Dimitri Tiomkin 55 DAYS AT PEKING LP Samuel Bronston Niven Film Soundtrack OST

	£		15
	$		20

Here I have for sale the British release of the original motion picture soundtrack LP to ‘55 Days At Peking’ (1963), composed by Dimitri Tiomkin conducting the Sinfonia of London, and featuring the love theme sung by Andy Williams.

Dimitri Tiomkin ?– 55 Days At Peking (The Original Soundtrack Recording) (1963)

Condition (refer also to notes at bottom):
Vinyl – G. Clean on visual inspection. Played just pre-listing and sound clarity is good. Some slight distortion in places with clicks/pops in places and surface noise is light. The Andy Williams song opening side B sounds very good in particular!
Outer sleeve (Cover) – G. Colours remain vibrant and unfaded. Wonderful laminated front. Disc showthrough outline evident on front and reverse. no obvious edge wear. Corner damage is mild. However, sellotape residue evident all round edge of front and reverse, where yellow stains are. Vein-like creases coming in from edges, notably spine. Reverse has dirt and sellotape residue is more obvious, especially on flipbacks. Some rubbing where disc outline is.
Inner sleeve – VG. Original. White ‘window’ paper with plastic lining. Minor folding and creasing. Green handwritten wording on one side says ’55 days at Peking’.


Label: CBS ?– BPG 62148 (Orange textured disc labels)
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Mono
Country: UK
Released: 1963
Genre: Stage & Screen, Instrumental, NeoClassical, Theme
Style: Soundtrack, Contemporary, Score, Easy Listening


Track listing:
A1. Overture    
A2. Main Title    
A3. Welcome Marines    
A4. Hotel Blanc    
A5. Explosion Of The Arsenal    
A6. Natasha’s Waltz    
A7. The Peking Theme (So Little Time)

B1. The Peking Theme (So Little Time) – Vocals: Andy Williams
B2. Children's Corner    
B3. Moon Fire    
B4. Attack On The French Legation    
B5. Death Of Natasha    
B6. Help Arrives    
B7. End Title    

Orchestra – The Sinfonia Of London

On the sleeve:
CBS – BPG 62148 – CL 2028

On the disc labels:
CBS – BPG 62148 –(CL 2028)
Recording first published 1963
Made in England


Review of the score:

55 Days at Peking is an epic film which joined politics and a love story as it explored European imperialism at the dawn of the 20th century. Set in Peking (now Beijing) we see the capital city occupied and under the financial domination of eleven European countries and Japan.

They exploit the populace, are immune from Chinese laws and compete for economic control. A populist peasant rebellion called the Boxers rises up with fury and covert support from the Dowager Empress to expel the foreigners and restore Chinese honor and sovereignty.

Producer Samuel Bronston assembled a stellar cast that included Charlton Heston as U.S. Major Matt Lewis, Ava Gardner as Russian Baroness, Natalie Ivanoff with whom he falls in love and David Niven as Sir Arthur Robinson, head of the British delegation.

Regretfully despite the grandeur of its sets, its splendor and pageantry, the film’s narrative was uninspired, its script weak, and it suffered massive production challenges; implacable hostility between Heston and Gardner (she quit the film and they were forced to kill off her character!), went through four directors and ended up being both a commercial and critical failure.

Bronston had a falling out with his usual composer Miklós Rózsa over forced edits of his “El Cid” score and so turned to Dimitri Tiomkin.

He invited him to sit in on filming and to take in the grand sets of the Imperial complex. Tiomkin who was no stranger to exotic and epic films created a complex, rich, ethnic score that provided four engaging themes.

The Rebellion Theme is the main theme, which animates the entire score, appearing in multiple guises. It is an aggressive, driving, militaristic melody infused subtly with oriental coloring.

The second theme is the intimate Natasha’s Theme, which is emoted by lyrical solo violin, accented with bayan and expresses a Russian sensibility. The third theme is the Moon Fire Theme, which displays both innocence and yearning as it speaks to the unspoken love between Theresa and Matt.

Lastly, we have the Love Theme that underscored the doomed relationship between the Natasha and Matt. This theme is the melody for the Oscar nominated song “So Little Time”. The score achieved critical success being nominated for two Oscars – best score and best song, but lost to Tom Jones.


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Postage and packaging FREE to UK.

Will post worldwide.
Europe (Royal Mail International Standard) – £6.50.
Europe (Royal Mail International Tracked and Signed) – £11
N and S America, USA, Canada (Royal Mail International Standard) – £9
Asia, Australia, Japan (Royal Mail International Standard) – £11.

Sorry but no returns are accepted.

Payment by cheque (UK only) or Paypal please.

Please see my other soundtrack listings.

Thanks for looking and happy eBaying!



ITEM CONDITION - items are graded according to Record Collector definitions - see below:

MINT: The record itself is in brand new condition with no surface marks or deterioration in sound quality. The cover and any extra items such as the lyric sheet, booklet or poster are in perfect condition. Records advertised as Sealed or Unplayed should be Mint.

EXCELLENT: The record shows some signs of having been played, but there is very little lessening in sound quality. The cover and packaging might have slight wear and / or creasing.

VERY GOOD: The record has obviously been played many times, but displays no major deterioration in sound quality, despite noticeable surface marks and the occasional light scratch. Normal wear and tear on the cover or extra items, without any major defects, is acceptable.

GOOD: The record has been played so much that the sound quality has noticeably deteriorated, perhaps with some distortion and mild scratches. The cover and contents suffer from folding, scuffing of edges, spine splits, discolouration, etc.

FAIR: The record is still just playable but has not been cared for properly and displays considerable surface noise; it may even jump. The cover and contents will be torn, stained and / or defaced.

POOR: The record will not play properly due to scratches, bad surface noise, etc. The cover and contents will be badly damaged or partly missing.

BAD: The record is unplayable or might even be broken, and is only of use as a collection filler.