55 Days at Peking. Dimitri Tiomkin

During the 1899 to 1901 Boxer Rebellion, Peking is an open city with the Chinese, and several European countries vie for control. The Boxers, who oppose Christianity and the western powers, who still exercised complete sovereignty over their compounds and their citizens. The head of the U.S. garrison is Marine Major Matt Lewis (Charlton Heston), an experienced China hand who knows local conditions well. He meets exiled Russian Baroness Natalie Ivanoff (Ava Gardner), with whom he falls in love. The political situation is tension-filled with the Boxers having the tacit approval of Dowager Empress Tzu-Hsi (Dame Flora Robson). When the Boxers attack the foreigners, Major Lewis, working with the senior officer from the British Embassy, Sir Arthur Robertson (David Niven), tries to keep them at bay pending the arrival of a relief force.

Producer Samuel Bronston had a falling out with his usual composer Miklós Rózsa over forced edits of his “El Cid” score and so turned to Dimitri Tiomkin. He invited him to sit in on filming and to take in the grand sets of the Imperial complex. Tiomkin who was no stranger to exotic and epic films created a complex, rich, ethnic score The powerful “Overture” opens with the rhythmic drive and frenetic energy of the Rebellion Theme. We segue into a presto paced rendition of the Natasha’s Theme, which sustains the energetic pacing of the piece. Then we flow into the sumptuous string laden Love Theme before ending with dramatic gusto as we began with the Rebellion Theme.