Rouben Mamoulian

Now, since this is an episode about exploring Bach in all his dimensions, let us talk about Bach in film and television, because his music has been woven into the fabric of cinema in ways that are sometimes profound, sometimes surprising, and occasionally downright sinister.

The earliest significant film use of Bach was the Toccata and Fugue in D minor, one of the most recognizable pieces of music ever written, which appeared as early as Ruben Mamoulian's 1931 film, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, establishing what became a lasting association between this particular work and darkness, mystery, and the macabre.

Walt Disney's Fantasia in 1940 used the same work in a spectacular abstract visual sequence arranged by Leopold Stokowski, bringing it to mass audiences worldwide.

The Goldberg variations have had a particularly cinematic afterlife.

When you first went to L.A. and were doing interviews, you met a lot of people that had worked in silence.

I mean, you interviewed Grady Sutton and Joan Blondell and Ralph Bellamy and Ruben Mamoulian.

Mamoulian I saw in New York City.

Oh, was that New York? Mamoulian was the first director I ever saw in person.

In the late 60s, a notorious character named Raymond Rohauer ran the film program at the Huntington Hartford museum.

I know that place.

Greta Garbo also arrives here on shopping tour and gives wholesale order for a pair of shoes.

When asked about her love affair with her director, Mamoulian, she said, no, no, no, no,

no.

But from the look on Mamoulian's face, it is yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

Producer David O. Selznick said that, "It was the first time a director had been fired.

It took great guts and courage." Director Rouben Mamoulian later said that the little fellow at Universal in one bold stroke had asserted the primacy of the studio over the director and forever altered the balance of power in the movie industry.

Thalberg also romanced Lon Chaney away from Paramount Pictures, convinced that he was the right choice to portray Quasimodo in Universal's lavish production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Chaney more than stepped up in terms of performance, delivering a mind-blowing portrait of the deformed bell ringer behind a grotesque layer of makeup and costume, all of Chaney's own design, and yet still managing to convey a childlike gentleness and capacity to love.

Exactly.

Which naturally brings us to the directors, because if the stars can't guarantee a fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, we need to look at the visionaries behind the lens.

We do.

And the source material gives us incredible data points to compare the wildly distinct styles of the filmmakers who make these classics their personal playgrounds.

You throw in synthesizers, you completely change the time signature.

You drop a massive bassline, and you make it totally your own.

That is a very apt analogy for the stylistic choices these directors face.

Right.