Biography
No relation to
Leonard Bernstein, American film composer Elmer Bernstein was a graduate of the prestigious Juilliard School of Music. He dabbled in all aspects of the arts (including dance) before devoting himself to composing; his first major stint was for United Nations radio. In the early '50s, Bernstein was willing to take any job available just to establish himself -- which possibly explains why his name is on the credits of that "golden turkey"
Robot Monster. The composer's big breakthrough came with his progressive jazz score for
The Man With the Golden Arm (1955), after which he switched artistic gears with his Wagnerian orchestrations for DeMille's
The Ten Commandments (1956). Bernstein's pulsating score for
The Magnificent Seven (1960) has since become a classic -- so much so that Bernstein is often mistakenly credited for
Jerome Moross' similar theme music for
The Big Country (1958). As film tastes changed in the late '60s and early '70s, Bernstein's over-arranged compositions seemed a bit anachronistic, a fact that the composer himself apparently realized, as witnessed by his semi-satirical score for
National Lampoon's Animal House (1978). Bernstein remained active throughout the '90s, rearranging
Bernard Herrmann's original score for the 1991 remake of
Cape Fear, underlining the innate romanticism of such films as
Rambling Rose (1991), and earning Oscar nominations for his work on
The Age of Innocence (1993) and
Far From Heaven (2002). In 1967, Bernstein won his only Academy Award for
Thoroughly Modern Millie, for which he wrote only the background music and none of the individual songs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide