One of the local San Francisco TV stations has a late-night horror movie show on Saturday nights, and last night they showed the 1959 'B'-movie classic "The Giant Gila Monster", which is just as bad as you'd think. But the soundtrack featured a really well-played theremin part (whenever the giant lizard appeared, of course.) I'd guess it was performed by Samuel Hoffman, but there is no listing of players in the credits. Was Hoffman still doing movie soundtracks as late as 1959?
The Giant Gila Monster!
Posted: 10/25/2009 2:47:46 PM
That looks like a fun movie to me !!
according to this blog, it's not a theremin, but a Tannerin, played by Paul Tanner himself :
[i]The Masestro Paul Tanner, who played trombone and sat behind Whitey Thomas with the original Glenn Miller Orchestra, handles the job of providing the eerie elements on his invention, the electro-theremin which was a new and improved version of the original theremin. Paul also played the electro-theremin on The Beach Boys song, "Good Vibrations"!!!!! Paul is about 92 these days and still going strong!!![/i]
http://monstermoviemusic.blogspot.com/2008/05/giant-gila-monster-jack-marshalldon.html
according to this blog, it's not a theremin, but a Tannerin, played by Paul Tanner himself :
[i]The Masestro Paul Tanner, who played trombone and sat behind Whitey Thomas with the original Glenn Miller Orchestra, handles the job of providing the eerie elements on his invention, the electro-theremin which was a new and improved version of the original theremin. Paul also played the electro-theremin on The Beach Boys song, "Good Vibrations"!!!!! Paul is about 92 these days and still going strong!!![/i]
http://monstermoviemusic.blogspot.com/2008/05/giant-gila-monster-jack-marshalldon.html
Posted: 10/25/2009 4:44:02 PM
The movie was actually pretty hilarious.
The same director made another B-movie classic, "The Killer Shrews", with dogs dressed up in shaggy goat costumes as the monsters.
It makes sense that it was Tanner playing the "eerie elements" - it was some pretty precise "theremin" playing that would have been much easier to play on a tannerin (as any thereminist who's ever tried to play "Good Vibrations" can tell you.)
The same director made another B-movie classic, "The Killer Shrews", with dogs dressed up in shaggy goat costumes as the monsters.
It makes sense that it was Tanner playing the "eerie elements" - it was some pretty precise "theremin" playing that would have been much easier to play on a tannerin (as any thereminist who's ever tried to play "Good Vibrations" can tell you.)
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