Anyone know the name of the tune John Wayne and Donna Reed dance to and which is used as a theme elsewhere in the movie?
shareI am searching for this same tune, it is a waltz played throughout "They Were Expendable, someone has mentioned that it might be "It Happened In Monteray" but that is not the right song. Someone please try to help us.
Claudia Hamrick Price
Hi Claudia:
I had been wondering about the same tune for a long time. I have only received a definitive answer myself, from someone who knows someone who knew John Ford. It is called "Marcheta," composed by Victor Schertzinger. If you look this up on Google you'll find some hits.
I have been told the name of that waltz is "Makita". It was supposed to have been used in several John Ford movies. I can not find any recording of this song.
shareI thought I saw a post here that the title was Marchetta a real old song pre ww1
shareYou can hear some versions on you tube, although the ones I heard were so old and did no justice to this beautiful melody.
shareThe name of the song is Marcheta (A Love Song of Old Mexico)--pronounced Mar-KEE-tah. It is a waltz, and was popular in the 1920s. It's a sad song about a lost love, and a sneaky hint to where Sandy and Rusty's romance is heading...nowhere. Occasionally eBay auctions the sheet music. I've seen it go for $10 on average. Mario Lanza sings it on one of his recordings. And, you can Google for the lyrics. Ward Bond and his cronies--the dinner scene--sing Dear Old Girl, another lost-love song. The poem Rusty recites at the funeral for the two crewmen is Requiem, and I believe it was written by Robert Louis Stevenson. Probably more than you wanted to know ...
I just got the Lanza CD from Amazon. Gene Autry also does it in a couple of his TV episodes 1950-55, but I haven't found the full track yet. The 30-second Autry clip sounds better than the Lanza version, but that's just my opinion.
shareAll information is appreciated.
I'd like to know the name of the opening theme.
Marcheta and 'Linda' from The Story of G.I. Joe are two of the most evocative and effective uses of songs in war movies. Both are haunting and set the tone beautifully.
Baby, I don't care!
The movie theme "Marcheta," a sentimental favorite from "They Were Expendable," showed up unexpectedly when my wife and I were watching an old episode of "Upstairs Downstairs," the popular British serial of the 1970s depicting the Bellamy family of upper class London from 1905 to 1929.
It's spring, 1914, the last days of the Victorian era in Britain before war breaks out in Europe in August. In season 3, episode 11 entitled "A Perfect Stranger," parlor maid Rose Buck and her new man-friend Gregory Wilmont are spending a day on the town, with Wilmont about to propose marriage and settling down in Australia. He's just waiting for the right moment. The couple slips into a London tearoom where a live band plays, couples dance and drink tea. Rose and Gregory get a small table overlooking the dance floor and start talking very seriously about their futures. Down below, couples begin to waltz to a very nice rendition of....."Marcheta" ! The music underscores the hopelessness of their relationship and creates a bittersweet moment in the episode.
The series "Upstairs Downstairs" is available on DVD.
CmdrCody
Way to go!! I would love to have seen it -- I've only been able to find (on itunes) one semi-decent version of Marcheta (Mario Lanza, or somebody), but think about it often -- they just couldn't have found a more perfect tune to capture the feelings in the movie -- I wonder who it was who knew about it, and remembered it, maybe from pre-WW I -- I never did find out when it was first published, but I wonder if it WAS a pre-WW I song, and someone remembered that, and plugged it into the same 'job' in They Were Expendable??
shareGood question. The scene I mentioned in "Upstairs Downstairs" is one of those intense pivotal moments in the series with one of the major characters. My guess is the producer in 1972 wanted to recreate the same emotional chemistry between his characters that occurred between young John Wayne and the adorable Donna Reed back in 1945.
I'm wondering where John Ford first heard "The Tune" ? Was it, perhaps, on one of his jaunts with Wayne, Ward Bond, and "dah boys" on his yacht "The Erinore" while sailing down to Puerto Vallarta before the War ? Ford used to sail down to Mexico to drink tequila, go fishing and chase senoritas long before it was the fashion. A very cool guy.
CmdrCody
Probably a good guess! Yeah, I bet it wouldn't have been unusual for guys of that 'vintage' to be aware of the song and its 'weltschmerzy' (can I use that?) ambience...Anyway, kudos to the upstairs/downstairs music crew, for their good call on that one!!
shareI think the tune is the Irving Berlin song "WHAT'LL I DO?" copyright 1924. The first 8 bars are "What"ll I do when you have gone away and I'm so blue, whatt'll I do." It was very popular and recorded by many dance bands of the 30's. George Hocutt
sharegdhocutt:
Sorry pal. The "Tune" has already been identified by "jenbebe" on 4-13-2006 as..."Marcheta" by Victor Schertzinger. It's the fourth post on this thread.
If you want to hear "What'll I Do," try the "The Great Gatsby," starring Mia Farrow and Robert Redford.
CmdrCody
Sounds like a waltz by Franz Lehar...Try "The Merry Widow".
The best version I have heard was the Perry Como version on you tube. Thats Marcheta of course.
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this is 2010 and I saw the movie on tcm last night and that tune has stayed in my mind all day. I love it but it is not It Happened in Monterey. I am from that era and would like to know. I can't forget it.
I hope I learn this song. I will buy the dvd and listen to it over and over. Is there a dvd of this movie? Please tell me if there is.
Montovani has a very beautiful version of "Marcheta" on his Waltz Encores and American Waltzes album. You can listen to it for free on Spotify. Give it a try.
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