Roy Webb
Encyclopedia
Roy Webb was a film music composer.
Webb has hundreds of composing credits to his name, mainly with RKO Pictures
, and while most of the movies he scored were fairly light in content, he is today best known for his dark horror and film noir scores. He is particularly identified with the films of Val Lewton
.
Born in New York City
, he orchestrated and conducted for the Broadway
stage, before moving to Hollywood in the late 1920s to work as music director for Radio Pictures, later RKO Pictures, where he remained until he retired in 1955. He worked as composer or arranger on over 200 films, and received Academy Award nominations
for Quality Street (1937), My Favorite Wife
(1940), I Married a Witch
(1942), Joan of Paris
(1942), The Fallen Sparrow
(1943), The Fighting Seabees
(1944), and The Enchanted Cottage
(1945). His piano concerto from The Enchanted Cottage was performed in concert at the Hollywood Bowl
in 1945. In 1961, a house fire destroyed all Webb's film scores and unpublished concert music, after which Webb ceased composing.
Webb died in 1982 from a heart attack
at the age of 94.
An alumnus of Columbia University
, Webb wrote the fight song Roar, Lion, Roar
for his alma mater
in 1925. Several cues composed by Webb were used in the newsreel montage of Kane's life in Citizen Kane
. He also composed several cues (uncredited) for This is Cinerama
, the first Cinerama
production in 1952.
Webb has hundreds of composing credits to his name, mainly with RKO Pictures
RKO Pictures
RKO Pictures is an American film production and distribution company. As RKO Radio Pictures Inc., it was one of the Big Five studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theater chains and Joseph P...
, and while most of the movies he scored were fairly light in content, he is today best known for his dark horror and film noir scores. He is particularly identified with the films of Val Lewton
Val Lewton
Val Lewton was an American film producer and screenwriter, best known for a string of low-budget horror films he produced for RKO Pictures in the 1940s.-Early life:...
.
Born in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, he orchestrated and conducted for the Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
stage, before moving to Hollywood in the late 1920s to work as music director for Radio Pictures, later RKO Pictures, where he remained until he retired in 1955. He worked as composer or arranger on over 200 films, and received Academy Award nominations
Academy Award for Original Music Score
The Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:...
for Quality Street (1937), My Favorite Wife
My Favorite Wife
My Favorite Wife is a 1940 screwball comedy produced and co-written by Leo McCarey and directed by Garson Kanin. The movie stars Irene Dunne as a woman who returns to her husband and children after being shipwrecked on a tropical island for several years, and Cary Grant as her husband...
(1940), I Married a Witch
I Married a Witch
I Married a Witch is a 1942 fantasy romantic comedy film, directed by René Clair, and starring Veronica Lake as a witch whose plan for revenge goes comically awry, with Fredric March as her foil. The film also features Robert Benchley, Susan Hayward and Cecil Kellaway...
(1942), Joan of Paris
Joan of Paris
Joan of Paris is a 1942 war film about five Royal Air Force pilots shot down over Nazi-occupied France during World War II and their attempt to escape to England...
(1942), The Fallen Sparrow
The Fallen Sparrow
The Fallen Sparrow is a 1943 spy film starring John Garfield, Maureen O'Hara, and Walter Slezak. It was based on the novel of the same name by Dorothy B. Hughes. An American returns home to find out who murdered his friend.-Plot:...
(1943), The Fighting Seabees
The Fighting Seabees
The Fighting Seabees is a 1944 war film starring John Wayne and Susan Hayward. The picture portrays a heavily fictionalized account of the dilemma that led to the creation of the U.S. Navy's "Seabees" in World War II...
(1944), and The Enchanted Cottage
The Enchanted Cottage (1945 film)
The Enchanted Cottage is a 1945 romantic film fantasy starring Robert Young, Dorothy McGuire, and Mildred Natwick. It was based on a play by Arthur Wing Pinero...
(1945). His piano concerto from The Enchanted Cottage was performed in concert at the Hollywood Bowl
Hollywood Bowl
The Hollywood Bowl is a modern amphitheater in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles, California, United States that is used primarily for music performances...
in 1945. In 1961, a house fire destroyed all Webb's film scores and unpublished concert music, after which Webb ceased composing.
Webb died in 1982 from a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
at the age of 94.
An alumnus of Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, Webb wrote the fight song Roar, Lion, Roar
Roar, Lion, Roar
Roar, Lion, Roar is the fight song for the Columbia Lions. It was originally titled "Bold Buccaneers" and written with different lyrics for the 1923 Varsity Show Half Moon Inn by Columbia undergraduates Corey Ford and Roy Webb.-Lyrics:...
for his alma mater
Alma mater
Alma mater , pronounced ), was used in ancient Rome as a title for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele, and in Christianity for the Virgin Mary.-General term:...
in 1925. Several cues composed by Webb were used in the newsreel montage of Kane's life in Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane is a 1941 American drama film, directed by and starring Orson Welles. Many critics consider it the greatest American film of all time, especially for its innovative cinematography, music and narrative structure. Citizen Kane was Welles' first feature film...
. He also composed several cues (uncredited) for This is Cinerama
This is Cinerama
This is Cinerama is a 1952 full-length film designed to introduce the then-new widescreen process Cinerama, which broadens the aspect ratio so the viewer's peripheral vision is involved...
, the first Cinerama
Cinerama
Cinerama is the trademarked name for a widescreen process which works by simultaneously projecting images from three synchronized 35 mm projectors onto a huge, deeply-curved screen, subtending 146° of arc. It is also the trademarked name for the corporation which was formed to market it...
production in 1952.
Selected filmography
- Our BettersOur BettersOur Betters is a 1933 American satirical comedy film directed by George Cukor. The screenplay by Jane Murfin and Harry Wagstaff Gribble is based on the 1923 play of the same title by W. Somerset Maugham.-Plot:...
(1933) - Down to Their Last YachtDown to Their Last YachtDown to Their Last Yacht is a 1934 comedy adventure produced and distributed by RKO Pictures.-Cast:*Mary Boland - Queen Malakamokalu*Polly Moran - Nella Fitzgerald*Ned Sparks - Captain 'Sunny Jim' Roberts*Sidney Fox - Linda Colt-Stratton...
(1934) - The Magnificent AmbersonsThe Magnificent Ambersons (film)The Magnificent Ambersons is a 1942 American drama film written and directed by Orson Welles. His second feature film, it is based on the 1918 novel of the same name by Booth Tarkington and stars Joseph Cotten, Dolores Costello, Anne Baxter, Tim Holt, Agnes Moorehead and Ray Collins...
(1942) - Stranger on the Third FloorStranger on the Third FloorStranger on the Third Floor is a film noir thriller, featuring Peter Lorre, co-written by Nathaniel West, and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The picture was directed by Boris Ingster....
(1940) - The Big StreetThe Big StreetThe Big Street is a 1942 American drama film, starring Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball, based on the short story "Little Pinks" by Damon Runyon, who also produced the movie. The film was directed by Irving Reis...
(1942) - Cat People (1942)
- Journey into Fear (1943)
- I Walked with a ZombieI Walked with a ZombieI Walked with a Zombie is a 1943 horror film directed by Jacques Tourneur. It was the second horror film from producer Val Lewton for RKO Pictures; the first was the very successful Cat People, also directed by Tourneur...
(1943) - The Leopard ManThe Leopard ManThe Leopard Man is a horror movie directed by Jacques Tourneur based on the book Black Alibi by Cornell Woolrich. It is one of the first American films to attempt an even remotely realistic portrayal of a serial killer .-Plot summary:The story, set in New Mexico, begins as Jerry Manning hires a...
(1943) - The Curse of the Cat PeopleThe Curse of the Cat PeopleThe Curse of the Cat People is a 1944 film directed by Gunther von Fritsch and Robert Wise, and produced by Val Lewton. This film, which was then-film editor Robert Wise's first directing credit, is the sequel to Cat People and has many of the same characters...
(1944) - Murder, My SweetMurder, My SweetMurder, My Sweet is a 1944 American film noir directed by Edward Dmytryk, and starring Dick Powell, Claire Trevor, and Anne Shirley. The film was released in the United Kingdom under the title Farewell, My Lovely, which is the title of the 1940 Raymond Chandler novel it is based on, and also the...
(1944) - The Enchanted CottageThe Enchanted Cottage (1945 film)The Enchanted Cottage is a 1945 romantic film fantasy starring Robert Young, Dorothy McGuire, and Mildred Natwick. It was based on a play by Arthur Wing Pinero...
(1945) - The Body SnatcherThe Body Snatcher (film)The Body Snatcher is a 1945 horror film directed by Robert Wise based on the short story The Body Snatcher by Robert Louis Stevenson. The film's producer Val Lewton helped adapt the story for the screen, writing under the pen name of "Carlos Keith". The film was marketed with the tagline The...
(1945) - The Spiral Staircase (1945)
- Notorious (1946)
- Out of the PastOut of the PastOut of the Past is a 1947 film noir directed by Jacques Tourneur and starring Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, and Kirk Douglas. The film was adapted by Daniel Mainwaring , with uncredited revisions by Frank Fenton and James M...
(1947) - Mighty Joe Young (1949)
- Flying LeathernecksFlying LeathernecksFlying Leathernecks is a 1951 action film directed by Nicholas Ray, produced by Edmund Grainger, and starring John Wayne and Robert Ryan. The movie details the exploits and personal battles of United States Marine Corps aviators during World War II...
(1951) - HoudiniHoudini (film)Houdini is a 1953 biographical film about the life of the magician and escapologist Harry Houdini. It was made by Paramount Pictures, directed by George Marshall and produced by George Pal from a screenplay by Philip Yordan, based on the book Houdini by Harold Kellock. The music score was by Roy...
(1953)