Frank Skinner
male
Born on December 31, 1897 (127 years old)
Passed Away on October 08, 1968
From Meredosia, Illinois, USA
Known for Sound
Biography
Frank Skinner (December 31, 1897 – October 9, 1968) was an American film composer and arranger. Skinner was born in Meredosia, Illinois. A graduate of the Chicago Musical College (now known as the Chicago Conservatory of Music), 16-year-old Frank found employment in vaudeville and began playing in local areas with his brother Carl Skinner of Meredosia Illinois on drums. They were billed as the Skinner Brothers dance band. From there they began playing on the steamboats that went up and down the Illinois River. It was during this time that he began writing and arranging music for dance bands. This work brought him to New York, where from 1925 to 1935 he arranged about 2000 popular songs for Robbins Publishing. By the time he left Manhattan for Hollywood, he had written two books on arranging for dance bands. After a short period at MGM, working on musical settings for The Great Ziegfeld (1936), Skinner was hired by Universal Studios. Over the course of his 30 years there, he composed music for more than 200 films. Although he continued to work on musicals, he quickly mastered the art of dramatic scores, eventually earning five Academy Award nominations (1938–43). He died in Beverly Hills, California, leaving behind his wife Dolly Repine Skinner. His distinctive approach to scoring horror films, such as Son of Frankenstein (1939) and The Wolf Man (1941), has been characterized as a ‘passion for chromatic lines … mirrored contours … [and] restrained, yet ominously mythical orchestrations’ (Marcello). He gained new recognition in the 1950s for his lush romantic scores, including those for such Douglas Sirk films as Magnificent Obsession (1954) and Written on the Wind (1956). Despite many changes in the film industry, his book Underscore (1950) has survived as an excellent introduction to film music composition. In 2014, Dallas pre-swing orchestra, The Singapore Slingers released a fifteen-track CD homage to Skinner's arrangements.
Cast Credits
No credits available
Crew Credits
- 1967
- 1966
- 1965
- 1964
- 1963
- 1961
- 1960
- 1959
- 1958
- 1957
The Tattered Dress
as
Original Music Composer
1957
The Midnight Story
as
Music
1957
Tammy and the Bachelor
as
Original Music Composer
1957
My Man Godfrey
as
Original Music Composer
1957
The Night Runner
as
Music
1957
The Tarnished Angels
as
Original Music Composer
1957
Interlude
as
Original Music Composer
1957
Battle Hymn
as
Music
1957
Man of a Thousand Faces
as
Original Music Composer
1957
- 1956
- 1955
Lady Godiva of Coventry
as
Original Music Composer
1955
The Shrike
as
Music
1955
Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops
as
Music
1955
Six Bridges to Cross
as
Original Music Composer
1955
Foxfire
as
Original Music Composer
1955
All That Heaven Allows
as
Original Music Composer
1955
Revenge of the Creature
as
Music
1955
One Desire
as
Original Music Composer
1955
Chief Crazy Horse
as
Music
1955
- 1954
- 1953
- 1952
No Room for the Groom
as
Music
1952
The Black Castle
as
Music
1952
Because of You
as
Original Music Composer
1952
Sally and Saint Anne
as
Music
1952
Lost in Alaska
as
Music
1952
The World in His Arms
as
Music
1952
Bonzo Goes to College
as
Original Music Composer
1952
Horizons West
as
Additional Music
1952
Bend of the River
as
Additional Music
1952
The Duel at Silver Creek
as
Additional Music
1952
- 1951
The Strange Door
as
Music
1951
Francis Goes to the Races
as
Music
1951
The Mark of the Renegade
as
Music
1951
Week-End with Father
as
Music
1951
The Raging Tide
as
Original Music Composer
1951
Bright Victory
as
Original Music Composer
1951
Comin' Round the Mountain
as
Music
1951
Iron Man
as
Music
1951
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet the Invisible Man
as
Music
1951
Bedtime for Bonzo
as
Original Music Composer
1951
Hollywood Story
as
Original Music Composer
1951
- 1950
Francis
as
Music
1950
Katie Did It
as
Music
1950
Louisa
as
Music
1950
Harvey
as
Music
1950
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in the Foreign Legion
as
Music
1950
Spy Hunt
as
Music
1950
Shakedown
as
Music
1950
The Sleeping City
as
Music Director
1950
The Sleeping City
as
Original Music Composer
1950
Winchester '73
as
Music
1950
The Desert Hawk
as
Original Music Composer
1950
One Way Street
as
Original Music Composer
1950
Comanche Territory
as
Music
1950
- 1949
The Lady Gambles
as
Original Music Composer
1949
Tulsa
as
Original Music Composer
1949
Abandoned
as
Music
1949
Red, Hot and Blue
as
Additional Music
1949
Free For All
as
Music
1949
The Gal Who Took the West
as
Music
1949
Johnny Stool Pigeon
as
Music
1949
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff
as
Music
1949
Bagdad
as
Original Music Composer
1949
Sword in the Desert
as
Original Music Composer
1949
- 1948
- 1947
- 1946
- 1945
- 1944
Destiny
as
Original Music Composer
1944
The Mummy's Curse
as
Music
1944
In Society
as
Music
1944
House of Frankenstein
as
Music
1944
Phantom Lady
as
Additional Music
1944
Reckless Age
as
Original Music Composer
1944
South of Dixie
as
Original Music Composer
1944
Jungle Woman
as
Music
1944
The Mummy's Ghost
as
Music
1944
Hi, Beautiful
as
Original Music Composer
1944
- 1943
The Amazing Mrs. Holliday
as
Original Music Composer
1943
Sherlock Holmes in Washington
as
Music
1943
White Savage
as
Music
1943
Hers to Hold
as
Music
1943
It Ain't Hay
as
Music
1943
Crazy House
as
Orchestrator
1943
Keep 'Em Slugging
as
Original Music Composer
1943
Fired Wife
as
Original Music Composer
1943
All by Myself
as
Original Music Composer
1943
Captive Wild Woman
as
Music
1943
Gung Ho!
as
Original Music Composer
1943
We've Never Been Licked
as
Original Music Composer
1943
- 1942
Saboteur
as
Original Music Composer
1942
Ride 'Em Cowboy
as
Original Music Composer
1942
The Mummy's Tomb
as
Music
1942
Who Done It?
as
Music
1942
Nightmare
as
Music
1942
Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon
as
Original Music Composer
1942
Tough as They Come
as
Original Music Composer
1942
Pittsburgh
as
Music
1942
Arabian Nights
as
Original Music Composer
1942
Invisible Agent
as
Music
1942
There's One Born Every Minute
as
Original Music Composer
1942
Mug Town
as
Original Music Composer
1942
Eagle Squadron
as
Music
1942
Eyes of the Underworld
as
Original Music Composer
1942
Between Us Girls
as
Music
1942
Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror
as
Original Music Composer
1942
Lady in a Jam
as
Original Music Composer
1942
Broadway
as
Original Music Composer
1942
- 1941
The Black Cat
as
Music
1941
The Flame of New Orleans
as
Music
1941
The Wolf Man
as
Music
1941
Nice Girl?
as
Music
1941
Hold That Ghost
as
Music
1941
Hellzapoppin'
as
Original Music Composer
1941
Riders of Death Valley
as
Original Music Composer
1941
- no image
Moonlight in Hawaii
as
Orchestrator
1941
Man-Made Monster
as
Music
1941
Horror Island
as
Music
1941
Keep 'Em Flying
as
Original Music Composer
1941
Never Give a Sucker an Even Break
as
Original Music Composer
1941
Nice Girl?
as
Orchestrator
1941
Back Street
as
Original Music Composer
1941
Appointment for Love
as
Music
1941
Badlands of Dakota
as
Music
1941
- 1940
The Invisible Man Returns
as
Original Music Composer
1940
Seven Sinners
as
Original Music Composer
1940
The Mummy's Hand
as
Music
1940
It's a Date
as
Songs
1940
When the Daltons Rode
as
Original Music Composer
1940
The Invisible Woman
as
Original Music Composer
1940
Black Friday
as
Original Music Composer
1940
La Conga Nights
as
Original Music Composer
1940
Hired Wife
as
Music Score Producer
1940
The House of the Seven Gables
as
Music
1940
Green Hell
as
Original Music Composer
1940
One Night in the Tropics
as
Music
1940
One Night in the Tropics
as
Orchestrator
1940
South to Karanga
as
Music Score Producer
1940
My Little Chickadee
as
Music Score Producer
1940
- 1939
Tower of London
as
Original Music Composer
1939
Destry Rides Again
as
Original Music Composer
1939
Three Smart Girls Grow Up
as
Music
1939
First Love
as
Music
1939
Son of Frankenstein
as
Orchestrator
1939
Tower of London
as
Orchestrator
1939
The Witness Vanishes
as
Original Music Composer
1939
Charlie McCarthy, Detective
as
Original Music Composer
1939
Son of Frankenstein
as
Original Music Composer
1939
The Sun Never Sets
as
Original Music Composer
1939
Ex-Champ
as
Original Music Composer
1939
One Hour To Live
as
Music
1939
The House of Fear
as
Music
1939
The Big Guy
as
Music
1939
- 1938
- 1937
