{"id":4249,"date":"2017-10-01T08:00:11","date_gmt":"2017-10-01T08:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.afm47.org\/press\/?p=4249"},"modified":"2017-09-19T20:50:46","modified_gmt":"2017-09-19T20:50:46","slug":"three-pianists-of-casablanca","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/afm47.org\/press\/three-pianists-of-casablanca\/","title":{"rendered":"Who Played It Again, Sam? The Three Pianists of \u2018Casablanca\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"by Robert E. Wallace, Ph.D.<\/em><\/p>\n

On a day in late May of 1942, Michael Curtiz began filming Casablanca<\/em> on the Warner Brothers lot.\u00a0 That day, two pianists were on set to record the flashback scene set in Montmartre1<\/sup>, and one of many recordings of Herman Hupfield\u2019s \u201cAs Time Goes By.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Later in production, three pianists were present to record the song in the scene in Rick\u2019s Caf\u00e9 with Sam singing for Ilsa1<\/sup>.\u00a0 It remains an open question of just whose piano is heard playing in the film.\u00a0 A popularly held notion is that Dooley Wilson\u2019s friend, Elliot Carpenter, was responsible for these pieces in the released film.\u00a0 The following detailed review shows that a studio musician, Jean Plummer, should get the credit.<\/p>\n

Who were the players?\u00a0 William Ellfeldt, possibly the AFM representative, was a pianist and arranger for screen and stage (New York and Los Angeles) and who often made piano reductions for stage productions and for film studios2-7<\/sup>. \u00a0Elliot Carpenter, who auditioned for the role of Sam, had an established career in the United States and in London and Paris between world wars1,8,9<\/sup>.\u00a0 His band, the Red Devils performed in London and Paris from 1920 until 1923 when he returned to New York9<\/sup>.\u00a0 At the same time, Dooley Wilson was in London and Paris drumming and singing with the Red Devils, presumably the second version of the band with Elliot Carpenter9-11<\/sup>.\u00a0 Jean Vincent Plummer was a Los Angeles based studio pianist for film, stage, live performance, and live radio. \u00a0It will appear that he played all live piano in the film.\u00a0 Once finished with work on this film, he was drafted to the Army becoming the principal pianist for the Armed Forces Radio Network Orchestra12<\/sup>. \u00a0Jean Plummer was also staff pianist for CBS Radio and the Screen Guild Theater, ABC\u2019s The Railroad Hour, and had a long career working with Paul Whiteman, Meredith Wilson, Carmen Dragon, and many others12<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

Film production notes, Daily Production and Progress Reports, memoranda, and the editor\u2019s script have been compared with pay records supplied during production to the American Federation of Musicians, Local 47, by Warner Brothers Studios1,13<\/sup>.\u00a0 Furthermore, a forensic musicologist compared playing examples with the music in the released film14<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

As an example, Howard Rye mentioned that Maine born, popular Crescent City pianist, Earl Roach, claimed to have played \u201cAs Time Goes By\u201d in the film9,15<\/sup>.\u00a0 As there exists no mention of him in either the production records of the film or in the AFM pay records, his claim may be dismissed.<\/p>\n

At a 30th<\/sup> anniversary screening of the film at the Doheny Plaza (Writers\u2019 Guild) Theater, a captioned photograph of Paul Henreid with Elliot Carpenter noted that \u201c\u2026Carpenter played \u201cAs Time Goes By\u201d for actor Dooley Wilson\u201d 16<\/sup>.\u00a0 Soon thereafter, Carpenter wrote to his old friend Eubie Blake that he had finally been recognized for his work17,18<\/sup>.\u00a0 Nothing else appears in press or archives on this subject, although this caption seems to have established the common notion.<\/p>\n

The thought that Elliot Carpenter played this and all other material for the film can be found in several popular books19-22<\/sup>.\u00a0\u00a0 Aljean Harmetz\u2019 popular history23,24<\/sup> of the making of the film references only the Daily Production and Progress Report from 25-May-19421<\/sup> where Ellfeldt and Carpenter are identified as musicians on set and has Carpenter recording, although neither were paid13<\/sup>.\u00a0 It is easy to surmise from one document that he played this song for the many times it or themes adapted by Max Steiner appear in the film.\u00a0 By both a detailed history and musicology, this does not prove to be the case.<\/p>\n

Production for this film began the 9th<\/sup> of April, 1942 with screen test and sound tests continuing through the 14th<\/sup> of May. \u00a0Both Plummer and Ellfeldt started on the 10th<\/sup> and were paid through July to the end of production the 3rd<\/sup> of August and through to the end of post-production in late August1,13<\/sup>.\u00a0 Carpenter shows on set for just four days, paid only to record on the 9th<\/sup> of June and to sideline on the 11th<\/sup> of July.\u00a0 In contrast, Plummer was paid for all of the fourteen days he was called to work.<\/p>\n

In the weeks before the first slate on May 25th<\/sup>, Jean Plummer was paid to sideline on each of the four days that Dooley Wilson was made available from MGM.\u00a0 Plummer was called to sideline on the 28th<\/sup> for scenes in the Gambling Room of Rick\u2019s while Wilson is shown as held.\u00a0 Again, on the 29th<\/sup>, Plummer is called to sideline while the Daily Report showed Wilson recording all day at the music department.\u00a0 Two production days later, synchronized playback used the pre-recorded disk, D5426, containing Dooley Wilson, with piano accompaniment, singing of \u201cKnock On Wood\u201d and \u201cDat\u2019s What Noah Done.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 This disk, as were others later, was composited to film stock and used several times throughout the production.\u00a0 Given the assignments, timeline, and pay records, it was Plummer who provided the accompaniment.\u00a0 In mid-June, Plummer worked about two hours after the set closed.\u00a0 The next day, June 13th<\/sup>, disk D5447 first appears in synchronized playback and contained \u201cIt Had To Be You\u201d and \u201cShine.\u201d\u00a0 Late June, the 24th<\/sup>, has Plummer on-set for live-action standard recording of “Parlez Moi D\u2019Amour” and “If I Could Be With You” with a five piece orchestra and six singers.\u00a0 June 29th<\/sup> finds Plummer paid for a double recording session while the cast shot scenes in the Caf\u00e9 that lead to the flashback to Montmartre.\u00a0 The next day, these scenes were re-shot using forty minutes of unspecified synchronized playback.<\/p>\n

On several dates in June and early July, Ellfeldt managed the standard and playback recording of\u00a0 \u201cWatch on the Rhine\u201d and \u201cLa Marseillaise,\u201d each time adding more orchestration and singers.<\/p>\n

After Max Steiner was assigned to write the film\u2019s score on July 11th<\/sup> and then, for several days through August 24th<\/sup>, Ellfeldt managed the recording of the film score.\u00a0 Plummer was recalled the last day on the 25th<\/sup> of August for a double recording session, also for the score.<\/p>\n

Notably, both Carpenter and Ellfeldt were on set for recording but not paid, for scene 117 (May 25th<\/sup> slates A1-A5), the flashback in Montmartre, and scene 105 (June 15th<\/sup> slates A217-219), the lead-in at Rick\u2019s Caf\u00e9 to the flashback.\u00a0 Scene #94 when Sam sings for Ilsa in Rick\u2019s Caf\u00e9 was shot on two days with different personnel recording the same material.\u00a0 The film editor\u2019s script25<\/sup> shows that, on June 9th<\/sup>, slate 164, with Plummer, covered the full scene and that slates 165 -167, with Carpenter, also covered the full scene.\u00a0 It appears from the editor\u2019s time-lines that slates 167, and 173 to 178, with Ellfeldt on June 10th<\/sup>, were used only for dialogue.\u00a0 The editor\u2019s script shows all these slates were intercut and gives no detail of which performance made into the released film.\u00a0 For this, a musicologist was consulted.<\/p>\n

To determine who played piano in that scene, contemporary (i.e., 1940\u2019s) examples of both pianists and soundtrack audio clips were abstracted from a studio release of the film on DVD26<\/sup>.\u00a0 This material was provided to a forensic musicologist.\u00a0 Examples from the film are for scene 94 in Rick\u2019s Caf\u00e9 at 32minutes, 37seconds to 33m28s, scene 105 of the flashback interlude at 38m15s, and scene 117 in Montmartre at 42m15s through 43m00s.\u00a0 Examples of Jean Plummer were provided from Armed Force Radio Service Orchestra secondary studio acetate recordings held by his heirs12<\/sup> of selected standards of the era including, \u201cThis Can\u2019t Be Love,\u201d \u201cBlues In The Night,\u201d and a Plummer composition for the AFRS orchestra, \u201cAccent On Rhythm.\u201d\u00a0 Few examples of Elliot Carpenter exist.\u00a0 However, a discography provided by Rye9<\/sup> noted the DECCA #40006a\/b studio recording of Dooley Wilson accompanied on piano by Elliot Carpenter performing both \u201cAs Time Goes By\u201d and \u201cKnock On Wood.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Public release of the 78rpm disc was in late 1943 just after DECCA was the first company to settle with AFM over studio musicians\u2019 pay.\u00a0 A digitized copy of a disc having verified authenticity, and mechanical rights for copy, was obtained for musicological review.\u00a0 \u00a0Since there was no direct comparison available of each playing \u201cAs Time Goes By,\u201d a request to audition sound from corresponding slates 164-167, A1, 217, and 219 was pursued with Warner Brothers.\u00a0 The studio responded that these materials were not kept long after the film was released.<\/p>\n

The musicologist\u2019s conclusion, based on the materials provided, is that Carpenter is not the pianist on the soundtrack14<\/sup>.\u00a0\u00a0 His forensic review compared figurative style in improvised parts of the material.\u00a0 It is expected that a performer would have the same or similar style between the two performances, one for the film and the other, later in the studio.\u00a0 Also expected is that each performer has signature decoration and improvisational approach that constitute the distinctive style of each pianist.\u00a0 On this basis, the musicologist\u2019s review stated that the DECCA recording is stylistically inconsistent with the soundtrack and concluded, \u201cthe pianist on the soundtrack does very different things than Carpenter does accompanying Wilson in the studio.\u201d<\/p>\n

From the foregoing, it can be concluded that all piano performance can be attributed to Jean Plummer.\u00a0\u00a0 It has been shown that he had ample paid time to pre\/live\/post-record all of the performances of \u201cAs Time Goes By.\u201d\u00a0 Also, it can be concluded that while Elliot Carpenter may have been recorded on-set, his work does not show in the released film. \u00a0\u00a0Furthermore, the interpretation of the Daily Progress Report of 25-May-1942 found in Harmetz\u2019 books is leading, at best inconclusive, and falls under detailed scrutiny. \u00a0Finally, what the audience hears in the released film is the piano of Jean Plummer.<\/p>\n

Acknowledgments:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thanks to so many people who have been helpful in this endeavor.<\/p>\n