Evening star., 1943-03-25

At the age Of 20. Leonard Friendly
was being received as the youngest
member ever to be mustered INTO the
Philadelphia Fraternity OF Theater
OrganistS. Among theater or9anlSt
circles in Pennsylvanla-and per
haps organist circles everywhere
this was something of a distinction
It also shows that the Neptune
Rooms Mr.. Friendly has been in the
profession long enough and actively
enough to impart few reflections
and recollections which might arouse
that old nostalgia feeling among
present-dav movie -gOcrS-Who uSu-
ally wind up in night clubs alter the
last shCW, if you're looking Tor 2
tie-in.
SO. with sigh let us go back to
the era of the keystone k0pS ana
the "PerilS of Pauline" as it relates
to Mr.. Friendly who may be con-
sidered a typical representative OF
that musical faction which inter-
preted into sound the spectacle on
the screen.
Probably you never were fully
conscious of the Importance Of that
mighty wind instrument situated IN
the shadows to one side OF your
favorite silver. and silent screen.
The Slapstick and the slapdaSh going
on before your eyes doubtless were
50 intense as to drain every bit OF
YOUR attention, Some concert-goel
with scarcely no visual diversion,
even today seem to have dlFdculty
focusing attention on the music.
But whether the not-So-old-tlnc
theater organist was appreciated or
not, YOU may rely on the fact That
he was in there pitching at the
mighty WurHtzer with un1ali18
perseverance. Leonard F'rlendly, ike
The Shadow, kno-o-o-Ws.
Supplying musical foreground for
the silent movies was not simply a
matter of breezing into the theater
at show time, rafting off a score or
so tunes at random, playing few
recessional intermezzos and then
beating homeward. Mr.. Friendly
makes it clear that the entire proce-
dure demanded painstaklng STUDY
and generalization. With all OF the
better films that came into a house
a musical cue sheet was attached
These indispensibles charted the
entire continuity of the move IN
terms of souealing chords, lyrlcally
melodic lines or any one Of hundreds
of effects peculiarly suited TO the
sequence or incident on the screen.
The screeching effect obtained in
the upper register of the keyboard
was perfect for the keystone Kops
as their Model T took a corner on
two wheels. When Wally Reid
wrapped his arms around some gor-
geous hussy of yesteryear that was
the signal for the man at the organ
to break into his best "TOuJOurs,
lamour" theme. Or whenever the
Indians started creeping through
the woods in pursuit of Pearl White,
rarely would anything but a snatch
from Herbert's Dagger Dance
suffice. Whatever the change in
tempo and mood Of the picture, the
cue sheet was marked accordingly.
It is obvious that the organiSt had
to memorize these cues or FISK play
ing love music at the moment Miss
Pauline sailed off the cliff 20 end
Chapter l3.
Certain films had overall musical
themes. some of which became
highly popular after their introduc-
ton by the organists Of America,
"Jeannine, I Dream of Lilac Time, y
Diane and "Charmagne" are some
that Mr.. Friendly remembers OIL
hand. Songs Of that caliber, how
ever, came mostly from the Holly
wood studio staffs," he says. The
bulk of incidental music for theaters
never got outside the theater doors.
The least consequential Of movie
organ music originated in publish
ing houses in France, England and
New York which specialized in that
type of thing"
ITS a funny thing, and really a
credit to those people adds Organ
iSt Friendly. but you'd be surprised
the amount of old incidental music
that has been retained in radio
music libraries today. And for