Tapes – REN 608
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Compilation, Mono
Country: UK
Released: 1986
Genre: Jazz, Pop, Stage & Screen
Style: Music Hall, Big Band, Vocal, Easy Listening

Viewfinder links:

Andrews Sisters

Bing Crosby

Duke Ellington

Ella Fitzgerald

Michael Gambon

Dick Haymes

The Ink Spots

Al Jolson

Vera Lynn

The Mills Brothers

Fred Waring