THE BLUE MAX (1966) / PATTON (1970)

I'm not sure whether all who serve in the military wind up being fans of military-centric entertainment, but it certainly was the case with my father.   Films such as PATTON, THE BLUE MAX, THE LONGEST DAY, WHERE EAGLES DARE, VON RYAN'S EXPRESS, MIDWAY and TORA! TORA! TORA! all had multiple screenings in our household, even though for a kid they could often seem interminably long and chock full of impenetrable combat strategies.  Later I grew to appreciate these films for my own reasons, along with their associations to my father, and as a marvelous repository of great music.  

 

My dad had been a pilot in the Navy during the late 60's and early 70's, stationed at bases mostly along the East Coast and amazingly enough, was not deployed to Vietnam, though the possibility loomed consistently.  Instead, he flew planes into hurricanes for storm tracking, as crazy as that might seem, with a group called the Hurricane Hunters, and eventually earned the rank of lieutenant commander.   I wish in my youth I had bothered him for tales from that chapter in his life, but I probably assumed there would always be time enough.  

As a kid, I instead would glean a great deal about my parents' respective pasts and inner lives through astute observation.  The books they read, the movies they watched, the jokes they told, items on their shelves and opinions espoused.  From this errata, my imagination constructed their reality.  My father's flight helmet and ceremonial Navy sword, both buried at the back of his closet, were two such focal points for me.  Holding them in my hands planted exciting pictures in my head of my dad darting among the clouds in a single-engine plane.

I learned later that my dad felt any time was the best time to spend in a cockpit.  I think he began missing those days as a pilot the further his life advanced beyond past them.  Perhaps, once my sisters and I had all graduated and moved out, he might have found his way behind the controls of some aircraft again and aloft into the clear blue sky (or even the eye of a hurricane).

Now, my father was just as observant of me as I was of him and it was soon evident the extent of my interest in film music, especially seeing as how my hard earned cash wound up getting spent on the albums.  I ordered movie magazines that included composer interviews and even struck up a pen pal friendship with a fellow in Canada who mailed me rarities on cassette.  Initially content to delve into this hobby on my own, it all eventually thankfully provided a good bridge between he and I.   The music in movies we all watched together could turn into a topic, my dad inquiring on my thoughts and making suggestions of his own.

Two films he had me watch with him specifically for the music were THE BLUE MAX (1966) and PATTON (1970), both war-time centric (World War I and II, respectively) and featuring scores composed by the prolific and crazy talented Jerry Goldsmith.  At that time, my main focus was on the current sci-fi and fantasy genres and the handful of scores by Goldsmith that I owned were his two STAR TREKs, ALIEN and THE SECRET OF NIMH.  War movies of the 60's and 70's were a bit out of my wheelhouse.  I really hadn't yet developed the fascination and appreciation I now have for what existed before I was born.

PATTON is deservedly famous for George C. Scott's lead performance and the film overall, but one notable aspect is that it only features thirty minutes of music across its entire three-hour running time.  My dad asked me to pay attention to the main title, where the character of General George S. Patton is sketched brilliantly and succinctly in musical fashion - trumpets fed through an echoplex device to mirror his belief in reincarnation, a hymnal-type melody heard on pipe organ (my dad loved organ music, by the way) to represent the man's religiosity and finally an ebullient march to elucidate his militarism.   I don't remember what my exact response to my father once the movie wrapped up (I can frustratingly be tight-lipped with my thoughts at times), but I sought out the soundtrack soon after and made sure to crank it up on my stereo.

THE BLUE MAX, starring George Peppard and James Mason, might not be the most well-remembered of World War I flicks from the 1960's, but due to its extensive presentation of flying machines it might be have been closer to my dad's heart than others.  The movie follows a brash, arrogant German pilot charging his way up the ranks and showcases some stellar mid-air sequences, all set to a soaringly gorgeous theme by Goldsmith.  The main theme's melody persistently ascends upward, which matches Peppard's character's single-minded pursuit to win his country's top medal for airmen, truly lifts the listener's spirit into the air.

The soundtrack for THE BLUE MAX proved difficult for me to track down.  I only first ran across a copy during my junior year at UNC Chapel Hill, while scouring their music library.  Several music courses occupied my course load that year, so I often would avail myself of their CD collection, the downside being that students had to remain in the library while listening.  It was thrilling to at last enjoy Goldsmith's score apart from the movie and especially amazing to discover additional music recorded for but never used in their intended sequences.  All I could think of was how much I wanted my dad to hear these brilliant passages and then wonder together how great it would have been had the cues been utilized in the film itself.

In the Summer of 1994, I interned here in Los Angeles and became friends with a trailer editor who held in his collection all the soundtracks I wished to own, including THE BLUE MAX.  During one afternoon at his house, I feverishly made cassette copies of various tracks from these albums, overjoyed not just for my sake but also that I could finally share these with my dad.  Once back in North Carolina to start my senior year, I proudly compiled several mix tapes for him to enjoy, mostly consisting of music by Jerry Goldsmith and Bernard Herrmann.  The opening tracks on the first cassette were from THE BLUE MAX and I truly hope hearing this music helped his own spirit soar skyward.

A complete edition of the score was planned for CD release in 1995.  I recall relaying this news to my father during one of our last conversations, probably during Summer 1994, and how exciting it would be to actually gift him a copy for his album collection.  But he didn't live long enough for me to have the chance.  The closest I could come to this was during the wake, when I discreetly tucked into his casket those mix tapes I made for him just a few months before.   Now, whenever I listen to either PATTON or THE BLUE MAX, the experience becomes my way to feel near to him again, a way that I can imagine my dad and I might be listening together.