Well, Fox had the best studio contract orchestra and under Alfred Newman's skilled baton played film scores with such exacting precision that they couldn't be matched by any other studio band, even at Warner Brothers which under Ray Heindorf's expert direction came in a close second.

Newman hired the very best composers such as Hugo Friedhofer, Alex North and Franz Waxman so the studio wasn't shortchanged in that department. As far as nepotism, just what in the hell is Kaufman talking about? Emil worked mainly at Goldwyn. Al did hire his brother Lionel, but who else? Nobody in the orchestra was a relative. And if they were, so what? They played so well that who cares?

What gets me is that instead of people having respect for others working in the biz, they take pen in hand and write vitriol as if that accomplishes anything.

I had respect for Kaufman, but now I just wonder what he was trying to prove. Perhaps it was triggered by reasons we know nothing about. Maybe envy? Who knows?

I do know that Alfred was a tireless taskmaster and some members of the orchestra found his working style to be a little more than fatiguing. I mean he would spend hours, even a entire day on a single cue making sure it was played to perfection.

Under Newman, Fox had the largest music budget, about a million dollars a year. When the musicians strike occurred in 1958, Fox continued to provide original score for their features by recording them abroad. Other studios like MGM decided to track many of their films from library cues or worse, such as with The Law and Jake wade, use cheap TV cues that turned up in 1950's syndicated series. And they didn't even use the good stuff such as what was used for shows like The Adventures of Superman. They used second rate material that almost ruined the film. I tried to watch it recently and the musical selections just plain stink!

As for Emil, I doubt he was a true composer. I've listened to the score for Island in the Sky and it all sounds like Friedhofer to me. And a great score! The film is not bad either.

Ed