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A Man Could Get Killed
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"A Man Could Get Killed: Original Motion Picture Score"
Bert Kaempfert
What happens when an extraordinarily talented musician, a composer-conductor such as Bert Kaempfert, attains the pinnacle of
success in his field of making records? Does he sit back, fold his hands, read his complimentary reviews and wait for something
new to happen? Not Bert Kaempfert!
Bert, as his fans must know, has been at the top of the popular music field for some time, with such hits as "Red Roses For A Blue Lady" and "Three O'Clock In The Morning" And with such original compositions as "Danke Schoen," "Moon Over Naples," "Bye Bye Blues" and "Love," Bert could well afford to rest on his laurels.
Bert Kaempfert, however, believes that an unused talent wastes away and is lost. So why not use it rather than lose it? And what better way to employ it than the challenge of writing for motion pictures!
The result of this kind of thinking is a delightful motion picture score for A MAN COULD GET KILLED. Filmed largely in Portugal, this is a spy-comedy thriller with an internationally famous cast. Bert's highly distinctive and individualistic handling of the musical background lends just the right touch of universality to the story treatment.
The picture gets off to a fast start with an opening airport scene that Bert punctuates with his trademark sound of electric bass guitar. The web of intrigue is woven around the hero, who is innocent of any involvement in an international diamond theft but who, nonetheless, becomes entangled in the mesh of circumstances the point of being the No. 1 secret agent for the British Embassy, in an attempt to solve the crime. Here Bert's inimitable style and flavor provide just the right sense of excitement for our hero-victim. The hilarity of broad comedy and the double-barrelled enjoyment of two pairs of romantic lovers are heightened by Bert's
musical flair for the unique, especially the love theme, and the Portuguesesque folk melody interwoven throughout the score.
Keystone cop-like chase scenes are punctuated by "action music" with great humor in this cloak-and-dagger affair.
In the end, of course, the diamonds are located, the hero and heroine are saved from the nasty villains, and true love finds a way.
Writing music for motion pictures is a highly complicated activity involving split-second timings, exact underscoring for the action taking place — to say nothing of originality and the ability to create a mood required of the composer. Bert Kaempfert has succeeded magnificently on all counts and can proudly take his place with this highly select group of composers, thereby adding yet another strand to his crown of laurels.
(album notes)
See:
https://youtu.be/roW6ZPTszt0
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A Man Could Get Killed is a 1966 American adventure comedy film directed by Ronald Neame and Cliff Owen, shot on various locations in Portugal and starring James Garner, Melina Mercouri, Sandra Dee, Anthony Franciosa, and Robert Coote. ... The film introduced the melody of "Strangers in the Night" by German composer Bert Kaempfert, which won the Golden Globe Award for "Best Original Song in a Motion Picture" of 1967.
Bert Kaempfert (born Berthold Heinrich Kämpfert; 16 October 1923 – 21 June 1980) was a German orchestra leader, multi-instrumentalist, music producer, arranger, and composer. He made easy listening and jazz-orientated records and wrote the music for a number of well-known songs, including "Strangers in the Night", "Danke Schoen", "Moon Over Naples" and "A Swingin' Safari".
Kaempfert was born in Hamburg, Germany, where he received his lifelong nickname, Fips, and studied at the Hamburg School of Music. A multi-instrumentalist who played accordion, piano, clarinet, and other instruments, he was hired by Hans Busch to play with his orchestra, before serving as a bandsman in the German Navy during World War II. He later formed his own big band and toured with them, following that by working as an arranger and producer, making hit records with Freddy Quinn and Ivo Robić. ...
Kaempfert's first hit with his orchestra was "Wonderland by Night". Recorded in July 1959. ... -- Wikipedia
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