SEALED

A 3-CD set featuring all the surviving archival music from 11 scores composed by Max Steiner for RKO Radio Pictures

DISC 1

CIMARRON
01. Main Title 2:10

SYMPHONY OF SIX MILLION
02. Main Title 1:13
03. Boyhood to Manhood 0:21
04. Felix’s Decision 0:54
05. Diagnosis 3:10
06. Preparing for the Operation 3:41
07. Father’s Death 1:42
08. Despair 0:30
09. Return to the Clinic 1:05
10. Jessica’s Operation/Finale 6:32

BIRD OF PARADISE
11. Main Title 3:26
12. Friendly Natives/Shark! 5:54
13. Native Dance 1:56
14. Swimming/Island of Love 10:23
15. Safe Aboard the Boat 3:14
16. Luana’s Farewell/Finale 3:50

SWEEPINGS
17. Birth/The Store 3:12
18. Mother’s Death 2:55
19. The Telegram 3:20
20. The Farewell 3:01

MORNING GLORY
21. Main Title/Theatre Lobby 3:14
22. Romeo and Juliet 3:23
23. Fool’s Paradise 1:55
24. Finale 1:44

OF HUMAN BONDAGE
25. Main Title 2:36
26. Norah 1:48

DISC 2

LITTLE WOMEN
01. Main Title 3:34
02. The Witch’s Curse 3:10
03. Polka Medley 2:47
04. Bluebird Polka 1:16
05. Waltz 2:32
06. Running Home 0:31
07. Brave Little Women 1:43
08. Beth’s Fever Turns 2:33
09. Wedding Party/Laurie’s Devotion 4:05
10. My Beth 1:27
11. Josephine (Alternate Main Title) 1:09

THE LITTLE MINISTER
12. Main Title 2:59
13. Wearyworld and the Minister 1:50
14. Wearyworld and Babbie 3:39
15. Going to Nanny’s House 1:17
16. Nanny 5:26
17. Babbie and the Minister at the Well 3:26
18. Wearyworld and the Doctor/Wedding Dress 4:46
19. Babbie Visits Mrs. Dishart 2:09
20. The Minister Wounded 4:10
21. The Minister Recovers/Finale 3:20

Bonus Tracks
22. ’Twas Meant to Be 1:47
23. Brave Little Women (Takes 1 & 2) 3:17

DISC 3

THE LOST PATROL
01. Main Title/The Sniper 3:16
02. Bury the Dead/Sanders’ Prayer/Patrol Resumes 3:33
03. Patrol Rest/Resume on Foot 3:15
04. Pack Up Your Troubles/Pearson’s Lament 3:08
05. Bedding Down/The Wind/Ambush/Sanders’ Nurse’s Bell 3:59
06. Memories of Malaysia 1:46
07. Cook and MacKay’s Expedition/Abelson’s Sunstroke 3:11
08. Sunstroke Part 2/Cook and MacKay Sent Back 3:02
09. Quincannon’s Revenge/Sanders’ Dementia 5:19
10. Morelli and the Sergeant 5:37
11. Sanders Escapes 2:27
12. The Last Man Standing/End Title 2:54

THE INFORMER
13. Main Title 2:53
14. Katie of the Streets 2:43
15. Frankie on the Run 1:37
16. Gypo’s Decision/The Blind Man/Gypo in the Tavern 5:39
17. The Wake 1:15
18. Mary and Gallagher 2:15
19. Money for Katie/Before the Trial 3:02
20. The Trial 1:32
21. Gypo Escapes/Katie’s Flat 3:43
22. The Plea to Gallagher/Messengers of Death 4:01
23. Gypo Shot/Forgiveness 2:49

CIMARRON - "Cimarron" was the first Western to win the Oscar for Best Picture (and, until Dances with Wolves in 1990, the only one). The film begins on April 22, 1889, the opening day of the great Oklahoma Land Rush on the Cherokee Strip. Boisterous Yancey Cravat (Richard Dix) is cheated out of his land claim by the devious Dixie Lee (Estelle Taylor). Instead of becoming a homesteader, Cravat establishes a muckraking newspaper, and with pistols in hand he becomes a widely respected (and widely feared) peacekeeper. He also displays a compassionate streak by coming to the defense of Dixie Lee, who is about to be arrested for prostitution. Cravat's insistence on sticking his nose into everyone's affairs drives a wedge between him and his young wife Sabra (Irene Dunne), but she stands by him--until he deserts her and her children, ever in pursuit of new adventures. Sabra takes over the newspaper herself, and with the moral support of her best friend, Mrs. Wyatt (Edna May Oliver), she creates a powerful publishing empire. "Cimarron" makes the mistake of placing most of the action early in the film, so that everything that follows the spectacular opening land-rush sequence may feel anti-climactic. While it's always enjoyable to watch Irene Dunne persevering through the years, it's rather wearing to sit through the overblown performance of Richard Dix, who seems to think that he can't make a point unless it's at the top of his lungs. 1930

SYMPHONY OF SIX MILLION - In this misleadingly-titled 1932 medical (not musical) drama, the resolve of a young surgeon is severely tested. Dr. Felix Klauber (Ricardo Cortez), is a selfless Jewish physician who has grown up in the segregated slums of New York City. Through hard work, he becomes a wealthy Park Avenue doctor. He is called to operate on his father, Meyer Klauber (Gregory Ratoff), to remove a small tumor. But Dr. Klauber makes a fatal mistake, and his father dies on the operating table. Klauber now becomes plagued by guilt and self-doubt and is afraid to practice his profession. His girlfriend Jessica (Irene Dunne) urges him to continue. When it turns out that she, too, requires surgery, his love for her and her entreaties compel him to return to perform the delicate operation. This RKO Studios production was based on a novel by Fannie Hurst. 1932

BIRD OF PARADISE - Having inherited the warhorse stage piece "Bird of Paradise" from his predecessor William LeBaron, RKO Radio production chief David O. Selznick opted to do the property up brown, hoping to transform the Richard Walton Tully original into RKO's "prestige" offering of 1932. Joel McCrea stars as a handsome South Seas soldier of fortune who falls in love with Dolores Del Rio, the daughter of a Polynesian native chieftain. Alas, their idyllic romance is destined to come to a sudden and violent end: tribal custom decrees that Del Rio is to be sacrificed to the local volcano. After initial resistance, the heroine nobly resigns herself to her fate, realizing that there is no place for her in her white lover's civilization. Beset with production problems throughout its shooting -- an expensive location jaunt to Hawaii came a-cropper due to consistently bad weather -- Bird of Paradise went too far over budget to make any sort of acceptable profit. Even so, and despite the corniness of the dialogue and situations, the film holds up quite well today. In addition, Dolores Del Rio is a knockout, especially during her surprisingly explicit nude swimming sequences. (A more conservative - and far less costly - version of "Bird of Paradise" was filmed in 1952, with Jeff Chandler and Debra Paget.) 1932

SWEEPINGS - Lionel Barrymore plays a Marshall Field-like Chicago businessman who emerges from the wreckage of the 1871 fire to build a department-store empire. Barrymore is aided by his Jewish manager Gregory Ratoff, who despite his business acumen is never made a full partner. The store magnate's four children grow up to be disappointments, preferring to squander dad's money and refusing to enter his business. Manager Ratoff realizes that Barrymore's offspring are worthless, and quietly buys up their shares of the store in order to save the business from ruin, emerging with full charge of Barrymore's empire. Only when Barrymore is on the verge of death do his children rally around him and promise to make something of themselves. (A well-made 20th century equivalent to King Lear, "Sweepings" was remade less effectively as "Three Sons" in 1939.)

MORNING GLORY - Katharine Hepburn won her first Oscar for her portrayal of Eva Lovelace, a small-town community-theatre actress who comes to New York dreaming of theatrical stardom. She amuses producer Adolphe Menjou and playwright Douglas Fairbanks Jr. with her naively pretentious prattle, but neither man takes her too seriously. Both, however are attracted to Eva: Menjou has a brief affair with her, but she yearns for the more reserved Fairbanks. Partly out of sympathy, Fairbanks arranges for Eva to understudy the troublesome star (Mary Duncan) of Menjou's latest production. When the star walks out on opening night, Eva goes on in her stead, and is universally hailed as a brilliant new find. Backstage after her triumph, Eva is warned not to let her sudden success go to her head lest she become a "morning glory": a briefly spectacular "bloomer" that withers and dies within a very short time. Proof of this warning is Eva's maid, a middle-aged woman who had also been an instant star years earlier. But Eva is too intoxicated by the thrill of realizing her life's dream; embracing her weeping maid, Eva declares to the world that she doesn't care if she is a morning glory. The film fades as Eva shouts defiantly "I'm not afraid! I'm not afraid!" Adapted from a stage play by Zoe Akins, "Morning Glory" was remade in 1957 as "Stage Struck", with Susan Strasberg as Eva Lovelace. 1933

OF HUMAN BONDAGE - The first of three film version of Somerset Maugham's "Of Human Bondage" stars Leslie Howard as sensitive, clubfooted artist-cum-med student Philip Carey. Despite his yearnings for the finer things in life, Carey cannot extricate himself from a mutually destructive relationship with sluttish waitress Mildred Rogers (Bette Davis). After an incredible series of emotional disasters, Carey finally finds happiness in the arms of Sally Altheny (Frances Dee). The industry buzz in 1934 indicated that Bette Davis was a shoe-in for an Academy Award for her savage portrayal of Mildred, but her home studio Warner Bros. failed to mount an adequate publicity campaign on Davis' behalf, allegedly because she'd made the film on loan-out to RKO and Warners wasn't about to heap praise upon a rival. It is now generally conceded that Davis' Oscar win for 1935's Dangerous was consolation for her losing the statuette in 1934. Long out of circulation due to the 1946 remake, the 1934 Of Human Bondage has since slipped into the public domain, and is now seen more often than either of the subsequent remakes (the last was in 1964). 1934

LITTLE WOMEN - George Cukor directed this classic adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's sentimental novel with a shimmering lavishness that is a prime example of the classic Hollywood style at its best. The story concerns the lives of four New England sisters -- Jo (Katharine Hepburn), Amy (Joan Bennett), Meg (Frances Dee), and Beth (Jean Parker) -- during the time of the Civil War. Jo desires to leave home to become a writer, but decides to stay to help the family. But Meg announces her plans to get married, so Jo leaves for New York City. As she settles down to a writing career, she meets Professor Fritz Bhaer (Paul Lukas), who helps her with her work. While Jo is away, Amy falls in love and marries Jo's old flame Laurie Laurence (Douglass Montgomery). But Jo is forced to return to New England when she discovers Beth is dying. 1933

THE LITTLE MINISTER - Based on the novel and play by James M. Barrie, "The Little Minister" turned out to be Katharine Hepburn's best vehicle since Little Women. John Beal plays the Reverend Gavin, the sobersided new cleric of a tiny Scottish village. Almost against his better judgment, Beal falls in love with Babbie (Hepburn), a feisty gypsy girl whom the villagers regard as a pariah. Thanks to this "unholy" alliance, the little minister is nearly run out of town, but when he is accidentally stabbed in a fracas, the townsfolk come to their senses. Previously filmed in 1921, "The Little Minister" was afforded sumptuous production values by RKO Radio (its elaborate Scottish-village set would later pop up in innumerable films, notably Laurel & Hardy's Bonnie Scotland), and benefits immeasurably from the spirited performances of all concerned. Alas, the film was too expensive to post a profit, and despite respectable business it ended up $9000 in the red. Also stars Alan Hale. 1934

THE LOST PATROL - Previously filmed in 1929, Philip MacDonald's novel "Patrol" was lensed by director John Ford as "The Lost Patrol" in 1934. Sergeant Victor McLaglen is in charge of a World War I-era British cavalry regiment, stranded somewhere in the Mesopotamian desert. McLaglen hasn't asked for the responsibility: the commanding officer has been killed by an Arab sniper, leaving McLaglen to take over. One by one, McLaglen's men are picked off as they desperately fend off the enemy, waiting for reinforcements to arrive. The most spectacular death scene goes to Boris Karloff, playing a religious zealot who goes insane and begins marching towards the Arabs while bearing a makeshift cross. Max Steiner's relentless musical theme for "The Lost Patrol" would later be adapted into his score for Warner Bros' "Casablanca". "Lost Patrol" would itself be adapted as the 1939 western "Bad Lands". 1934

THE INFORMER - "The Informer", Liam O'Flaherty's novel of the Irish "troubles" of the early 1920s, was first filmed in England in 1929, with Cyril McLaglen in the lead. When director John Ford remade "The Informer" in 1935, the role of the tragic Irish roisterer Gypo Nolan went to Cyril's brother Victor McLaglen. The scene is Dublin, during the Sinn Fein rebellion. Gypo has tried to join the IRA, but has been bounced because he lacked full commitment to the cause. Gypo's best friend is Frankie McPhillip (Wallace Ford) a fugitive from the British "Black and Tans" with a price on his head. Hoping to start a new life with his streetwalker girlfriend Katie Madden (Margot Grahame), Gypo informs on Frankie, collecting the twenty-pound reward. Frankie is cornered and killed by the British troops; Gypo briefly suffers the pangs of conscience, but is too simple-minded to grasp the full impact of his betrayal. Suspecting that Gypo has turned in Frankie, IRA commander Gallegher (Preston Foster) orders his men to keep tabs on the big lout. As Gypo stupidly squanders his money on food, drink and entertainment, Gallegher's lieutenants keep tab of every penny spent. Finally dragged before the rebel court, Gypo tries to bluff his way out of trouble, fingering another man (Donald Meek) as the informer, but this subterfuge quickly falls apart. Sobbingly, Gypo confesses his treachery. Before his execution can be carried out, he escapes, but his hiding place is given away inadvertently by Katie. Regretfully, because they realize Gypo is too childish to be fully responsible for his actions, the IRA members shoot the man down. With his last ounce of strength, Gypo drags himself into the church where Frankie's mother (Una O'Connor) prays for his son's soul. "Twas I informed on your son, Mrs. McPhillip," Gypo weeps, "Forgive me." "Ah, Gypo, I forgive you," the grieving mother replies. "You didn't know what you were doing." Exultantly, Gypo looks heavenward, and, just before succumbing to his wounds, bellows "Frankie! Frankie! Your mother forgives me!" The Informer earned Max Steiner his first of three Oscars and Victor McLaglen a Best Actor Oscar, as well as several other nominations. The film was remade in 1968, relocated to the black ghetto of Los Angeles and retitled "Uptight!". 1935