The Victors
Original Soundtrack Recording
Carl Foreman's The Victors
From The Man Who Fired "The Guns Of Navarone"
Composed and Conducted by Sol Kaplan
Soundtrack Edited and Produced for records by Jack Lewis
Colpix Records CP 516
1963
From the back cover: The Victors, Carl Foreman's first film since his spell-binding "The Guns Of Navarone." is a motion picture classic. One of the most provocative, stunning and controversial war stories ever filmed. The Victors is a story not of violence and heroism (although it contains some of the most exciting combat footage ever filmed) but rather a film primarily concerned with the moral destruction created within men by the pressures of war and loss of ideals. In modern war there are no real victors.
Mr. Foreman has already displayed his remarkable ability to create knife-edge suspense and in the process to leave an unforgettable impression with his audience. "The Guns Of Navarone" is his most recent example. But prior to that, as a writer, Carl Foreman's credits are staggering. Mr. Foreman wrote "Champion," "Home Of The Brave," "The Men," Cyrano de Bergerac," "High Noon" and "The Bridge On The River Kwai." Each was a timeless motion picture based on the universal conflicts within men. It is part of the unique quality of Carl Foreman's films that they retain their power. Although none of them, "High Noon" and "The Bridge Over The River Kwai," have contained outstanding musical themes. The Victors possesses a score with the same kind of power and beauty. The album is a superb memento of this brilliant film and a welcome addition to any record collection.
The composer of The Victors, Sol Kaplan, is one of the few men able to master the technique of writing dramatic music without losing melodic values. Kaplan has scored such films as "Tales Of Manhattan," "Titanic," "Niagara," Cinerama's "The Seven Wonders Of The World" and a host of others. His score for the Broadway play, "Tonight In Samarkand' won him the Show Business Award. As an enlisted man in the Signal Corps, Kapland scored innumerable films dealing with all phases of the Armed Forces' operations – from training films to the final battles.
The score of The Victors is Kaplan's crowning achievement. Flown from New York To London to view the first rough footage to come out of the filming, Kaplan was literally jolted by the impact of this great motion picture.
"Even in this particularly unedited state, Carl Foreman's The Victors has tremendous impact. It is unique, daring in its honesty, sad, funny, meaningful and tragic. In a bare, cold projection room, I fell in love with a motion picture." That was Kaplan's reaction to The Victors.
The following months were spent by Kaplan searching through forgotten sheet music in dusty record shops attempting to capture the spirit of World War II. From the bittersweet agony of that ear, Sol Kaplan was inspired to create this beautiful score. He met the greatest challenge of his career with a soundtrack that moves from Salerno to Berlin with The Victors.
The spirited march which bears the film's title is certain to be hummed by all as they leave the theatre. The haunting love theme, "My Special Dream," has the sound of a standard.' "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas," specially recorded for The Victors by Frank Sinatra, is hear under circumstances at once so poignant and so shocking that its imprint will never leave the mind of the film viewer. In the album, the Sinatra recording becomes an outstanding bonus.
We can best describe The Victors – both the motion picture and its music – as a magnificent experience in entertainment. – Quentin Reynolds
The Overture
Main Title
The Olive Grove
The Wolf Pack
Singnora Maria
Off Limits
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (sung by Frank Sinatra)
My Special Dream
Jean Pierre
The French Woman
No Other Man
Magda's Theme
Sweet Talk And Death Fight
March Of The Victors – End Title
