Elmer Bernstein's Giant Leap Forward

The great film composer was first nominated for an Oscar for The Man With the Golden Arm, which was released only one year before The Ten Commandments (1956). I was surprised to learn he received no nomination for Commandments, which has such a majestic and inspiring score. (He received other nominations for Best Score, but his only win was for Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967).)

But here's the deal--scrolling down through Mr. Bernstein's list of credits, if one goes back only three years before TTC, one comes to 1953, for which his credits include Never Wave At a WAC (a respectable, if not world-beating, comedy starring Rosalind Russell and Paul Douglas) and A Communications Primer (a documentary short).

Between those two films we find two of the most hilariously awful movies ever made (ranking right down there with such stinkeroos such as Plan 9 From Outer Space): Cat-Women of the Moon and Robot Monster! 

Isn't it amazing what a difference three years can make? From the ridiculous to the sublime...



N:You got plan? B: I always got plan. They don’t ever work, but I always got one.