Incidental Music

[Scrabjan1]

Anyone notice sometimes they play music that’s apropos for a certain scene? The most obvious is Wally’s haircomb every time he walks in or touches it they play that jazzy music.

Does anyone notice other times we hear funny music?

When June opens Beaver’s Parisian blouse they play what sounds like the French national anthem.

I notice at least three other times.

[stevea]

One you reminded me of in the other thread was the Eskimo sweater. I think they played some kind of tom tom thing.

(This reminds me--did MeTV skip the Next Door Indians episode? I don't remember seeing it.)

Did they play something kind of appropriate in Voodoo Magic?

[Scrabjan1]

That’s right I forgot about Voodoo Magic they play that tom-tom music like a witch doctor when Eddie thinks he’s really sick. Very funny. I thought of when Ward and June see Old Nick the horse you hear Taps played. Anymore?

This reminds me--did MeTV skip the Next Door Indians episode? I don't remember seeing it.) I remember seeing it on METV and the boys thinking how rich they’ll be with the garnets.

[MMR]

And of course in "The School Picture" there was the funny bit they played every time he made the funny face.

And I just thought of, in "Wally's Play," the cowboy music when Beaver and the other kid discovered Wally's costume.

[MichaelMartinD]

Sometimes they play a bit of Chopin's Funeral March when something mournful occurs (I think the death of Beaver's pigeon might have been once instance).

There is bustling music that plays when June goes into action, like in "Wally's Hair Cut" when she goes over to the phone to call the principal.

[stevea]

Originally Posted by MichaelMartinD

Sometimes they play a bit of Chopin's Funeral March when something mournful occurs (I think the death of Beaver's pigeon might have been once instance).

I think they played that in Goodbye Beaver when he came into the classroom, after the kids found out he wasn't leaving.

[Scrabjan1]

Originally Posted by stevea

I think they played that in Goodbye Beaver when he came into the classroom, after the kids found out he wasn't leaving.

Also they played Chopin Funeral Music when Beaver enters the classroom after playing hooky.

When Eddie moves to the boarding house they scan the room when Wally and Beaver visit and you hear “There’s no place like home.” Also in Chuckie’s Shoes at the end J and W apologize to Eddie for being rude. Eddie says he makes allowances for the way people are. You hear “na na na na na” like he got them back.

[MMR]

Just thought of my favorite:

The slow version of the main Leave It to Beaver theme, to accompany a "teaching moment."

They used it in "The Bank Account" where the family opens the package from the sporting goods store.

And they used a long version in "The Visiting Aunts" after Ward's lecture and Wally and Beaver are thinking the situation over.

[stevea]

The slow theme during a moral moment gradually disappeared during the third season. It was a nice touch early on.

[Scrabjan1]

I liked that slow version too of the theme. I can’t believe just how much music was played over the course of the show. I think they play some really poignant music when Beaver knows Poncho will be leaving soon and cuddles with him in his room. Wonder if they played any scene setting music when they smoke that pipe. I like that bustling music almost like it’s June’s music except in Beaver Takes a Walk when Beaver sits in his room obsessing over the loss of his baseball mitt.

[Scrabjan1]

I like the Mexican tune they play when we see Pepe the burro just walking around aimlessly.

[Hazel Anyday]

Ahh, now you're talkin' one of my favorite subjects. Excellent points made by everyone.

I thought that slow Beaver theme usually used when Ward was teaching or had been taught a lesson was perfect for those times. I only wish they had continued to use that most effective music thru-out the whole series.

That Funeral type music you mentioned was part of the Universal library stock of music, you hear it quite often on Alfred Hitchcock Presents and I believe I've heard it on Bachelor Father too. I've heard it also in GE Theater programs from the late '50's and early '60's. I'm sure it's appeared elsewhere too, just can't remember all the places I've heard it. All these were Universal shows.

That wild rock jazzy music used when Beaver gets that crazy haircut still makes me laugh whenever I hear it, perfect music for those scenes also. I also do remember hearing that crazy jazzy music used in another show, Bachelor Father? perhaps?, don't know for sure, but I do remember hearing that song on another Universal show once.

[stevea]

Originally Posted by Hazel Anyday

Ahh, now you're talkin' one of my favorite subjects. Excellent points made by everyone.

I thought that slow Beaver theme usually used when Ward was teaching or had been taught a lesson was perfect for those times. I only wish they had continued to use that most effective music thru-out the whole series.

That Funeral type music you mentioned was part of the Universal library stock of music, you hear it quite often on Alfred Hitchcock Presents and I believe I've heard it on Bachelor Father too. I've heard it also in GE Theater programs from the late '50's and early '60's. I'm sure it's appeared elsewhere too, just can't remember all the places I've heard it. All these were Universal shows.

That wild rock jazzy music used when Beaver gets that crazy haircut still makes me laugh whenever I hear it, perfect music for those scenes also. I also do remember hearing that crazy jazzy music used in another show, Bachelor Father? perhaps?, don't know for sure, but I do remember hearing that song on another Universal show once.

Oddly enough, I've heard Beaver music (pre-LITB) on the fifth season of The Burns and Allen Show. They probably leased it from Universal.

LITB is one show where they had no music issues on the DVD. Since it's stock music from the Universal library, now we know why. It also explains why Bachelor Father (another Universal show) had problems--Forsythe went to other composers like Conrad Salinger, who frequently used other writers' songs--when you do that, it can mean trouble later on, it seems.

[stevea]

Originally Posted by MMR

Just thought of my favorite:

The slow version of the main Leave It to Beaver theme, to accompany a "teaching moment."

They used it in "The Bank Account" where the family opens the package from the sporting goods store.

And they used a long version in "The Visiting Aunts" after Ward's lecture and Wally and Beaver are thinking the situation over.

Probably one of the nicest moments when it was used was in Wally's Election, when Ward talked to the boys about how fathers dream through their children, hoping the children have better lives than they had.

It might have been the last time the slow version was used.

[MichaelMartinD]

Believe it or not, there is a book which discusses the incidental music used in LITB in scholarly detail. It is called "Music in the Age of Anxiety: American Music in the '50s." It deals with various music for films and TV and includes a chapter on LITB. You can probably read some of it online. It is actually some of the most perceptive writing I have read about LITB.

https://www.amazon.com/Music-Age-Anx.../dp/0252081560