Mad World was the first film to be presented in the modified single-lens version of Cinerama and remains one of the few comedies to be created specifically for the giant screen. Running just over three hours in its original 1963 roadshow print, this star-crammed, predictably episodic chase movie was given some much-needed coherence by way of Ernest Gold’s bright and tuneful score. With its infectious main theme, an insistent, slightly manic merry-go-round waltz (also heard as a vocal with intentionally arch lyrics by Mack David), and the pleasantly urbane melody introduced in the track “Follow the leader”, this is satisfying, well-crafted film scoring in the classic Hollywood tradition. Performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic on the film’s soundtrack, the score was re-recorded with a noticeably smaller orchestra for the album, but at least the stereo on the CD now has rather more body than the original LP.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was another 70mm roadshow presentation. Filmed in Super Panavision and described modestly in the advertising blurb as “the most fantasmagorical musical entertainment in the history of everything”, this overblown adaptation of Ian Fleming’s charming story received a cool reception from the critics in 1968 but has since become a great favourite on television. The rather elementary score by the Sherman brothers pales besides their work for Mary Poppins (1964), and yet it all has a certain unassuming appeal thanks to the typically polished musical direction of Irwin Kostal and the sincere performances of Dick Van Dyke and Sally Ann Howes. The songs range from the jaunty high spirits of “Me ’ol bamboo” and the catchy title-song, to the more uncomfortably sugary “Truly Scrumptious” and “Hushabye Mountain”. Here, too, the remastering has spruced up the sound of the old LP.
While Rykodisc should certainly be thanked for this new series of reissues it is slightly niggling to see that they are marketing these discs as “Original MGM Soundtracks” complete with Metro’s famous Leo trademark. As many of the films in the series were distributed by United Artists some years before the company became a subsidiary of MGM, this description is a little misleading. Furthermore, unlike the lovingly researched series of true MGM soundtracks available through EMI in the UK, none of the Rykodisc CDs include any additional music. The only extras are largely redundant snippets of dialogue (Mad World also has brief but interesting comments from Gold and director Stanley Kramer) and, for computer buffs, a multimedia program. The packaging is also rather disappointing, for despite the inclusion of new notes and many stills, the large, unwieldy fold-out sheet that makes up the inlay is neither as convenient nor as practical as a booklet. RS