= SILVER STREAK =

All Aboard for Comic Intrigue

The story of Silver Streak is deceptively simple - or is that simply deceptive? Book editor George Caldwell (Gene Wilder) is travelling from Los Angeles to Chicago on the famed Silver Streak passenger train. His relaxing ride is disrupted by the abrasive Bob Sweet (Ned Beatty), a salesman who attempts to tutor the mild mannered editor in the fine art of picking up women. While Sweet fails miserably in his attempt to play pick-up artist, Caldwell connects with Hilly Burns (Jill Clayburgh) an art historian’s assistant who’s traveling with her boss, Professor Schreiner. Things seem to be looking up...

Unfortunately, their first night together is rudely interrupted when Caldwell spies the professor’s body falling off the train, apparently murdered outside the compartment window. But with no witnesses to corroborate what he has seen, and a suspiciously aloof Professor Schreiner back on the train, Caldwell is determined to solve the mystery. In the process, this bookish fellow finds himself mixed up with a shadowy art dealer, a giant-sized hit man, a crazy crop-duster pilot, a thick-witted sheriff, a determined pack of FBI agents and most importantly, a jive-talking, big hearted car thief named Grover Muldoon (Richard Pryor.) Together, they face more twists and turns than a cross-country switchback before the whole plot (and the Silver Streak itself) comes to a crashing, climactic finish.

First Class Entertainment

Released in December of 1976 by 20th Century Fox, Silver Streak became the fourth biggest money-maker for that year, grossing approximately $60 million. Critics responded with mixed reviews, but they seemed to agree with audiences that Pryor was the film’s brightest spot (even though he didn’t appear until nearly an hour into the film.) In fact, it was Pryor and Wilder’s on-screen chemistry that spawned their next film together, Stir Crazy (1980). The duo went on to make two more movies together, See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989)—also directed by Hiller—and Another You (1991), milking their amusing —if stereotypical—schtick of a clueless white guy befriending a hip, savvy black man.

Silver Streak was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Sound, and is listed in the top 100 comedies by the American Filmmaker's Institute. The film sports a strong supporting cast, including Patrick McGoohan (as the slick art dealer Roger Devereau), Ray Walston (as his henchman) with small roles for Scatman Crothers, Fred Willard and notably, Clifton James & Richard Kiel (both channelling their respective roles as the Sheriff and Jaws from four James Bond films of the ’70s).

Hiller’s crisp direction evoked classic Alfred Hitchcock thrillers by interpolating elements of The Lady Vanishes (1939) and North by Northwest (1959). The story was written by Colin Higgins, best known for the quirky Harold and Maude (1970) and later, Foul Play (1978). Despite the comedic nature of the film, securing locations was a problem: Fearing adverse publicity, Amtrak refused to allow the filmmakers on their trains—thereby moving the shoot to Canada where Canadian Pacific Railway trains were pressed into service as the fictional “AMRoad” line. 

— Roger Feigelson and Joe Sikoryak

Why This Train Ran Late

Silver Streak represents some of Henry Mancini’s best work. It mixes melody and romance with action. It combines Mancini’s sense of humor with his intimate knowledge of orchestration. Silver Streak was one of the best film scores of 1976.

Oddly, a full soundtrack album wasn’t issued at the time, nor even seems to have been planned. Mancini eventually prepared two themes for commercial release: One appeared on an LP theme collection entitled “Mancini’s Angels,” both appeared on a 45 from Japan, and so forth. This Intrada Special Collection presents for the first time all of the music from Silver Streak, prepared from the actual session masters.

That said, efforts to locate suitable master elements proved to be a challenge. As was customary for 20th Century-Fox, original multi-track recording sessions were preserved on 35mm magnetic film. In spite of the score’s importance and relatively recent vintage, these stereo masters still showed deterioration. Since the actual movie was designed for a mono theatrical release, Fox also made mono dubdowns of the music for sound engineers to combine with dialog and sound effects into a finished mono film soundtrack. Happily, first generation mono mixes of the complete score, including slates (reel and part numbers announced prior to each take) survived in fine condition. These reels contained every cue used in the finished film plus unused cues or segments of cues that were trimmed. Every one of these cues is included on this album. In addition, all surviving stereo mixes were digitally transferred and assembled for inclusion as well. While stereo main and end titles were damaged beyond repair, many highlights from the stereo sessions, including all of the extraordinary action music in the final reels, survived in excellent condition. Gathering the various elements brought us together with a myriad of parties, including 20th Century-Fox, Terry Woodson and the Henry Mancini Library, the Mancini Estate, Ginny Mancini (Mrs. Henry Mancini), members of the American Federation of Musicians and various engineers.

Rather than jockey between mono and stereo modes, we are presenting Silver Streak twice. First in mono, complete and in the exact sequence Mancini intended for the film, including music not used in the finished picture. The score is then presented again as an extended suite in stereo. This “bonus” suite includes highlights of the score (minus main and end titles) in sequence, including all of the exciting action music.

There are some interesting differences between the mono masters and their stereo counterparts. In the film, when George glimpses the slain professor falling past his window, the seductive cue for his interrupted love scene with Hilly is cut off by a loud brass “stinger.” In the mono mix, the seductive portion runs longer than it does in the finished film—Mancini originally allowed the piece to finish. This previously unheard segment is included in the mono presentation, with the brass “stinger” following as a separate track, as originally recorded. The stereo version incorporates the stinger interruption as in the finished film.

Mancini usually composed his own source cues (music emanating from on-screen sources such as radios, record players, juke boxes, etc.) and edited those tracks into brief snippets as required in their respective film scenes. For those cues, the entire recorded pieces survived on the mono masters and sometimes play longer than their respective stereo counterparts. Again, we have included all versions.
Since the mono and stereo mixes revealed these differences, we had hoped to present the entire score in both formats. The damaged stereo elements made this impossible. However, by presenting the entire score in mono, completists can still enjoy everything Henry Mancini composed for Silver Streak, in sequence. Then, for those seeking an additional reward, most of the highlights are also presented again in stereo. Listen to all of Silver Streak once, then most of it again !

All Aboard for…A Brief Musical Synopsis

As there are two presentations of Silver Streak on this album, a few notes may help guide the listener through what is happening when. The following track list includes all of the cues Mancini recorded, in film order. This sequence is used for the 20 tracks that form the mono presentation. Subsequent stereo highlights use identical cue titles but occasionally have different running times.

Cue titles are Mancini’s own. A selection marked as “untitled” indicates no information was listed on the actual film music logs or cue sheets to identify the track’s exact use (or not) in the film. Fortunately, since slates were available, correct sequencing for the album was still possible.

01. Main Title This is the initial presentation of the main “Silver Streak” theme. It’s characterized by the rhythmic, never-ending pulse of the train as it travels from Los Angeles to Chicago. 

02. Something for Jill A light number (untitled) recorded for an early segment of the movie.

03. Hilly’s Theme A tender and seductive version of Hilly’s music as she and George discuss “gardening.”

04. Bye Bye Professor/Lie Down George A brief, sudden brass “stinger” rudely interrupts the previous love scene as George sees the professor falling off the train, a bullet in his forehead. After a bit of suspense, the music winds back down with Hilly’s theme as she helps George recover from his trauma.

05. This is Terrific A swaggering, humorous variant of the main theme for harmonica as George walks the tracks, having been thrown off the train.

06. The Fun of Flying Mancini provides an exhilarating statement of the main theme as George gets an unexpected hitch back to the train, via farmer Rita Babtree’s (Lucille Benson) private plane, taking time to “buzz the sheep” as they soar.

07. Club Car Rock Source music on the train, featuring sax.

08. Sneaky George The first three notes of Hilly’s theme on flute and bass clarinet are used to create slight suspense as George returns, surprising Hilly.

09. Scenic Route Source music (untitled), perhaps intended for the scene when George rides in the dining car, drinking and stacking glasses. Fellow traveller Bob Sweet joins him. The plot thickens.

10. I’ll Try Shrill piccolos highlight this tense variation of the main theme as Sweet, now revealed to be a Federal Agent, attempts a dangerous climb to the roof of the train in order to prove that the professor was murdered.

11. Gold Teeth Wild running figures for low woodwinds highlight this aggressive action cue as George fights with the killer, Reace (Richard Kiel), atop the speeding train.

12. Son Of This Is Terrific George wins the fight but is again knocked off the train. Mancini’s humorous comment is a reprise of the swaggering harmonica variant of the main theme.

13. Redneck Blues Source music (untitled) with a country flavor, featuring harmonica.

14. Pure Pussy Again trying to catch up with the train, George’s new travelling companion, Grover, helps him heist a set of wheels. Mancini sets the scene with an urban number featuring organ and electric bass.

15. On To Kansas (Hilly’s Theme) As George and Grover ride in their “new” car, heading for the train, Mancini presents a complete statement of ”Hilly’s Theme.“

16. Men’s Room Rock A hard-driving number featuring electric guitar and keyboards as George and Grover form a plan to avoid police capture.

17. Shoe Shine Another number for George and Grover. Similar to “Men’s Room Rock,” but shorter. This arrangement is less-driving, with small organ adding flavor. 

18. The Swirl Effect Both the main theme and Hilly’s theme play through this travel music.

19. Runaway Train As the train speeds out of control, Mancini punctuates the action with propulsive rhythms and flurries of motion. Scattered throughout are moto perpetuo figures for strings and jagged quotes of the main theme for brass.

20. End Title Mancini wraps his score with a straight-forward arrangement of the main theme, climaxing it with a bright coda for full orchestra. 

— Douglass Fake