MovieChat Forums > The Ladykillers (1956) Discussion > What's the Music?? Not Boccherini Op11/n...

What's the Music?? Not Boccherini Op11/no5 but............????

posted 19 years ago by gentlemedusa1
10 replies | jump to latest

What is the piece of music playing during the scene in which Peter Sellers, Cecil Parker and Danny Green are attempting to catch Mrs Wilberforce's parrot? Herbert Lom is left by himself, while the others are catching 'General Gordon', and because of a thump from down below the record sticks, so Lom takes it from the player and breaks it.

It is not, despite what the entire internet seems to be united in saying, Boccherini Op 11 No.5- this is played, but not during this scene.
I thought it might be Haydn and have listened to all the free samples on Amazon for both him and Bocherini, but to no avail.

Does anyone know????? Tony

[–] chris-2086 19 years ago

Could someone please answer this???? Come on.... I am waiting.

[–] amsnare 18 years ago

Patience, patience
But I do not know
All the rest is the most beautiful Boccherini op 11 no 5, but I can find no record nor CD containing this..Some of his work may have been destroyed during the Spanish Civil War.....
damned war !!
It is so melodious, and I'll bet W A Mozart has a piece, a string quartet perhaps, that is very similar..

[–] kim-ravn-jensen 18 years ago

It is known as the "Andante cantabile", the second movement (C major) of the "Serenaden-Quartett" in F major, published in 1777. It has for many years been attributed to Joseph Haydn as opus 3 no. 5 or Hob. III:17 but is today attributed to the Austrian monk and composer Roman Hofstetter (1742-1815).

[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] leo_delauncey 18 years ago

I would really like to know what the music at the end is, when Mrs Wilberforce is walking home without her umbrella. Any one know?

[–] kim-ravn-jensen 18 years ago

It is "The Last Rose of Summer", music by Thomas Moore (1779-1852) and lyrics by John Stevenson (1761-1833), presumably played by some kind of barrel organ.

[–] UncleJack 18 years ago

Hey, thank you kim-ravn-jensen!

I knew "The Last Rose of Summer" played on the music box, and "Silver Threads Among The Gold" on the player piano (oh, don't you feel for Professor Marcus - not only is his master plan now revealed but he is reduced from leading a string quartet of almost professional standard to pumping a mere music machine).

But I never realised the music wasn't all Boccherini - I suppose I was fooled by the pizzicato which sounds similar - to my poor ears at least. The apparant continuity error with Louis breaking the record hadn't really bothered me, but I had wondered about Mrs Wilberforce not noticing them playing a quintet with only four musicians - the Professor being out at the time. How thoughtful of him to leave them a quartet to practice. All the same, to put the record back on after Harry had left the room was rather foolhardy.

[–] onepotato2 16 years ago

I love this movie but if I had to hear that freaking minuet one more time, I was going to dig up the corpse of the Ealing music supervisor and slap him.

Couldn't they practice a handful of pieces?

[–] franklinlj 9 years ago

Hey, that was part of the gag. I think the makers *knew* it was annoying. Remember Herbert Lom's soho spiv? At one point he picks up the record with a slightly bored expression to read the label, then, without changing expression, smashes the damn thing into pieces. That is the last we hear of it.

Just one of many fine gags in this great film.

[–] goines-jeffrey 16 years ago

Thanks, Kim. I've always wondered what that piece was.