Don't make me call it Shocktober: vol. IV

Ben and Kate Powell, along with their son Steve, rent a lovely summer house in New England. Unfortunately, there's the small matter of the love triangle of ghosts haunting the place. Imagine "The Canterville Ghost" re-written as a "Three's Company" episode and you're pretty close. I don't know if Ben Starr (adapting a Nathaniel Benchley story) knew or cared that he was writing for Sid Caesar, but the legendary funnyman doesn't get to do or say anything funny, a problem that spreads to the rest of the talented cast (among them, John Astin, Jesse White and Harvey Lembeck). However, Mary Wickes and especially John McGiver have some good moments. Not an unwatchable film, but there's probably a reason it's never been released on video or DVD.

As with The Night Walker, Vic Mizzy delivered a score far better than the William Castle misfire deserved. Mizzy's "Main Title" is a pleasant sea shanty (with lyrics performed by the composer; available in the film, but not on CD). Harpsichord takes the lead, accompanied by swaying trumpets and a killer player piano solo at 1:27.

As with any Mizzy score, the composer's music reflects the fun he must've had writing it, like in "Bedroom Cares", a circusy cue that throws in everything from harpsichord, playful winds and booming horns to the "Wedding March", showing how the ghosts came to be.

Another theme is introduced, ostensibly for the Powells, in "Peculiar Place"; a bouncy tune passed from bassoons to xylophones to flutes to an organ. "Steve Meets Felicity" concludes with a delightfully slow version of the theme.

For the supposedly 'hilarious' scenes of the ghostly appearances, Mizzy brings in a melody from "Bedroom Cares" and sets it to work on horns, winds, harpsichord and even bells in cues like "Ghost to Ghost" and "Where's She Hiding". Other highlights include the appropriately-named "Swingin' Jenny" and the delightfully sleazy "Fill 'er Up".

"Priscilla's Seance" is just indescribable. It starts innocuously enough with a fluttering flute solo...then an electric guitar butts in. The flute responds, but the guitar shoots back, dominating the cue and shutting the flute out. It's not long before one realizes that, yes, this is supposed to be a musical conversation between two instruments and it's truly hilarious.

Still, even though this is a comedy (or so I'm told), Mizzy does work in moments of suspense ("Tall Tale"), horror ("Kate's Turn") and even melancholy ("Suspected Steve", "The Disappearance", "Lost").

According to Percepto Records, the album (which also features Mizzy's fine score to 1967's other Castle/Caesar joint, The Busy Body) is out of print. Thankfully, reports of this were greatly exaggerated and the CD can be bought for a song (while supplies last) from Screen Archives Entertainment). Audio clips of every track can be found here. Seriously, what are you waiting for?

13 Scores of Halloween - Day 8

It is truly surprising the composers that end up scoring horror films. One would think that these people, talented though they may be, wouldn't be equal to the task. Usually, they deliver in a big way. One such example of this is Vic Mizzy. Yes, the guy who wrote the "Green Acres" theme. It was not only his first of three collaborations with William Castle, but his first ever film score: The Night Walker.

The unhappily married Irene Trent (Barbara Stanwyck) has recurring dreams about a lover, but her blind husband, Howard (Hayden Rorke - Dr. Bellows on "I Dream of Jeannie"!) believes her affair to be real. One night, he dies in a fire and she leaves, but her dream lover turns out to be so much more than a dream. I haven't seen it, but from what I've read about the film, it's a lot of nonsense...an opinion shared by even the film's composer.

Still, Mizzy's work is to be cherished. The main theme on detuned piano and bass guitar lends an appropriately unsettling air, no more so than in the "Main Titles"; as Paul Frees pontificates on the power of dreams, the music swirls around, creating a beautiful orchestral cornucopia.

"Imaginary Lover?" introduces the motif for Howard, played on what sounds like a player piano, but is really an altered grand piano. It's this kind of cleverness that makes the score memorable. "Hittin' Mrs." reprises the main theme on flute while the piano floats along underneath.

The bubbly love theme for Irene and her dream lover (which features in such tracks as "Candlelight and Champagne" and..."Dream Lover") is quite pretty. The love theme - introduced in "High-Powered Howard" - comes from a tentative melody on piano, tympani and flute, representing Irene's dreams. In stark contrast, there's also a gothic wedding march on organ and horns for the film's odd nuptials ("Marriage Mirage", "Weird Wedding" and a subtler take in "Ring of Truth").

Parts of the score feel like they burst in from Mizzy's lighter works, such as the piano rag near the end of "Bang-Up Night" and the tweeting flutes in "Blade for Barry". This is not, by any means, a complaint; these bits add a layer of amusement to the film. It's almost like the composer's having a laugh at the film's expense.

Percepto Records released the CD years ago. If you can find it, do take advantage of the opportunity. It is a rich and enjoyable work.

Tomorrow: Count on excitement.