Torn Music: Rejected Film Scores, a Selected History

A film is nearly finished when one or more of its prime movers producer, director, studio brass decides that it just doesn't 'feel" right and hits the brakes. What can be done quickly to alter the movie's complexion? The most obvious option is to change the last element added to the film its music So, a new composer is hired at the last minute to replace the previous composer's heartfelt work In Torn Music (which takes its title from the film Torn Curtain, whose famous score replacement put an end to the long and fruitful collaboration between director Alfred Hitchcock and composer Bernard Herrmann), Hubai recounts the often strange and surprising stories behind 300 rejected and replaced scores dating from the 1930s through the 2000s.