William Franke Harling (January 18, 1887 – November 22, 1958) was a composer of

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

s, and

popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...

Life and career

Born William Franke Harling in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, he was educated at the Grace Choir Church School in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. After working as an organist and choir director at the Church of the Resurrection in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, he spent two years at the

United States Military Academy at West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as commissioned officers in the United States Army. The academy was founded ...

, and composed both its hymn, called "The Corps," and its official march, "West Point Forever." In 1918, Harling contributed incidental music to the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

production of the 1898 play ''Pan and the Young Shepherd'' by Maurice Hewlett. In 1926, he collaborated with Laurence Stallings on ''Deep River'', a

voodoo Voodoo may refer to: Religions * West African Vodún, a religion practiced by Gbe-speaking ethnic groups * African diaspora religions, a list of related religions sometimes called Vodou/Voodoo ** Candomblé Jejé, also known as Brazilian Vodu ...

-themed opera set in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

in 1835. It opened on Broadway at the

Imperial Theatre The Imperial Theatre is a Broadway theater at 249 West 45th Street ( George Abbott Way) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1923, the Imperial Theatre was designed by Herbert J. Krapp and ...

on October 4 and ran for 32 performances. Harling began his Hollywood career in 1928. His film credits include ''

The Vagabond King ''The Vagabond King'' is a 1925 operetta by Rudolf Friml in four acts, with a book and lyrics by Brian Hooker and William H. Post, based upon Justin Huntly McCarthy's 1901 romantic novel and play ''If I Were King''. The story is a fictionali ...

'', '' This Is the Night'', '' So Big!'', '' A Bill of Divorcement'', ''

Blonde Venus ''Blonde Venus'' is a 1932 American pre-Code drama film starring Marlene Dietrich, Herbert Marshall and Cary Grant. It was produced, edited and directed by Josef von Sternberg from a screenplay by Jules Furthman and S. K. Lauren, adapted fro ...

'', ''

A Farewell to Arms ''A Farewell to Arms'' is a novel by American writer Ernest Hemingway, set during the Italian campaign of World War I. First published in 1929, it is a first-person account of an American, Frederic Henry, serving as a lieutenant () in the a ...

'', ''

The Bitter Tea of General Yen ''The Bitter Tea of General Yen'' is a 1933 American Pre-Code Hollywood, pre-Code drama (film and television), drama war film directed by Frank Capra and starring Barbara Stanwyck, and featuring Nils Asther and Walter Connolly. Based on the 193 ...

'', ''

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo ( ; ; or colloquially ; , ; ) is an official administrative area of Monaco, specifically the Ward (country subdivision), ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is located. Informally, the name also refers to ...

'', ''

Souls at Sea ''Souls at Sea'' is a 1937 American historical adventure film directed by Henry Hathaway and starring Gary Cooper and George Raft. Based on a story by Ted Lesser, the film is about a first mate on a slave ship who frees the slaves on the ship aft ...

'', and ''

Penny Serenade ''Penny Serenade'' is a 1941 American melodrama film directed by George Stevens starring Irene Dunne and Cary Grant as a loving couple who must overcome adversity to keep their marriage and raise a child. It was produced and distributed by Colum ...

''. Harling won the Academy Award for Best Music Scoring for ''

Stagecoach A stagecoach (also: stage coach, stage, road coach, ) is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by ...

'' (1939) and was nominated for ''Souls at Sea'' (1937) and ''

Three Russian Girls ''Three Russian Girls'' (also known as ''She Who Dares'') is a 1943 American World War II pro-Soviet propaganda film produced by R-F Productions and distributed by United Artists. It is a remake of the Soviet film '' The Girl from Leningrad'' (19 ...

'' (1944). Harling's popular songs include " Beyond the Blue Horizon" (with Richard A. Whiting) popularized by

Jeanette MacDonald Jeanette Anna MacDonald (June 18, 1903 – January 14, 1965) was an American soprano and actress best remembered for her musical films of the 1930s with Maurice Chevalier (''The Love Parade'', ''Love Me Tonight'', ''The Merry Widow (1934 film) ...

in 1930 and

Lou Christie Lugee Alfredo Giovanni Sacco (February 19, 1943 – June 17, 2025), known professionally by his stage name Lou Christie, was an American pop music, pop and soft rock singer-songwriter known for several hits in the 1960s, including his 1966 US ch ...

thirty years later, and "Sing You Sinners", originally performed by

Lillian Roth Lillian Roth (December 13, 1910 – May 12, 1980) was an American singer and actress. Her life story was told in the 1955 film ''I'll Cry Tomorrow'', in which she was portrayed by Susan Hayward, who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best ...

in 1930 and a hit for

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (August 3, 1926 – July 21, 2023), known professionally as Tony Bennett, was an American jazz and traditional pop singer. He received many accolades, including 20 Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

in 1950. Harling won the

Bispham Memorial Medal Award The Bispham Memorial Medal Award was an award for operas written in English which was named for baritone David Bispham David Scull Bispham (January 5, 1857 – October 2, 1921) was an American operatic baritone. Biography Bispham was born on J ...

for his

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

-oriented opera ''A Light from St. Agnes''.Howard, John Tasker, ''Our American Music: Three Hundred Years of It'' (New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1936)

Selected filmography

* ''Monte Carlo'' (1930) * '' Every Woman Has Something'' (1931) * ''

Beauty and the Boss ''Beauty and the Boss'' is a 1932 American pre-Code romantic comedy film directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring Marian Marsh, David Manners and Warren William.Dick p.107 It was based on the 1927 Hungarian play ''A templom egere'' by Ladislas ...

'' (1932) * ''

'' (1941)

Selected songs

*"Where was I", song by W. Franke Harling and

Al Dubin Alexander Dubin (June 10, 1891 – February 11, 1945) was an American lyricist. He is best known for his collaborations with the composer Harry Warren. Life Al Dubin came from a Russian Jewish family that immigrated to the United States from Sw ...

performed by Ruby Newman and His Orchestra with vocal chorus by Larry Taylor and Peggy McCall 1939

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Harling, W. Franke 1887 births 1958 deaths Best Original Music Score Academy Award winners American film score composers American male songwriters American opera composers American male opera composers Composers from London Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) English emigrants to the United States American male film score composers 20th-century American classical composers 20th-century American male musicians