Roy Webb was a Hollywood studio film composer whose reputation as a dependable workhorse -- he scored in excess of 360 films and served as musical director on about a hundred more -- has obscured the very fine qualities of his music. Born in New York, Webb was the younger brother of Kenneth Webb, a popular songwriter and silent film director. Roy Webb began his career as a songwriter and pit conductor for Broadway shows; along the way, it was Webb who gave instruction to the young Richard Rodgers in musical notation. Webb composed Columbia University's official football fight song, "Roar, Lion, Roar," in 1925, and a stint with Broadway producer Herbert Fields brought Webb into contact with composer Max Steiner, who would become an important collaborator and lifelong friend. Just as the bottom fell out on Herbert Fields' string of Broadway successes, talking pictures made their debut. Webb departed for Hollywood to work for Radio Pictures, later RKO-Radio, his first job being to work as musical director on the movie operetta Rio Rita (1929) with Bebe Daniels. Steiner came in soon afterward, but both lost their jobs when RKO decided to stop making musicals. Nevertheless, Steiner went to bat for the concept of atmospheric music to be used in dramatic films, and when RKO agreed to make him head of the music department, the first thing Steiner did was to rehire Webb. Although Max Steiner was to defect to Selznick International in 1936, Webb stayed on, and served as RKO's principal music director until the studio closed its doors in 1955.
Roy Webb scored an impressive number of distinguished films, among them Ernest B. Schoedsack's The Last Days of Pompeii (1935), George Cukor's Quality Street (1937), Howard Hawks' Bringing Up Baby (1938), Jacques Tourneur's Experiment Perilous, and Alfred Hitchcock's Notorious. Though he never won, Webb was nominated five times for an Academy Award. His signature work, however, is the moody, expressive music he composed for the nine films in the Val Lewton RKO horror cycle, starting with Cat People (1941). Never a proponent of bombastic film scoring, Webb was perfectly in tune with the low-key and atmospheric surroundings inherent in Lewton's horror output. Webb, along with Hugo Friedhofer, was considered by his peers as being the very best composer of music written to flow underneath dialogue. Webb also wrote a small amount of concert music, and was pleased to hear the piano concerto he wrote for the film The Enchanted Cottage played as part of a regular Hollywood Bowl concert in 1945. Although he worked on a few films and television shows after RKO folded, Webb was already retired by 1961 when his entire life's work was incinerated in a house fire. Devastated, Webb never wrote another note of music. However, Webb did find an admirer in musicologist Christopher Palmer, who interviewed him and began the process of reconstructing Webb's scores, work that continued under other hands when Palmer died in 1995.
| Title | Year | Editors' Rating | User Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
The Cinerama Adventure
Archival Appearance |
2002 | |||
Teacher's Pet
Composer (Music Score) |
1958 | |||
|
Shoot-Out at Medicine Bend
Composer (Music Score) |
1957 | |||
Top Secret Affair
Composer (Music Score) |
1957 | |||
Our Miss Brooks
Composer (Music Score) |
1956 | |||
The First Texan
Composer (Music Score) |
1956 | |||
The Girl He Left Behind
Composer (Music Score) |
1956 | |||
|
The River Changes
Composer (Music Score) |
1956 | |||
|
Bengazi
Composer (Music Score) |
1955 | |||
Blood Alley
Composer (Music Score) |
1955 | |||
Marty
Composer (Music Score) |
1955 | |||
The Kentuckian
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1955 | |||
The Sea Chase
Composer (Music Score) |
1955 | |||
Underwater!
Composer (Music Score) |
1955 | |||
Dangerous Mission
Composer (Music Score) |
1954 | |||
The Americano
Composer (Music Score) |
1954 | |||
|
The Raid
Composer (Music Score) |
1954 | |||
Track of the Cat
Composer (Music Score) |
1954 | |||
Houdini
Composer (Music Score) |
1953 | |||
|
Second Chance
Composer (Music Score) |
1953 | |||
Split Second
Composer (Music Score) |
1953 | |||
Clash by Night
Composer (Music Score) |
1952 | |||
Operation Secret
Composer (Music Score) |
1952 | |||
|
She Couldn't Say No
Composer (Music Score) |
1952 | |||
|
The Lusty Men
Composer (Music Score) |
1952 | |||
|
This Is Cinerama
Composer (Music Score) |
1952 | |||
|
A Girl in Every Port
Composer (Music Score) |
1951 | |||
At Sword's Point
Composer (Music Score) |
1951 | |||
Fixed Bayonets
Composer (Music Score) |
1951 | |||
Flying Leathernecks
Composer (Music Score) |
1951 | |||
Hard, Fast and Beautiful
Composer (Music Score) |
1951 | |||
|
Sealed Cargo
Composer (Music Score) |
1951 | |||
|
The Blue Veil
Composer (Music Score) |
1951 | |||
The Racket
Composer (Music Score) |
1951 | |||
Branded
Composer (Music Score) |
1950 | |||
|
Gambling House
Composer (Music Score) |
1950 | |||
|
The Secret Fury
Composer (Music Score) |
1950 | |||
The White Tower
Composer (Music Score) |
1950 | |||
|
Vendetta
Composer (Music Score) |
1950 | |||
Where Danger Lives
Composer (Music Score) |
1950 | |||
Easy Living
Composer (Music Score) |
1949 | |||
Holiday Affair
Composer (Music Score) |
1949 | |||
/_derived_png24_120x82_m0/00451952.png?partner=allrovi.com)
Mighty Joe Young
Composer (Music Score) |
1949 | |||
My Friend Irma
Composer (Music Score) |
1949 | |||
|
Roughshod
Composer (Music Score) |
1949 | |||
The Window
Composer (Music Score) |
1949 | |||
Blood on the Moon
Composer (Music Score) |
1948 | |||
|
Fighting Father Dunne
Composer (Music Score) |
1948 | |||
I Remember Mama
Composer (Music Score) |
1948 | |||
|
Race Street
Composer (Music Score) |
1948 | |||
Rachel and the Stranger
Composer (Music Score) |
1948 | |||
Cass Timberlane
Composer (Music Score) |
1947 | |||
Crossfire
Composer (Music Score) |
1947 | |||
|
Easy Come, Easy Go
Composer (Music Score) |
1947 | |||
Magic Town
Composer (Music Score) |
1947 | |||
Out of the Past
Composer (Music Score) |
1947 | |||
|
Riff Raff
Composer (Music Score) |
1947 | |||
Sinbad the Sailor
Composer (Music Score) |
1947 | |||
They Won't Believe Me
Composer (Music Score) |
1947 | |||
Badman's Territory
Composer (Music Score) |
1946 | |||
Notorious
Composer (Music Score) |
1946 | |||
The Locket
Composer (Music Score) |
1946 | |||
The Spiral Staircase
Composer (Music Score) |
1946 | |||
|
The Well-Groomed Bride
Composer (Music Score) |
1946 | |||
Without Reservations
Composer (Music Score) |
1946 | |||
Back to Bataan
Composer (Music Score) |
1945 | |||
Bedlam
Composer (Music Score) |
1945 | |||
Cornered
Composer (Music Score) |
1945 | |||
Dick Tracy, Detective
Composer (Music Score) |
1945 | |||
Experiment Perilous
Composer (Music Score) |
1945 | |||
|
Love, Honor and Goodbye
Composer (Music Score) |
1945 | |||
The Body Snatcher
Composer (Music Score) |
1945 | |||
The Enchanted Cottage
Composer (Music Score) |
1945 | |||
|
Those Endearing Young Charms
Composer (Music Score) |
1945 | |||
Two O'clock Courage
Composer (Music Score) |
1945 | |||
Betrayal from the East
Composer (Music Score) |
1944 | |||
China Sky
Composer (Music Score) |
1944 | |||
Higher and Higher
Composer (Music Score) |
1944 | |||
Murder, My Sweet
Composer (Music Score) |
1944 | |||
|
Passport to Destiny
Composer (Music Score) |
1944 | |||
|
Rainbow Island
Composer (Music Score) |
1944 | |||
The Curse of the Cat People
Composer (Music Score) |
1944 | |||
|
The Falcon out West
Composer (Music Score) |
1944 | |||
The Fighting Seabees
Composer (Music Score) |
1944 | |||
The Master Race
Composer (Music Score) |
1944 | |||
The Seventh Cross
Composer (Music Score) |
1944 | |||
Zombies on Broadway
Composer (Music Score) |
1944 | |||
A Lady Takes a Chance
Composer (Music Score) |
1943 | |||
|
Behind the Rising Sun
Composer (Music Score) |
1943 | |||
Bombardier
Composer (Music Score) |
1943 | |||
|
Flight for Freedom
Composer (Music Score) |
1943 | |||
|
Gangway for Tomorrow
Composer (Music Score) |
1943 | |||
I Walked with a Zombie
Composer (Music Score) |
1943 | |||
|
Ladies' Day
Composer (Music Score) |
1943 | |||
Marine Raiders
Composer (Music Score) |
1943 | |||
Mr. Lucky
Composer (Music Score) |
1943 | |||
|
Petticoat Larceny
Composer (Music Score) |
1943 | |||
|
Seven Miles from Alcatraz
Composer (Music Score) |
1943 | |||
|
The Falcon Strikes Back
Composer (Music Score) |
1943 | |||
The Fallen Sparrow
Composer (Music Score) |
1943 | |||
The Ghost Ship
Composer (Music Score) |
1943 | |||
The Iron Major
Composer (Music Score) |
1943 | |||
The Leopard Man
Composer (Music Score) |
1943 | |||
The Seventh Victim
Composer (Music Score) |
1943 | |||
|
Army Surgeon
Composer (Music Score) |
1942 | |||
Cat People
Composer (Music Score) |
1942 | |||
|
Here We Go Again!
Composer (Music Score) |
1942 | |||
|
Highways by Night
Composer (Music Score) |
1942 | |||
Hitler's Children
Composer (Music Score) |
1942 | |||
I Married a Witch
Composer (Music Score) |
1942 | |||
Joan of Paris
Composer (Music Score) |
1942 | |||
Journey into Fear
Composer (Music Score) |
1942 | |||
|
My Favorite Spy
Composer (Music Score) |
1942 | |||
|
Powder Town
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1942 | |||
|
Seven Days Leave
Composer (Music Score) |
1942 | |||
The Big Street
Composer (Music Score) |
1942 | |||
|
The Falcon's Brother
Composer (Music Score) |
1942 | |||
The Magnificent Ambersons
Composer (Music Score) |
1942 | |||
The Tuttles of Tahiti
Composer (Music Score) |
1942 | |||
|
Father Takes a Wife
Composer (Music Score) |
1941 | |||
Look Who's Laughing
Composer (Music Score) |
1941 | |||
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Composer (Music Score), Musical Direction/Supervision |
1941 | |||
|
Obliging Young Lady
Composer (Music Score) |
1941 | |||
Parachute Battalion
Composer (Music Score) |
1941 | |||
Playmates
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1941 | |||
Tall in the Saddle
Composer (Music Score) |
1941 | |||
The Devil and Miss Jones
Composer (Music Score) |
1941 | |||
The Saint in Palm Springs
Composer (Music Score) |
1941 | |||
Tom, Dick and Harry
Composer (Music Score), Songwriter |
1941 | |||
|
A Bill of Divorcement
Composer (Music Score) |
1940 | |||
Abe Lincoln in Illinois
Composer (Music Score) |
1940 | |||
|
Cross Country Romance
Composer (Music Score), Musical Direction/Supervision |
1940 | |||
|
I'm Still Alive
Composer (Music Score) |
1940 | |||
Kitty Foyle
Composer (Music Score) |
1940 | |||
|
Laddie
Composer (Music Score) |
1940 | |||
|
Let's Make Music
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1940 | |||
Little Men
Composer (Music Score) |
1940 | |||
Mexican Spitfire Out West
Composer (Music Score) |
1940 | |||
|
Millionaires in Prison
Composer (Music Score) |
1940 | |||
My Favorite Wife
Composer (Music Score) |
1940 | |||
|
The Marines Fly High
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1940 | |||
|
The Saint's Double Trouble
Composer (Music Score), Musical Direction/Supervision |
1940 | |||
The Stranger on the Third Floor
Composer (Music Score) |
1940 | |||
|
You Can't Fool Your Wife
Composer (Music Score) |
1940 | |||
You'll Find Out
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1940 | |||
|
Arizona Legion
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1939 | |||
Bachelor Mother
Composer (Music Score) |
1939 | |||
|
Bad Lands
Composer (Music Score) |
1939 | |||
Five Came Back
Composer (Music Score) |
1939 | |||
|
Fixer Dugan
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1939 | |||
In Name Only
Composer (Music Score) |
1939 | |||
Love Affair
Composer (Music Score) |
1939 | |||
|
Mexican Spitfire
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1939 | |||
|
Panama Lady
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1939 | |||
|
Racketeers of the Range
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1939 | |||
|
Reno
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1939 | |||
|
Sorority House
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1939 | |||
|
Sued for Libel
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1939 | |||
|
The Girl and the Gambler
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1939 | |||
|
The Girl from Mexico
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1939 | |||
|
The Rookie Cop
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1939 | |||
|
The Saint Strikes Back
Composer (Music Score), Musical Direction/Supervision |
1939 | |||
|
They Made Her a Spy
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1939 | |||
|
Three Sons
Composer (Music Score) |
1939 | |||
|
Timber Stampede
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1939 | |||
|
Trouble in Sundown
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1939 | |||
|
Two Thoroughbreds
Composer (Music Score) |
1939 | |||
A Man to Remember
Composer (Music Score) |
1938 | |||
Bringing Up Baby
Composer (Music Score) |
1938 | |||
|
Crime Ring
Composer (Music Score), Musical Direction/Supervision |
1938 | |||
|
Go Chase Yourself
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1938 | |||
|
Gun Law
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1938 | |||
Having Wonderful Time
Composer (Music Score), Musical Direction/Supervision |
1938 | |||
|
I'm from the City
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1938 | |||
|
Lawless Valley
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1938 | |||
|
Mr. Doodle Kicks Off
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1938 | |||
|
Next Time I Marry
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1938 | |||
|
Night Spot
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1938 | |||
Room Service
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1938 | |||
|
The Affairs of Annabel
Composer (Music Score), Musical Direction/Supervision |
1938 | |||
|
The Great Man Votes
Composer (Music Score) |
1938 | |||
The Law West of Tombstone
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1938 | |||
The Mad Miss Manton
Composer (Music Score) |
1938 | |||
The Painted Desert
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1938 | |||
|
The Renegade Ranger
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1938 | |||
|
Vivacious Lady
Composer (Music Score) |
1938 | |||
|
Forty Naughty Girls
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1937 | |||
|
High Flyers
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1937 | |||
|
Meet the Missus
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1937 | |||
|
New Faces of 1937
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1937 | |||
On Again - Off Again
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1937 | |||
Quality Street
Composer (Music Score) |
1937 | |||
|
Sea Devils
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1937 | |||
Stage Door
Composer (Music Score), Musical Direction/Supervision |
1937 | |||
|
The Life of the Party
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1937 | |||
|
The Outcasts of Poker Flat
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1937 | |||
|
The Woman I Love
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1937 | |||
A Woman Rebels
Composer (Music Score) |
1936 | |||
|
Bunker Bean
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1936 | |||
|
Mummy's Boys
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1936 | |||
|
Murder on a Bridle Path
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1936 | |||
|
Muss 'em Up
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1936 | |||
|
Silly Billies
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1936 | |||
The Bride Walks Out
Composer (Music Score), Musical Direction/Supervision |
1936 | |||
The Ex-Mrs. Bradford
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1936 | |||
|
The Lady Consents
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1936 | |||
/_derived_jpg_q90_100x100_m0/lstmo_kat_1_h.jpg?partner=allrovi.com)
The Last of the Mohicans
Composer (Music Score), Musical Direction/Supervision |
1936 | |||
|
The Plough and the Stars
Composer (Music Score) |
1936 | |||
Winterset
Composer (Music Score) |
1936 | |||
|
Another Face
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1935 | |||
Becky Sharp
Composer (Music Score) |
1935 | |||
|
In Person
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1935 | |||
Old Man Rhythm
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1935 | |||
Sylvia Scarlett
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1935 | |||
|
The Arizonian
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1935 | |||
The Last Days of Pompeii
Composer (Music Score) |
1935 | |||
|
The Nitwits
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1935 | |||
The Rainmakers
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1935 | |||
|
Cockeyed Cavaliers
Composer (Music Score), Musical Direction/Supervision |
1934 | |||
|
Professional Sweetheart
Musical Direction/Supervision |
1933 |
