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Music by Max Steiner: The Epic Life of Hollywood’s Most Influential Composer

By Steven C. Smith, Oxford University Press, $34.95

FILM SCORE COMPOSERS MAY HAVE FACED THE STEEPEST uphill battle when the movies began to talk. In a new book on Max Steiner, Steve C. Smith quotes Oscar Levant on a post– producer’s incredulous reaction to a new kind of music cue: “‘But where would the audience think the orchestra is coming from?’”