This Girl For Hire (Bruce Broughton)

This Girl For Hire (1983)
Original Television Soundtrack Composed by Bruce Broughton (Signature Edition)

Buy it from Intrada

Sensuous. Sophisticated. Relaxing.

While those adjectives might not exactly describe the 1983 made-for-TV film “This Girl for Hire”, a spoof of the 1940s noir film, its music surely is. Composed by Bruce Broughton (whose composing credits have ranged from the R-rated “Tombstone” to family fare such as “Eloise at the Plaza”), the score is anything but a parody.

Composed for a fairly small ensemble of twenty-four pieces (mainly for strings, two French horns, one woodwind and percussion) led by a seductive alto saxophone, the main theme for This Girl For Hire is firmly anchored in the jazz style. The alto sax at the forefront of “Main Title” is joined by strings, piano and woodwinds as it progresses, for something truly not full jazz and yet not orchestral, but rather something truly magical.

As the score progresses, the alto sax theme is not at the forefront of the score (it briefly makes appearances in the early tracks such as near the end of “Meet Brady, Meet Garth”) but even without it, the score remains firmly ensconced in the jazz style. Broughton wisely varies his instrumentation in that both woodwinds and guitar carry the main theme over when the sax is not present. Pizzacato strings run mischievously in tracks like “Brady in Drag; Something to Think About” and “The Dingus”, while the French horns are used to accentuate the more dramatic tracks like “Not Zandra Yet”.

The drama increases as the album progresses, leaving out the alto sax and letting the rest of the small ensemble carry out the work. Here the composer also pays homage to Bernard Hermann with the ominous string work in “I Have Your Mother” and “Not Zandra Yet”. Broughton also widens the breadth of the scope with rousing “Western Movie” (a brief taste at what he would expand upon for his classic Silverado and Tombstone scores) and the self-mocking “Classical Source; Bumper 1” -- replete with harpsichord!

The soundtrack release of the score is simply impeccable. Not only is the score was recorded in two-track stereo during the original 1983 sessions, but that the score masters (provided by the composer) are in pristine condition. The liner notes say that one of the cues had a slight “crackle” during one of the two 1983 sessions (which is barely noticeable), but aside from that, the score is vibrantly detailed and impeccably mixed. The quality is so good it could’ve been recorded yesterday, and bravo to Intrada for presenting the complete version of this gem! But if you want this score, better hurry and order it from Intrada’s web site -- only 1000 copies are available, so act fast.

Track listing:
1. Main Title (2:14)
2. Meet Brady, Meet Garth (2:18)

3. You’re Not St. Francis; Working With Amateurs (2:41)

4. Shafted (1:03)
5. Garth Runs (1:34)

6. Afterwards (1:21)
7. A Gigantic Black Hole (0:53)

8. Bad Timing (0:31)

9. Classical Source; Bumper 1 (1:58)

10. Not Disappointed (1:06)

11. Western Movie (0:54)
12. Lying to Wolfe (0:25)

13. Brady in Drag; Something to Think About (4:04)
14. Dire Warning (1:50)

15. Running Into Abner (0:33)

16. Take Off Your Pants (1:10)

17. Garth in the Bushes; The Old Statue Ploy (1:56)

18. Talking to the Tail; Bumper 2 (1:00)

19. I Have Your Mother (1:21)

20. The Dingus (1:49)

21. Minetti’s Gone (0:39)

22. Tailed Again; Going to Western Costumes (1:46)

23. Not Zandra Yet; Elevator Ride; Stuffed Heads (3:28)

24. Garth Gets It (4:29)

25. End Credits (1:08)

Total Time: 43:09

Music composed and conducted by Bruce Broughton. Alto sax solos by Bud Shank. Orchestrations by Harold D. Broughton. Album mastered and produced by Douglass Fake.