Source Music in the Silent Western: Direct Cues
When analyzing music in sound films, a concept often discussed is whether the music is diegetic, that is it can be heard by the characters in the film and has a source (sometimes implied), or whether it is non-diegetic and the music is only heard by the audience. In silent films one rarely gives thought to whether there is music playing in the narrative world but many directors did think of this and used a technique called “direct cueing” to make sure that a specific piece of music or a song, played (silently) within the film, was included in the film’s accompaniment. As Kathryn Kalinak noted in How the West Was Sung (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2007), by making a musical composition an integral part of the film’s narrative, the director (in Kalinak’s case, John Ford) “tied accompanists’ hands,” forcing them to play that particular piece. Direct cueing involved having the song title or lyrics presented in the intertitle, identifying visually what the characters were performing (on an instrument or singing). Since accompanists often used musical cue listings as guidelines and often replaced the published suggestions with other music, direct cueing insured that this narrative requirement would be met.
Rick Altman (Silent Film Sound [New York, NY: Columbia Univ Press, 2004], 372) and Kalinak (How the West Was Sung, 15) both cite The Sheik (1921) as an early use of direct cueing. Kalinak discusses the diegetic use of songs in some of John Ford’s earliest silent Westerns with the note that “inserting song lyrics into routine westerns, [was unusual given that this was] not the typical genre for such a sophisticated practice” (Kalinak, 15).
Kalinak’s earliest examples include Ford and Harry Carey’s Bucking Broadway (1917), where Cheyenne’s cowboy friends gather to celebrate their friend’s wedding but become drunk and maudlin, leading to a humorous encounter with a piano. Eventually a cowboy picks out “Home Sweet Home” on the keyboard and the intertitle identifies the song. However, the musical scenario that appeared anonymously (but is likely by Max Winkler) in Motion Picture News (December 22, 1917, page 4420) does not include this text on an intertitle, suggesting it may have been added during a later restoration of the film. This is of little matter since capable accompanists would have easily matched what was played on the piano in the film with the tune.
Ford and Carey’s Hell Bent (1918) includes a visual of Cheyenne Harry (Harry Carey) and Cimmaron Bill (Duke R. Lee) singing “Sweet Genevieve” during a sentimental moment. As Kalinak points out, their singing “differentiates them from the rest of the drunken rabble in the saloon” (Kalinak, 15). Kalinak cites other examples from Ford’s silent Westerns, including “Drill, Ye Tarriers, Drill” in The Iron Horse (1924) and “All the Way from Ireland” in 3 Bad Men (1926).
Another well-known example occurs in The Covered Wagon (1923), the first epic Western noted for its attempt to portray the historic West and director Cruze’s insertion of “Oh! Susanna.” Composed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1848 by Stephen C. Foster (1826-1864), this song spread westward across the country during the Gold Rush and became an anthem of the pioneers, as signified by the young boy’s performance in the film. By factually connecting the song to the era, Cruze enhanced what Heidi Kenaga calls the “historical-educational” impression of the film in “Civic Pageantry and Public Memory in the Silent Era Commemorative Film: The Pony Express at the Diamond Jubilee.” (in Memory and Popular Film edited by Paul Grainge [Hamilton, ON: McMaster University Press, 2003]). I especially like the visual at the end of this clip, where we see the boy’s sister sitting the wagon, echoing the illustration W.H.D. Koerner created for the novel’s cover, “Madonna of the Prairie.”
There are earlier and more obscure examples of direct cueing. The first I have found (in a Western) is in Edison’s The House of Cards (1909), a one-reel film about a “Western cowboy” (as described in the Kinetogram) who has been entrusted with making a gold deposit in the town of Cedar Gulch but instead he loses the money in a game of cards. During this extended scene in the gambling house an intertitle directs the accompanist to play “Home Sweet Home” (Henry S. Bishop, 1823) as a violinist performs on screen. Inspired (or perhaps reminded) by the song, the gamblers get up and leave, including the cowboy who has lost everything. “Ruin, disgrace, and prison or lynching stare him in the face,” claims the description in the Kinetogram. The playing of “Home Sweet Home” and its association with the comfort and happiness of “home” highlights the cowboy’s tragic situation while also conveying that everyone is going home. This may be the first example of direct cueing.
In Sandy Burke of the U-Bar-U (1919), the comical sidekick Cyril (Burke calls him “Cereal”) sings “Just a Song at Twilight,” accompanied by ukulele, to the heroine while the lyrics appear in a title card. Published in 1884 with the title “Love’s Old Sweet Song,” this Victorian parlor song was composed by Irish composer James Lynam Molloy (1837-1909) to a text by G. Clifton Bingham. The song was extremely popular in the late nineteenth century (still recognizable in our time) and is characterized by an easily singable style that follows an undulating melodic line. The chorus (“Just a song at twilight, when the lights are low”) features a repeating motive that creates familiarity and allows for other singers to join in. In the film, Burke interrupts the playing of the song, but Max Winkler (1888-1965), the creator of the musical accompaniment, suggests that the song continue to be played quietly as underscoring.
There are numerous other examples of direct cueing in silent Westerns around the same years. Surprisingly (or perhaps not), these are often romantic and not cowboy songs; they have little impact on the narrative but contemporary audiences probably enjoyed hearing them. In God’s Crucible (1917) “The Last Rose of Summer” is suggested in the musical scenario (possibly by Winkler) to accompany a sentimental moment as the main character experiences a revelation that changes his character. Indeed, a note in the listing warns, “Do not substitute this song – this is a direct cue.” In The Trail to Yesterday (1918) the anonymous suggestions for the musical accompaniment also call attention to the direct cue: “When Sheila takes the guitar play ‘Silver Threads Among the Gold.’ Use guitar effect by using pizzicato strings if possible.” The song was copyrighted in 1873, with music by Hart Pease Danks and words by Eben E. Rexford.
Bare-Fisted Gallagher (1919) opens with a scene of Gallagher (William Desmond) playing the song “Smiles” on the harmonica. The song becomes a unifying thread throughout the film connected to Gallagher and is suggested four times in the musical program. The second and third times it is suggested to be played on harmonica with guitar, and both times to be immediately followed by the popular song “La Paloma” by Sebastián Iradier. The last time it appears in the accompaniment, Gallagher asks the love interest Jem (Agnes Vernon) if she would like to hear a tune, and he plays “Smiles” one last time on the harmonica. Unfortunately, this film is lost so we are unable to know exactly how the song was used. I like to think that “Smiles” was intended to represent Gallagher while “La Paloma,” suggested by the musical accompaniment creator Joseph O’Sullivan, signified Jem, and the two musical works offered insights into their respective personalities.
It is especially notable when the direct cue is integrally tied into the narrative. In Hands Down (1918), for instance, “Carissima” (1907) a waltz song by Arthur Penn (1875-1941) is connected with the female protagonist, Hilda (Ruth Clifford). It is suggested when we are first introduced to Hilda in the film and again when the visual shows someone at the piano. During the latter scene, as the title indicates someone saying “Stop That Racket,” the musical scenario indicates a change to a dramatic agitato, but it returns to “Carissima” when the title reads “I like that [song].” A nimble accompanist would be able to navigate the change between pieces to follow the visual cues.
Late in the silent era there are more examples of direct cues in the Western genre. In Braveheart (1925), a film about a Native American who is sent to an east coast law school to help his tribe defend their fishing rights. Before he leaves for college, he encounters (and falls in love with) Dorothy Nelson (Lillian Rich), the daughter of the owner of the canning corporation that is threatening tribal lands. Upon his return, they meet again and Dorothy invites Braveheart to a party. The direct cue occurs as they are dancing and the orchestra plays “Who Wouldn’t Love You” by Joseph A. Burke (1884-1950). The lyrics communicate Braveheart’s feelings toward Dorothy but the piece stops when he is confronted by her brother and others, who resent his presence.
Sometimes the direct cueing can be confused due to altered intertitles or oversights in the musical scenario. One such example occurs in The Wind (1928) where the musical accompaniment suggestions compiled by Ernst Luz (discussed in a previous blog post) include “Joe Bowers” (“for voice alone,” like this classic rendition by the great Pete Seeger) but the title card in the film features the lyrics for “Oh Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie” (another classic performance here). It is referenced in the scene where Sourdough (William Orlamond) sings as he keeps Letty (Lillian Gish) company in the cabin. Initially, I thought this intertitle may have been added later, but an anonymous piano score for The Wind that exists at the Library of Congress (Music 3236, Item 83), also has a cue reference for “T. O burry [sic] me not” along with the music. In this case, the error may have been Luz’s, although it is hard to imagine that he didn’t see the lyrics when he watched the film. This song has a long history in the sound Western where references to its melody and lyrics conjur the lonely life of the cowboy.
While many speak of diegetic music within the context of sound films, it is clear from all of these examples in the Western genre that directors were thinking of how to incorporate source music to augment the narrative even during the silent era. Forcing the accompanist to adhere to these musical wishes expanded the director’s creative control to include the imagined soundscape. Further, by placing recognizable songs in the story, the West became more personal and believable, an imaginary world that was also familiar, thus enhancing the audience’s experience.