Andrew wrote:
"I am, however, of the opinion that "Man With A Golden Arm"
was in no need of a cover version."
Amen. Ditto the Peter Gunn theme, the James Bond theme, etc.
etc. Because of comments on the list I checked out several
Barry Adamson cuts and can't see much there. The ideas are
sort of interesting, but sampling or rearranging or whatever
he's doing to the original music strikes me as tampering, not
creating. It's like colorization or remaking "Psycho." The
remix of the Peter Gunn theme with the Police's Every Breath
You Take (I heard it on The Sopranos, but it's probably on an
album) is the best example of this sort of thing I've come
across, but I don't think it can compare with the
originals.
Colin wrote:
"There may be a better, more definitive account of The
Manchurian Candidate's history out there than what I've been
able to find web-searching."
I've not much to add about who shelved the movie, except to
say that, in an interview I had with Axelrod a while back, he
said Sinatra did it because of the Kennedy assassination.
This emotional (patriotic?) motive seems to fit the way the
singer-actor operated. If a future payoff had been his plan,
he probably would have husbanded other productions like
"Johnny Concho" or the Rat Pack clinkers like "Ocean's
Eleven."
"Candidate" was re-released, according to his daughter Tina's
memoir, not because of some master plan but because a new
business manager discovered it among Sinatra's
holdings.
Off that subject a bit, Axelrod mentioned a vignette that
took place when the movie's contracts were being signed. By
then, the folder was several inches thick, a testament to the
months of haggling, wheeling and dealing that had brought all
the parties and their lawyers to that moment. Everybody was
worn down. According to Axelrod, Sinatra signed his name and
they'd all started to relax when his (Axelrod's) agent, the
legendary Irving Paul "Swifty" Lazaar, jumped up and said he
refused to allow the writer to sign. Axelrod was astounded.
Why not? Wasn't he getting everything he wanted? Yes, Lazaar
replied, but HE wanted something extra for himself. What do
you want, Swifty? Sinatra asked. The agent said $25,000.
Sinatra looked at the towering contacts and rather than go
through another revision, shrugged and wrote out a personal
check.
Dick Lochte
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