James Bernard, Paul Dehn & Ken McGregor

[reviews_and_ramblings]

James Michael Bernard (20 September 1925 – 12 July 2001) was a British film composer. Around the time Bernard graduated from the RCM, he met the writer and critic Paul Dehn with whom he started a professional relationship, but who also became his life partner. Paul Dehn asked James Bernard to collaborate with him on the original screen story for the Boulting Brothers film Seven Days to Noon (1950). For this Paul Dehn and James Bernard shared the 1952 Academy Award for the Best Writing, Motion Picture Story. Paul Dehn died in 1976. Working on She (1965, in which Ken McGregor played one of the members of the tribe), Bernard first met the man who later became his second life partner, actor Ken McGregor, with whom he lived in Jamaica until McGregor's death there in 1994. Bernard then moved back to London and lived there for the remainder of his life.

He was a pupil at Wellington College which had previously been attended by the future actor, Christopher Lee, who starred in many of Hammer's horror films, for which he wrote the score. While still a schoolboy, Bernard met Benjamin Britten when the composer visited the school to consult with the then art master, Kenneth Green, about the stage designs for Peter Grimes. Britten took interest in an inter-house music composition, and advised Bernard on a composition he was writing. The two stayed in touch during Bernard's service in the RAF from 1943 to 1946, and Britten encouraged him to learn the principles of composition. After being demobbed Bernard went to the Royal College of Music, studying under Imogen Holst and Herbert Howells. He graduated in 1949. In 1950 Britten approached him to copy out the vocal score of his new opera Billy Budd for his publishers Boosey & Hawkes. While doing this he stayed with Benjamin Britten at Aldeburgh. He went to the opening night with Benjamin Britten's housekeeper and the librettist, E. M. Forster.


Paul Dehn
In 1949 or 1950, Paul Dehn began a professional relationship with composer James Bernard, who later became his life partner. Dehn asked Bernard to collaborate with him on the original screen story for the Boulting Brothers film Seven Days to Noon (1950). For this Paul Dehn and Jame Bernard shared the 1952 Academy Award for the Best Writing, Motion Picture Story. Paul Dehn died in 1976. James Bernard went into semi-retirement in Jamaica with his new partner, Ken McGregor. James died in 2001.





Undoubtedly his best remembered music score for Hammer Films was, Horror of Dracula (1958) featured a motif based on the sound Dra-cu-laaaaa. Other memorable Hammer scores include The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), The Kiss of the Vampire (1962), The Plague of the Zombies (1966) and The Devil Rides Out (1968).

His music was distinct for its clashing harmonies, often created by doubling a motif a tone higher, as in his famous Dracula theme. His music was also frenzied and pacey at times, frequently making use of percussion such as timpani and snares. The Devil Rides Out (1968) and The Plague of the Zombies (1966) are good examples of this. However, he could also write lushly romantic melodies, such as appear in Frankenstein Created Woman (1967), Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970) and Scars of Dracula (also 1970). Unlike the majority of film composers, Bernard orchestrated almost all of his work.

In later years, he was called upon by silent film historian Kevin Brownlow to write an original score for F. W. Murnau's classic silent horror Nosferatu (1922/1997) and for Brownlow's documentary Universal Horror (1998) on the horror films of the American studio. He also wrote the score to Paul Cotgrove's 2001 short horror film "Green Fingers" (starring Hammer veteran actresses Ingrid Pitt and Janina Faye). David Huckvale's critical biography of the composer, James Bernard - Composer to Count Dracula was published by McFarland in 2006.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Bernard_(composer)

Paul Dehn (5 November 1912 – 30 September 1976) was an Oscar nominated British screenwriter, best known for Goldfinger, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Planet of the Apes sequels and Murder on the Orient Express.

Dehn was born in 1912 in Manchester, England. He was educated at Shrewsbury School, and attended Brasenose College, Oxford. While at Oxford, he contributed film reviews to weekly undergraduate papers.

He began his career in 1936 as a film reviewer for several London newspapers.

During World War II he was stationed at Camp X in Canada. This was one of several training facilities operated by Special Operations Executive to train spies and special forces teams. He was the Political Warfare officer from 1942–44 and held the rank of Major. Dehn took part in missions in France and Norway.

He narrated the 1951 film Waters of Time and later wrote plays, operettas, and musicals for the stage. He wrote the lyrics for songs in two films, The Innocents (1961) and Moulin Rouge (1952).

In 1949 or 1950, Dehn began a professional relationship with composer James Bernard, who later became his life partner. Dehn asked Bernard to collaborate with him on the original screen story for the Boulting Brothers film Seven Days to Noon (1950). For this Paul Dehn and James Bernard shared the 1952 Academy Award for the Best Writing, Motion Picture Story.

Through the 1960s, Dehn concentrated on screenwriting for espionage films, notably Goldfinger (1964), The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965), and The Deadly Affair (1967). He later wrote the screenplays for the four Planet of the Apes sequels and the libretto for William Walton's opera The Bear; he also wrote libretti for two operas by Lennox Berkeley, A Dinner Engagement and Castaway.

His last screenplay was for Sidney Lumet's all-star Murder on the Orient Express (1974), based on the Agatha Christie whodunit, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Dehn

Days of Love: Celebrating LGBT History One Story at a Time by Elisa Rolle
Paperback: 760 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; 1 edition (July 1, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1500563323
ISBN-13: 978-1500563325
CreateSpace Store: https://www.createspace.com/4910282
Amazon (Paperback): http://www.amazon.com/dp/1500563323/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
Amazon (Kindle): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MZG0VHY/?tag=elimyrevandra-20

Days of Love chronicles more than 700 LGBT couples throughout history, spanning 2000 years from Alexander the Great to the most recent winner of a Lambda Literary Award. Many of the contemporary couples share their stories on how they met and fell in love, as well as photos from when they married or of their families. Included are professional portraits by Robert Giard and Stathis Orphanos, paintings by John Singer Sargent and Giovanni Boldini, and photographs by Frances Benjamin Johnson, Arnold Genthe, and Carl Van Vechten among others. “It's wonderful. Laying it out chronologically is inspired, offering a solid GLBT history. I kept learning things. I love the decision to include couples broken by death. It makes clear how important love is, as well as showing what people have been through. The layout and photos look terrific.” Christopher Bram “I couldn’t resist clicking through every page. I never realized the scope of the book would cover centuries! I know that it will be hugely validating to young, newly-emerging LGBT kids and be reassured that they really can have a secure, respected place in the world as their futures unfold.” Howard Cruse “This international history-and-photo book, featuring 100s of detailed bios of some of the most forward-moving gay persons in history, is sure to be one of those bestsellers that gay folk will enjoy for years to come as reference and research that is filled with facts and fun.” Jack Fritscher