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| “The Green Leaves of Summer” | |
|---|---|
| Song by Dimitri Tiomkin | |
| from the album The Alamo soundtrack | |
| Language | English |
| Released | 1960 |
| Length | 3:20 |
| Composer(s) | Dimitri Tiomkin |
| Lyricist(s) | Paul Francis Webster |
“The Green Leaves of Summer” is a song by Paul Francis Webster, with music by Dimitri Tiomkin, written for the 1960 film The Alamo. It was performed in the film’s score by the vocal group The Brothers Four. In 1961, the song was nominated for an Academy Award; its parent soundtrack, for the film The Alamo, was awarded a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score.
In The Alamo, the song is heard on the last night before the Battle of the Alamo. Davy Crockett (John Wayne), when asked what he is thinking, responds “not thinking. Just remembering” as the song is heard. The men of the Alamo reminisce on their lives and reflect on their own mistakes, faith, and morality.
The song itself has no lyrical connection to the Alamo, or to any other historical events, but is simply a nostalgic reminiscence of the narrator’s idyllic youth.
The basic theme is reminiscent of the opening of Vivaldi’s La Follia.
“The Green Leaves of Summer” has been covered by a number of musicians including Brothers Four, Sil Austin, Kenny Ball & His Jazzmen, Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Frankie Avalon, the Ray Conniff Singers, Ken Dodd, Anita Harris, The Springfields, Hampton Hawes, Mahalia Jackson, Frankie Laine, the Johnny Mann Singers, Patti Page, Nick Perito, Peter and Gordon and The Ventures.
A French-language translation, “Le Bleu de l’été”, was performed by both Michèle Arnaud and Maya Casabianca (fr).
A Finnish-language translation, “Kesän vihreät lehvät”, written by Sauvo Puhtila, was performed by both Eino Grön and Vieno Kekkonen (fi).
The song had renewed interest when Nick Perito’s version was featured in the title sequence of the 2009 film Inglourious Basterds, directed by Quentin Tarantino.
By Reynold Brown – http://goneelsewhere.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/144033_1020_a.jpg, Public Domain, Link
| The Alamo | |
|---|---|
| 1960 theatrical poster by Reynold Brown | |
| Directed by | John Wayne |
| Produced by | John Wayne |
| Written by | James Edward Grant |
| Starring | John Wayne Richard Widmark Laurence Harvey |
| Music by | Dimitri Tiomkin |
| Cinematography | William H. Clothier |
| Edited by | Stuart Gilmore |
| Production company | The Alamo Company United Artists Batjac Productions |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
| Release date | October 24, 1960 |
| Running time | 202 min. (roadshow version); 167 min. (general release version) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $12 million est. |
| Box office | $20 million (US/ Canada) |
The Alamo is a 1960 American historical epic and war film about the 1836 Battle of the Alamo produced and directed by John Wayne and starring Wayne as Davy Crockett. The picture also stars Richard Widmark as Jim Bowie and Laurence Harvey as William B. Travis, and the supporting cast features Frankie Avalon, Patrick Wayne, Linda Cristal, Joan O’Brien, Chill Wills, Joseph Calleia, Ken Curtis, Ruben Padilla as Santa Anna, and guest star Richard Boone as Sam Houston. The motion picture was photographed in 70 mm Todd-AO by William H. Clothier and released by United Artists.
By 1945, John Wayne had decided to make a movie about the 1836 Battle of the Alamo. He hired James Edward Grant as scriptwriter, and the two began researching the battle and preparing a draft script. They hired Pat Ford, son of John Ford, as a research assistant. As the script neared completion, however, Wayne and Herbert Yates, the president of Republic Pictures, clashed over the proposed $3 million budget. Wayne left Republic over the feud but was unable to take his script with him. That script later was rewritten and made into the movie The Last Command with Jim Bowie the character of focus.
Replica Alamo mission used for production
The movie set, later known as Alamo Village, was constructed near Brackettville, Texas, on the ranch of James T. Shahan. Chatto Rodriquez, the general contractor of the set, built 14 miles (23 km) of tarred roads for access to the set from Brackettville. His men sank six wells to provide 12,000 gallons of water each day, and laid miles of sewage and water lines. They also built 5,000 acres (2,000 ha) of horse corrals.
Rodriquez worked with art designer Alfred Ybarra to create the set. Historians Randy Roberts and James Olson describe it as “the most authentic set in the history of the movies”. Over a million and a quarter adobe bricks were formed by hand to create the walls of the former Alamo Mission. The set was an extensive three quarter-scale replica of the mission, and has been used in 100 other westerns, including other depictions of the battle. It took more than two years to construct.
Another well known song from this film is “Ballad of the Alamo” (with Paul Francis Webster), which was performed on the soundtrack by Marty Robbins. Frankie Avalon released a cover version as did the folk duo Bud & Travis whose rendition (with “The Green Leaves of Summer” on the flip side) reached #64 on the Billboard chart. Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.
The Alamo won the Academy Award for Best Sound (Gordon E. Sawyer and Fred Hynes) and was nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Chill Wills), Best Cinematography (Color), Best Film Editing (Stuart Gilmore), Best Music (Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) (Dimitri Tiomkin), Best Music (Song) (Dimitri Tiomkin and Paul Francis Webster for The Green Leaves of Summer), and Best Picture (John Wayne, producer). Its successful bid for several Oscar nominations over such films as Psycho (which reviewed four nominations) and Spartacus (which received six) was largely due to intense lobbying by producer John Wayne.
Dimitri Tiomkin won the best original score Golden Globe award. The movie was selected by the National Board of Review as one of the year’s 10 best films. The picture won the Bronze Wrangler award as the best theatrical motion picture of the year from the Western Heritage Awards.
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