Remember going to the movies on Saturdays and seeing cliffhanger serials? These were sometimes sandwiched between a double-feature Western. I doubt I ever saw a complete series of any cliffhanger because it might be two weeks or even a month before I was in the theater again to see the subsequent installments of a hay-burner, a jungle flick, or a robots and rocket-men sci-fi film.
Recently I came across a CD at a local thrift store that was made up of no less than thirty-five musical tracks from the old Republic cliffhangers. No dialogue or sound effects, mind you, but only the background music that set the mood for the action on the big screen: the throbbing drums of restless natives or Western-themed melodies suitable for a Red Ryder saga or the minor chord progression signaling the approach of an evil operative or his minions.
The first music heard was usually a sort of overture, giving the name of the serial and showing the lead actor and actress while the audience would hear the protagonist’s theme music and get hints at what was to come. A sinuous oboe or bassoon might indicate there would be snake charmers, or at least serpents, in the movie. And don’t forget the accelerando “chase scene” music.
While most of this music was not as memorable as, say, John Williams’s ominous cellos in the movie, Jaws, or the theme music from Lawrence of Arabia, the music of the seria
