Do Not See “Lady in a Cage” Alone! Thrills and Chills Come From Kritzerland On New Soundtrack
The name of Paul Glass isn’t nearly as well-known as that of many of his contemporaries, but the Los Angeles-born composer (b. 1934) has carved out a distinguished career writing for the concert stage and the big screen. Yet none of his soundtracks have ever been released on CD until now. Kritzerland is offering the first-ever release in any format of Glass’ score to the 1964 thriller Lady in a Cage. Directed by Walter Grauman (television’s The Fugitive, The Twilight Zone, Streets of San Francisco) and written by Luther Davis (Broadway’s Kismet, Grand Hotel), Lady in a Cage was one of the films to arrive in the wake of 1962’s then-shocking Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? with Olivia De Havilland filling the requisite “aging screen legend” role. De Havilland had lensed the suspenseful Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte just the year before, but in the words of Kritzerland producer Bruce Kimmel, “Lady in a Cage was something wholly other – as nasty as Baby Jane and Charlotte could be, Lady in a Cage was in a whole other universe.”
Glass matched the outré nature of the movie with a score that Kimmel describes as “dissonant, creepy, jagged and perfectly suited to the film.” That’s befitting a picture now considered a cult classic. The film, which also featured James Caan, Ann Sothern and Scatman Crothers, concerns itself with Mrs. Cornelia Hilyard, a moneyed widow with a broken hip who becomes trapped between floors of the elevator cage she has installed in her home. She places a distress call via the elevator’s emergency alarm, but the only response comes from a derelict wino played by Jeff Corey. He becomes fascinated by the treasures that are his for the taking with Hilyard trapped. He brings a prostitute friend (Ann Sothern) back to the house, but they are followed by a trio of unsavory characters. Needless to say, violence breaks out. Will the “trapped, defenseless” lady in a cage survive? The movie poster indicated, “What happens in this elevator is not for the weak. It is, perhaps, not even for the strong!”
Hit the jump for more, including the track listing (spoilers ahead!) and pre-order link!
Glass went on to compose scores for Otto Preminger’s Bunny Lake is Missing as well as several episodes of Rod Serling’s Night Gallery. Kritzerland’s world premiere compact disc release has been mastered from the original three-track scoring sessions housed at Paramount Pictures, and is a limited edition of 1,000 copies. CDs are due to ship the second week of June, but pre-orders made at the label’s own website usually ship an average of four weeks early. The price is just $19.98 plus shipping, and you can take Lady in a Cage home at the link below! In addition, you can find details on a specially-priced combo including Lady in a Cage here!
Paul Glass, Lady in a Cage: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Kritzerland KR 20022-0, 2012)
- Main Title / Letter for Darling / Don’t Shout Love
- Pozegnanie Malcolma
- Empty House / Montage
- The Wino Approaches
- Wino Cuts Hand / The Wine Rack
- Call Your Mummy / Opened and Closed
- Off the Hook / The Beating in the Bedroom
- Men of Tomorrow / Music Box
- We’re Gonna Kill Ya
- Essie Kills the Wino
- Malcolm’s Letter
- Fall from the Cage
- The Landing
- Crawl to Freedom
- Finale
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