The John Williams Web Pages
		Compositions: Films
		Diamond Head
Diamond Head The Film | The Music Audio | Video References | Links Compositions: Films Previous: Bachelor Flat Next: Gidget Goes to Rome Chronological filmography Alphabetical filmography Television films Miscellanea		The Film Release date: February 20, 1963 Studio: Columbia Pictures Running time: 107 minutes Director: Guy Green Cast: Charlton Heston, Yvette Mimieux, George Chakiris, France Nuyen, James Darren, Aline MacMahon, Elizabeth Allen, Vaughn Taylor, Marc Marno, Philip Ahn, Harold Fong, Edward Mallory, Lou Gonsalves, Frank Morris, Clarence Kim, Jack Matsumoto, Yankee Chang, Kam Fong Chun, Leo Ezell, Alan Lebuse, R. Ramos, Seagai Faumunina Technical information: Panavision (2.35:1), Eastmancolor Based upon a novel by Paul Gilman, Diamond Head is a rather turgid big-screen soap opera set amongst the pineapple and sugarcane plantations of Hawaii. Richard "King" Howland (Heston) is a millionaire landowner who has just agreed to run for the United States Senate. His younger sister, Sloan (Mimieux), returns from California, where she has just graduated from college with childhood friend Paul Kahana (Darren, playing a native Hawaiian!). The two youngsters are in love and intend to be married but King and Paul's older brother, Dean (Chakiris), are opposed to the mixed-race union.
		King has his own secret, however, a Hawaiian mistress named Mei Chen who is pregnant with a child King doesn't want. Mei Chen's deadbeat brother attempts to blackmail Howland at a luau; when the two scuffle, Paul is accidentally killed. Sloan runs away to Honolulu and later becomes romantically involved with Dean, while King has to quit politics and disowns his unborn child until Mei Chen dies in childbirth. None of the performances, dialogue or situations are very believable, although some unintentional humor may be derived from the melodramatics and lapses in logic. (How does everyone know the unborn child is male? And is Dean the only doctor in the state of Hawaii?) Variety called the picture a "slickly produced, but heavy-handed race melodrama with punch resting with marquee names and 50th State visual allure," while the New York Times remarked that "only the scenery in Hawaii looks real."
Diamond Head The Film | The Music Audio | Video References | Links		The Music Music: Johnny Williams Diamond Head Theme: Hugo Winterhalter Orchestration: Arthur Morton Williams had previously scored Because They're Young for Columbia and would follow up Diamond Head with Gidget Goes to Rome (all three starring James Darren). The title theme, written by bandleader and songwriter Hugo Winterhalter, was given lyrics by Mack David and warbled by Darren on the soundtrack album, but is not sung in the film. Williams makes inventive use of the rather mundane melody through interesting harmonic treatment, and the Winterhalter theme finds its way into most of the background cues in the film. Williams composed some themes of his own, for Mei Chen and for Manoalani, but these aren't terribly memorable. He also provided quite a bit of source music, ranging from pseudo-Hawaiian pieces to a couple jazz piano compositions for scenes in a bar. For the most part, the underscoring hews to established practices, reinforcing the sentiments of the characters but rarely transcending the rather limited musico-dramatic requirements of the film. It is interesting to note that Williams' comedic scores of this period are often far more tuneful and colorful than his scores for dramas such as Diamond Head and None But the Brave.
Colpix 440		Audio A soundtrack LP (Colpix 440) was issued at the time of the film's release in both stereo and mono incarnations; it has not been reissued on CD. This was the first feature film scored by Williams to have a full soundtrack album. The LP includes vocal and pop instrumental versions of the Winterhalter theme not heard in the film, slightly extended versions of four film cues ("Main Title," "Sloan Strolls," "Sloan's Dream" and "End Title"), several pieces of source music ("Luau Dance," "Honolulu Dive," "Catamaran," "Hawaiian Welcome") and album arrangements of two Williams-composed themes ("Mei Chen" and "Manoalani"). Another LP of traditional Hawaiian music "inspired by Diamond Head" was also issued, but this had no connection with Williams' score.
Diamond Head The Film | The Music Audio | Video References | Links		Video This film was released on DVD (Sony Picture Home Entertainment 07342 — purchase) in letterboxed format on May 31, 2005.  (Previously it had been available on VHS and LD, but only in a pan-and-scan transfer.)
Diamond Head The Film | The Music Audio | Video References | Links		References Diamond Head, Peter Gilman New York: Coward McCann, 1960. 416pp. "Film Reviews: Diamond Head," Tube. Variety, Dec 26 1962, 6:1 "Review: Diamond Head," Bosley Crowther New York Times, Feb 21 1963, 5:2
Diamond Head The Film | The Music Audio | Video References | Links		Links Internet Movie Database entry for Diamond Head Cinebooks Database entry for Diamond Head All Movie Guide entry for Diamond Head
Page last modified June 05, 2006		home | news | compositions | recordings | reference The John Williams Web Pages www.johnwilliams.org