Harold Lloyd's 'Never Weaken' was released in 1921 and is a silent classic. It contains all the elements you would expect from a great Harold Lloyd short. It has a good boy meets girl plot line with unexpected twists, dangerous and crazy stunts and plenty of laughs.
This was a tough one to put together because typically the scenes are detailed and precise, which is exactly what the music score needed to be and of course timing is of the essence. A lot of the sound effects cues come at musically tricky moments, which means I have to pick up sound effects with the right hand while I hack away at the keys with the left or vice versa. The instruments are laid out very carefully in advance to avoid missing a cue, but this is all part of the fun!
I have stretched myself a bit on this one, but I think it has been well worth it. The score I have written for this movie is essentially ragtime piano music over a break-beat. It gives the movie a 1920s retro feel and flows nicely with the style of the picture. The themes are fairly simple eight bar phrases and the material lends itself to a multitude of variations, so I can go from musically happy to musically sad etc in a split second. 'Never Weaken' is a lovely piece of movie making, and it's been huge fun to work on.
Anyhow, if I have done my job properly, you shouldn't notice any of that stuff, you'll just enjoy the show!
I'm showing Harold Lloyd's 'Never Weaken' at the Komedia Brighton Sat 19 Nov 6.00pm and Sat 10 Dec at 6.00pm
http://komediabrighton.ticketsolve.com/shows/126519810/events
Be great to see you there!
Cheers,
DW
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