THE GRASSHOPPER / THE DOMINO PRINCIPLE

Billy Goldenberg – one of the great underappreciated film and TV composers – prolific, an incredible gift of melody, could really do any style of music, and it’s shocking how little of his work is available. Well, hopefully this double bill of Billy will help rectify that. Billy Goldenberg’s TV output was huge – from series to TV movies, he never stopped working and won three Emmys along the way. Classics like Name of the Game, Columbo, Spielberg’s Duel, Night Gallery, Queen of the Stardust Ballroom, and so many others. Feature films included Red Sky at Morning, The Last of Sheila, Play It Again, Sam, Up the Sandbox, and others. The Grasshopper (1970) starred Jacqueline Bisset, Jim Brown, Christopher Stone, and Joseph Cotten. It was directed by former actor now director Jerry Paris, who had started directing for TV but also had several films under his belt, including Don’t Raise the Bridge, Lower the Water, Never a Dull Moment, How Sweet it Is, and Viva Max. It was written by Jerry Belson and Garry Marshall, based on a novel by Marc McShane called The Passing of Evil. Considering the incredible comedy chops of its writers and director, the film is a drama and a film very much of its time. Bisset plays a Canadian who is starry-eyed and who comes to the United States with high hopes, only to see her life unravel by the bright lights of Las Vegas and the big city lifestyle in Los Angeles, and by the end of the film she’s a burnt-out prostitute at twenty-two. Billy Goldenberg’s score fits the movie perfectly, filled with his wonderful melodies – romantic, dramatic, underscoring the heroine’s journey or descent into what becomes a tumultuous young life. Aside from Billy’s great music, there are a few songs along the way, as was the fashion – Bobby Russell wrote a couple (and sang), Vicki Lawrence does a vocal, and two of the songs are by Billy along with Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn. One of them, “Look Again” is sung by the popular group Brooklyn Bridge. The Domino Principle (1977) was a thriller with a great cast – Gene Hackman, Candice Bergen, Mickey Rooney, Richard Widmark, Eli Wallach, and others. It was based on a novel by Adam Kennedy, who also wrote the screenplay. Produced and directed by Stanley Kramer, how could it miss? Well, back then by miles. The critics were, to put it mildly, not kind to the film. Back then, it was unusual for a critic to mention a film’s score, but Kevin Thomas in the Los Angeles Times did, saying, “Billy Goldenberg’s score sets the tense mood.” And so, it does – it’s a wonderful score. Watching the film today it certainly does have its pleasures if you’re a fan of paranoid thrillers like The Parallax View, but the biggest pleasure really is Goldenberg’s score, filled with great action cues, Goldenberg’s wonderful melodic lyricism, and some surprisingly harsh cues that are really fantastic. Both scores were mastered from reel-to-reel tapes, and James Nelson has done his usual masterful job in mastering them. The Grasshopper/The Domino Principle is limited to 500 copies. THE GRASSHOPPER 01 As Far as I’m Concerned (vocal by Bobby Russell) Bobby Russell 02 Traveling With a Star Billy Goldenberg/Bobby Russell 03 Christine in Las Vegas 04 Bonanza Paree/Return to Vegas 05 Sunset with Christine 06 Soft Music for Rosie 07 Used to Be (vocal by Vicki Lawrence) Bobby Russell 08 Christine (Theme from The Grasshopper) 09 La De Da (vocal by Sean and David) Billy Goldenberg/Al Kasha/Joel Hirschhorn 10 Tommy Doesn’t Like Rosie at All 11 Tommy’s Gone 12 Sonata for Eleanor 13 Look Again (vocal by The Brooklyn Bridge) Billy Goldenberg/Al Kasha/Joel Hirschhorn 14 Washington Post March THE DOMINO PRINCIPLE 15 Some Day Soon (vocal by Shirley Eikhard) Billy Goldenberg/Harry Shannon 16 Tucker’s Escape 17 Burst of Freedom 18 Ellie 19 Into Position 20 I’m Sorry 21 No Puedo Olvidar 22 Dominoes Falling 23 Goodbye Ellie 24 They 25 Some Day Soon (vocal by Shirley Eikhard) Billy Goldenberg/Harry Shannon)