Hitchcock's Composers

by bderoes | created - 25 Mar 2014 | updated - 11 Jun 2015 | Public

Composers, arrangers, orchestrators and conductors who created the musical scores for feature films directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

Also see the version by title.

1. Alfred Hitchcock

Director | Psycho

Alfred Joseph Hitchcock was born in Leytonstone, Essex, England. He was the son of Emma Jane (Whelan; 1863 - 1942) and East End greengrocer William Hitchcock (1862 - 1914). His parents were both of half English and half Irish ancestry. He had two older siblings, William Hitchcock (born 1890) and ...

2. Jimmy Campbell

Soundtrack | Snowpiercer

Jimmy Campbell was born on April 5, 1903 in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England, UK. He was a composer, known for Snowpiercer (2013), Ready Player One (2018) and Bad Times at the El Royale (2018). He was married to Betty Balfour. He died in 1967 in London, England, UK.

Blackmail (1929)

3. Reginald Connelly

Soundtrack | Snowpiercer

Reginald Connelly was born in 1895 in England, UK. Reginald was a composer, known for Snowpiercer (2013), Ready Player One (2018) and Bad Times at the El Royale (2018). Reginald died on September 23, 1963 in Bournemouth, Dorset, England, UK.

Blackmail (1929)

4. Hubert Bath

Soundtrack | The 39 Steps

Hubert Bath was born on November 6, 1883 in Barnstaple, Devon, England, UK. He was a composer, known for The 39 Steps (1935), Blackmail (1929) and Chu Chin Chow (1934). He was married to Dorothy M. Giffin. He died on April 24, 1945 in Harefield, Middlesex, England, UK.

Blackmail (1929) Strauss' Great Waltz (1934) The 39 Steps (1935) Secret Agent (1936) Sabotage (1936)

5. Harry Stafford

Music_department | Blackmail

Harry Stafford is known for Blackmail (1929), The Plaything (1929) and The Informer (1929).

Blackmail (1929)

6. John Reynders

Music_department | Blackmail

John Reynders was born on March 9, 1888 in Hammersmith, London, England, UK. He was a composer and actor, known for Blackmail (1929), Der Weg zur Schande (1930) and Murder! (1930). He died on January 6, 1953 in Barnet, Middlesex, England, UK.

Blackmail (1929) Murder! (1930) Rich and Strange (1931)

7. Adolph Hallis

Composer | Number Seventeen

Adolph Hallis was born in 1896 in South Africa. He was a composer, known for Number 17 (1932) and East of Shanghai (1931). He died in 1987 in South Africa.

Rich and Strange (1931) Number 17 (1932)

8. Julius Bittner

Music_department | Waltzes from Vienna

Julius Bittner was born on April 9, 1874 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary. He is known for Strauss' Great Waltz (1934). He was married to Emilie Werner. He died on January 10, 1939 in Vienna, Austria.

Strauss' Great Waltz (1934)

9. Erich Wolfgang Korngold

Composer | The Adventures of Robin Hood

Erich Wolfgang Korngold was the son of a well-known music critic. A child prodigy, he accompanied his father in playing four-handed piano arrangements by the age of five. By the age of eleven he drew his first plaudits from enthusiastic Viennese audiences (including the emperor Franz Josef) with ...

Strauss' Great Waltz (1934)

10. Louis Levy

Music_department | The 39 Steps

Louis Levy was born on November 20, 1894 in London, England, UK. He was a composer, known for The 39 Steps (1935), The Lady Vanishes (1938) and The Good Companions (1933). He died on August 18, 1957 in Slough, Berkshire, England, UK.

Strauss' Great Waltz (1934) The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) The 39 Steps (1935) Secret Agent (1936) Sabotage (1936) Young and Innocent (1937) The Lady Vanishes (1938) Under Capricorn (1949) Stage Fright (1950)

11. Johann Strauss Sr.

Soundtrack | Batoru rowaiaru

Johann Strauss Sr. was born on March 14, 1804, in Vienna, Austria. His father owned a small inn on the river Danube, and his mother was innkeeper, she died when he was seven years old. Strauss studied music with Johann Polichansky and also was an apprentice of a bookbinder. He joined a string ...

Strauss' Great Waltz (1934)

12. Johann Strauss

Soundtrack | 2001: A Space Odyssey

Johann Strauss (or Johann Strauss son), one of Austrian music's most famous names who studied music secretly against his father's will, later became the leader of his father's band and the indisputable "waltz king"; his waltz 'On the Beautiful Blue Danube', is the main theme in Stanley Kubrick's ...

Strauss' Great Waltz (1934) Foreign Correspondent (1940) Suspicion (1941) Torn Curtain (1966)

13. Arthur Benjamin

Soundtrack | The Man Who Knew Too Much

Arthur Benjamin was born on September 19, 1893 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He was a composer, known for The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), The Clairvoyant (1935) and The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934). He died on April 9, 1960 in London, England, UK.

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)

14. Charles Williams

Soundtrack | The 39 Steps

Charles Williams was prolific and without equal in familiar popular music. His pedigree was impressive and his achievements remarkable, so who was this man who bequeathed so much enjoyment to the nation by writing the signature tunes for such programmes as "Dick Barton, Special Agent", "Jennings at...

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) The 39 Steps (1935) The Lady Vanishes (1938)

15. Jack Beaver

Soundtrack | The Savages

Jack Beaver was born on March 27, 1900 in Clapham, London, England, UK. He was a composer, known for The Savages (2007), Wings Over Africa (1936) and Baroud (1932). He died on September 10, 1963 in Battersea, London, England, UK.

The 39 Steps (1935) Sabotage (1936) Young and Innocent (1937)

16. John Greenwood

Composer | The Last Days of Dolwyn

John Greenwood was born on June 26, 1889 in Kensington, London, England, UK. He was a composer, known for Woman of Dolwyn (1949), 'Pimpernel' Smith (1941) and Blackout (1940). He died on April 15, 1975 in Ditchling, East Sussex, England, UK.

Secret Agent (1936)

17. Cecil Milner

Soundtrack | Flottans muntergökar

Cecil Milner was born on April 25, 1905 in Wimbledon, London, England, UK. Cecil was a composer, known for Flottans muntergökar (1955), Preacher (2016) and It's a Grand Life (1953). Cecil died in November 1989 in England, UK.

The Lady Vanishes (1938)

18. Eric Fenby

Writer | Omnibus

Eric Fenby was born on April 22, 1906 in Scarborough, Yorkshire, England, UK. He was a writer and composer, known for Omnibus (1967), Jamaica Inn (1939) and The Russell Harty Show (1974). He was married to Rowena Marshall. He died on February 18, 1997 in Scarborough, Yorkshire, England, UK.

Jamaica Inn (1939)

19. Frederic Lewis

Music_department | Jamaica Inn

Frederic Lewis was born in 1911 in London, England, UK. He is an actor and composer, known for Jamaica Inn (1939), Pursuit of the Graf Spee (1956) and Night Ambush (1957).

Jamaica Inn (1939)

20. Franz Waxman

Composer | Sunset Blvd.

Franz Waxman (Wachsmann) pursued his dream of a career in music despite his family's misgivings. He worked for several years as a bank teller and paid for piano, harmony and composition lessons with his salary. He later moved to Berlin, where he continued his study and progress as a musician. He ...

Rebecca (1940) Suspicion (1941) The Paradine Case (1947) Rear Window (1954)

21. Louis Forbes

Music_department | Rebecca

Composer, songwriter and conductor, a music student of Edward Kilenyi and Max Steiner. He was under contract to David O. Selznick for seven years, and director of music for Goldwyn Productions for three years. He also worked for RKO. Joining ASCAP in 1951, his other popular-song compositions ...

Rebecca (1940)

22. Robert Russell Bennett

Music_department | Oklahoma!

Composer, arranger, musician and conductor Robert Russell Bennett studied piano with his mother and other instruments with his bandmaster father, and also with Carl Busch and Nadia Boulanger (honorary DHL, Franklin & Marshall College and Guggenheim fellowships). He began conducting at 11, was ...

Rebecca (1940)

23. Hugo Friedhofer

Composer | The Best Years of Our Lives

Hugo Friedhofer -- how many times have you seen that name in the credits of 1930s and '40s movies for "orchestration" or "musical arranger" and thought -- Gee, what a busy guy! He was, and, ironically, much of that work went uncredited. He is not usually mentioned with the great film composers of ...

Rebecca (1940) Lifeboat (1944)

24. Paul Marquardt

Music_department | The Wizard of Oz

Paul Marquardt was born on January 13, 1889 in Rudolstadt, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt [now Thuringia], Germany. He was a composer and actor, known for The Wizard of Oz (1939), The Big Wheel (1949) and A Day at the Races (1937). He died on October 30, 1960 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Rebecca (1940) I Confess (1953)

25. Joseph Nussbaum

Music_department | The Big Wheel

Joseph Nussbaum was known for orchestrating the Academy Award-winning movies Gone with the Wind, Rebecca, Meet Me in St. Louis and Anchor's Away. He was born in London, England; died in Hollywood and is buried in Mt. Sinai Memorial Park in Los Angeles.

Starting in the mid-30s in Hollywood, Nussbaum ...

Rebecca (1940)

26. Leonid Raab

Music_department | Witness for the Prosecution

Leonid Raab was born on April 17, 1900 in Tiraspol, Russia. He was a composer, known for Witness for the Prosecution (1957), The Unsuspected (1947) and Objective, Burma! (1945). He died on September 16, 1968 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Rebecca (1940) Suspicion (1941) The Paradine Case (1947) Rear Window (1954)

27. Alfred Newman

Music_department | The King and I

Alfred Newman is an American composer, arranger, and conductor of film music.

From his start as a music prodigy, he came to be regarded as a respected figure in the history of film music. He won nine Academy Awards and was nominated 45 times, contributing to the Newmans being the most nominated ...

Foreign Correspondent (1940)

28. David Buttolph

Music_department | The Three Musketeers

Prolific screen composer, arranger, and conductor, educated at Juillard and the Academie fur Musik in Vienna. He played in night clubs in Vienna and Munich from 1923 to 1926, then was an opera coach in Munich, 1926-1927. In 1927 he conducted for NBC, and then became music director for WGY in ...

Foreign Correspondent (1940) Rope (1948)

29. Edward B. Powell

Music_department | Modern Times

Edward B. Powell was born on December 5, 1909 in Carroll County, Illinois, USA. He was a composer, known for Modern Times (1936), The King and I (1956) and The Seven Year Itch (1955). He died on February 28, 1984 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.

Foreign Correspondent (1940) Torn Curtain (1966)

30. Gene Rose

Music_department | Irene

Gene Rose was born on July 19, 1897. She was a composer, known for Irene (1940), The Dolly Sisters (1945) and Rookies on Parade (1941). She died on June 11, 1966 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Foreign Correspondent (1940)

31. Conrad Salinger

Music_department | An American in Paris

Conrad Salinger was born on August 30, 1901 in Brookline, Massachusetts, USA. He was a composer, known for An American in Paris (1951), Singin' in the Rain (1952) and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954). He died on June 17, 1962 in Pacific Palisades, California, USA.

Foreign Correspondent (1940)

32. Edward Ward

Composer | Flying with Music

The prolific composer and songwriter Edward Ward gained his musical qualifications at the Beethoven Conservatory in his hometown of St.Louis. He worked for many years in Hollywood, often writing scores for, or orchestrating, films involving fantasy or horror themes. Ward was at MGM from 1935 to ...

Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941)

33. Roy Webb

Composer | Notorious

Trained in classical music at Columbia University, Webb worked on Broadway by the time he was in his mid-20's, not only composing incidental music, but co-writing original plays with his older brother, the director Kenneth S. Webb. By 1923, he worked as conductor/arranger on hit shows like "Music ...

Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941) Suspicion (1941) Notorious (1946)

34. Frank Skinner

Composer | Saboteur

The author of the textbook "F.Skinner's Simplified Method for Modern Arranging" (published 1934) began his musical career as a pianist in vaudeville alongside his brother Carl. He then became a noted arranger for New York dance orchestras in the 1930's and was briefly active in the field of music ...

Saboteur (1942)

35. Charles Previn

Music_department | My Man Godfrey

Charles Previn was born on January 11, 1888 in Brooklyn [now in New York City], New York, USA. He was a composer and actor, known for My Man Godfrey (1936), Saboteur (1942) and The Wolf Man (1941). He died on September 22, 1973 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA.

Saboteur (1942) Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

36. Dimitri Tiomkin

Soundtrack | High Noon

Dimitri Tiomkin was a Russian Jewish composer who emigrated to America and became one of the most distinguished and best-loved music writers of Hollywood. He won a hallowed place in the pantheon of the most successful and productive composers in American film history, earning himself four Oscars ...

Shadow of a Doubt (1943) Strangers on a Train (1951) I Confess (1953) Dial M for Murder (1954)

37. Emil Newman

Music_department | Laura

Emil Newman was born on January 20, 1911 in Connecticut, USA. He was a composer, known for Laura (1944), The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) and Lifeboat (1944). He was married to Eve Farrell. He died on August 30, 1984 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.

Lifeboat (1944)

38. Miklós Rózsa

Composer | Ben-Hur

A child prodigy, Miklos Rózsa learned to play the violin at the age of five and read music before he was able to read words. In 1926, he began studying at the Leipzig Conservatory where he was considered a brilliant student. He obtained his doctorate in music in 1930. Moving to Paris the following ...

Spellbound (1945)

39. Audrey Granville

Music_department | The Giant Gila Monster

Audrey Granville was born on July 26, 1910 in Nebraska, USA. She is known for The Giant Gila Monster (1959), Medic (1954) and Thunder in Carolina (1960). She was married to Roy Granville. She died on October 30, 1972 in Encino, California, USA.

Spellbound (1945)

40. Samuel Hoffman

Soundtrack | The Visit

The foot doctor whose nervous theremin style defined the sound of ghosts, goblins, and space invaders started his musical career as a violin player in New York. Starting at the age of 14, Hoffman became the youngest musician to play at Loew's New York Roof Garden, and later formed his own orchestra...

Spellbound (1945)

41. Earl B. Mounce

Music_department | Girl Rush

Earl B. Mounce was born on June 3, 1894 in the USA. He is known for Girl Rush (1944), Beat the Band (1947) and A Dangerous Profession (1949). He died on September 10, 1968 in Sedona, Arizona, USA.

Spellbound (1945)

42. Eugene Zador

Composer | More About Nostradamus

Eugene Zador was born on May 11, 1894 in Bátaszék, Hungary. Eugene was a composer, known for More About Nostradamus (1941). Eugene died on April 5, 1977 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Spellbound (1945)

43. C. Bakaleinikoff

Music_department | Notorious

Constantin Bakaleinikoff was born in Moscow in 1896 and studied music at the Moscow Conservatory. Trained as a violoncellist and conductor, he formed a trio with fellow young conservatory graduates and toured Russia, until enlistment in the infantry during World War I forced a temporary stop to his...

Notorious (1946)

44. Gil Grau

Music_department | Notorious

Gil Grau was born on December 7, 1908 in Illinois, USA. Gil was a composer, known for Notorious (1946), Batman: The Movie (1966) and Lolita (1962). Gil died on May 29, 1969 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Notorious (1946)

45. Harold Byrns

Music_department | Cover Up

Harold Byrns was born on September 13, 1903 in Hannover, Germany. He was a composer, known for Cover Up (1949), The Girl on the Bridge (1951) and Pickup (1951). He died in February 1977 in Berlin, Germany.

The Paradine Case (1947)

46. Paul Dessau

Music_department | Adventures of Casanova

Paul Dessau was born on December 19, 1894 in Hamburg, Germany. He was a composer, known for Adventures of Casanova (1948), The Wife of Monte Cristo (1946) and The Novel of Werther (1938). He was married to Ruth Berghaus, Antje Ruge, Elisabeth Hauptmann and Gudrun Kabisch. He died on June 28, 1979 ...

The Paradine Case (1947)

47. Edward Rebner

Music_department | Ringside

Wolfgang Edward Rebner was the son of violinist Adolph Rebner (1876-1967), who was a friend of composer Arnold Schoenberg and teacher of composer Paul Hindemith. Wolfgang Rebner left Germany in 1939 and pursued a career in Hollywood as a pianist. He often performed in Los Angeles for Peter Yates's ...

The Paradine Case (1947)

48. Leo F. Forbstein

Music_department | The Adventures of Robin Hood

Leo Forbstein began as a violin player at the age of 4. While conducting at the Royal Theater in St. Joseph, Mo., he pioneered and introduced the synchronization of the orchestra with the silent action on the movie screen.

He moved to Hollywood in the mid 1920s where he directed a symphony orchestra...

Rope (1948)

49. Richard Addinsell

Soundtrack | My Week with Marilyn

English composer Richard Addinsell was born in 1904. After finishing his law studies at Oxford, he took a short course in music at the Royal College of Music in London and studied from 1929 to 1932 in Berlin and Vienna. From 1933 to 1935 he lived in the USA writing scores for the Hollywood studios.

Under Capricorn (1949)

50. Leighton Lucas

Composer | Stage Fright

Leighton Lucas was born on January 5, 1903 in London, England, UK. He was a composer, known for Stage Fright (1950), Ice Cold in Alex (1958) and The Dam Busters (1955). He died on November 1, 1982 in London, England, UK.

Stage Fright (1950)

51. Ray Heindorf

Music_department | The Music Man

Raymond John Heindorf was born August 25, 1908. in Haverstraw, New York. He grew up in Mechanicville, New York, where he moved to when he was about 10 years old. In 1926 he graduated from Mechanicville High School. He was interested in cars and machinery; he loved to play pool with his father, the ...

Strangers on a Train (1951) I Confess (1953)

52. George Parrish

Music_department | Frenchman's Creek

George Parrish was born on September 26, 1901 in Missouri, USA. He was a composer, known for Frenchman's Creek (1944), For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943) and Reign of Terror (1949). He died on April 11, 1982 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

I Confess (1953)

53. Herbert Taylor

Music_department | Margie

Herbert Taylor is known for Margie (1946), The Big Store (1941) and Racket Squad (1950).

I Confess (1953)

54. Sidney Cutner

Music_department | Around the World in Eighty Days

Sidney Cutner was born on April 16, 1903 in Mariupol, Yekaterinoslav Governorate, Russian Empire [now Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine]. Sidney was a composer, known for Around the World in 80 Days (1956), Gun Crazy (1950) and Five Weeks in a Balloon (1962). Sidney died on September 20, 1971 in Los Angeles,...

Rear Window (1954)

55. Gus Levene

Music_department | The King and I

Gus Levene was born on July 11, 1911 in Dallas, Texas, USA. He was a composer, known for The King and I (1956), The Music Man (1962) and At Long Last Love (1975). He died on February 9, 1979 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Rear Window (1954) Vertigo (1958)

56. Leo Shuken

Music_department | Stagecoach

Leo Shuken was an American composer and orchestrator, best known for his western scores. He was co-recipient of the Oscar for best scoring of Stagecoach (1939). In his heyday, Shuken was under contract to Paramount, 1937-1944, at which time he worked on several films of the director Preston Sturges...

Rear Window (1954)

57. Van Cleave

Music_department | White Christmas

Van Cleave was born on May 8, 1910 in Bayfield, Wisconsin, USA. Van Cleave was a composer, known for White Christmas (1954), Funny Face (1957) and Easter Parade (1948). Van Cleave was married to Doris. Van Cleave died on July 2, 1970 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Rear Window (1954)

58. Lyn Murray

Composer | To Catch a Thief

Lyn Murray was born on December 6, 1909 in London, England, UK. Lyn was a composer, known for To Catch a Thief (1955), Trading Places (1983) and Monte Carlo (2011). Lyn was married to Margaret Pexton. Lyn died on May 20, 1989 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

To Catch a Thief (1955)

59. Bernard Herrmann

Composer | North by Northwest

The man behind the low woodwinds that open Citizen Kane (1941), the shrieking violins of Psycho (1960), and the plaintive saxophone of Taxi Driver (1976) was one of the most original and distinctive composers ever to work in film. He started early, winning a composition prize at the age of 13 and ...

The Trouble with Harry (1955) The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) The Wrong Man (1956) Vertigo (1958) North by Northwest (1959) Psycho (1960) The Birds (1963) Marnie (1964)

60. John C. Hammell

Music_department | Chinatown

John C. Hammell was born on August 14, 1915 in Bronx, New York City, New York, USA. He is known for Chinatown (1974), 10 (1979) and A Fine Mess (1986). He died on August 30, 2002 in Glendale, California, USA.

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)

61. Victor Aller

Music_department | Song Without End

Victor Aller is known for Song Without End (1960).

The Wrong Man (1956)

62. Muir Mathieson

Music_department | Vertigo

Trained at the Royal Academy of Music, Muir first worked in the movies on the quota quickies of the 1930s. His big break came when Alexander Korda signed him as musical director on The Rise of Catherine the Great (1934). He went on to conduct Sir William Walton's score for Henry V (1944) and Hamlet...

Vertigo (1958)

63. Leon Birnbaum

Music_department | The Man with the Golden Arm

Leon Birnbaum was born on October 11, 1912 in New York, New York, USA. He is known for The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), Exodus (1960) and The Big Gamble (1961). He died on September 5, 1964 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Vertigo (1958)

64. John Addison

Music_department | A Bridge Too Far

British composer, primarily of film scores. From a military family and the son of a Royal Field Artillery colonel, John Mervyn Addison was born March 16, 1920, in Chobham, Surrey, and attended Wellington College, Berkshire, with plans for a military career. His interest and talent for music ...

Torn Curtain (1966)

65. Maurice Jarre

Composer | Lawrence of Arabia

Unlike many musicians who started to learn music while still in their childhood, Maurice Jarre was already late in his teens when he discovered music and decided to make a career in that field. Against his father's will, he enrolled at Conservatoire de Paris where he studied percussions, ...

Topaz (1969)

66. Ron Goodwin

Music_department | Frenzy

Ron Goodwin was born on 17th February 1925 in Plymouth. He was the son of a London policeman who was detached to the harbour-town. His mother felt that piano lessons would be a good pastime, so in his fifth year, the little Ron was hoisted onto a piano-stool and his education on this instrument ...

Frenzy (1972)

67. John Williams

Composer | Jurassic Park

As one of the best known, awarded, and financially successful composers in US history, John Williams is as easy to recall as John Philip Sousa, Aaron Copland or Leonard Bernstein, illustrating why he is "America's composer" time and again. With a massive list of awards that includes over 52 Oscar ...

Family Plot (1976)



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