I guess that many a film composer would have given their eye teeth to score the soundtrack to Brian De Palma’s new thriller The Black Dahlia, starring Scarlett Johansson. De Palma has an enviable record in attracting the best of Hollywood composers: for instance, his 1975 film Obsession was the penultimate score by the legendary Bernard Herrmann. The Black Dahlia, based on a novel by James Ellroy, tells the true story of the scandal and mysterious death of a Hollywood starlet in 1940s Los Angeles. It contains all the ingredients of a classic film noir set in the movie capital. Similar movies such as Laura and The Bad and the Beautiful come to mind (both, incidentally, with music by David Raksin). In such company Mark Isham isn’t found wanting. His heady, romantic score begins with a trumpet solo which he plays himself against a pedal of strings, which sets the scene for a predominantly lyrical soundtrack evoking the musical genres of the late forties. Track six, “Madeleine”, brings us some of the most luscious string-writing since the heyday of Alfred Newman. He also draws on styles of more recent decades. On track seven you’ll hear the languorous flute scoring so beloved of Henry Mancini as well as an unconscious reference to the high style of melodic line favoured by Michel Legrand. By way of contrast, there is a suitably strong and dramatic vein in track five, “Mr Fire versus Mr Ice”. With immaculate orchestral playing throughout, this is a self-recommending issue to those who love this kind of period drama with a complimentary soundtrack.