Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
David L. Snell (10 September 1897, Milwaukee, Wisconsin – 27 March 1967, Glendale, California) was a pianist, conductor, composer and music director. He composed the music for over 170 shorts, series or feature films.
Snell studied at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, Wisconsin College and the Meyer Conservatory of Music. He formed his own orchestra, and was the musical director for several stage productions.
He joined Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's music department in 1937, turning out music for a range of films from low-cost "B" movies to expensive features. He would spend his entire film career with MGM. He was conductor, composer, and music director for MGM for twenty-one years. The work could be high pressure. In November 1938 Franz Waxman had just five days to put together the fifty-minute score for A Christmas Carol so it could be released in time for the holiday season. Snell helped out, writing the opening and closing credit cues and half a dozen other cues based on themes provided by Waxman.
Snell wrote music for many full-length films, shorts and B-movie series such as Dr. Kildare, Maisie and The Thin Man. His songs include Under The Stars, Downstream Drifter, Come Back Little Girl Of Mine and Once Over Lightly. His scores often showed first-rate craftsmanship, but his work has generally been ignored, perhaps because in most cases he chose to simply underscore the dialog as opposed to contributing complementary musical ideas. However, for the 1947 Lady in the Lake, based on the Raymond Chandler novel and set around Christmas time, Snell chose to use a choir singing a cappella, providing an austere and effective "black and white" score to accompany the stark black and white cinematography. The moody music echoed Christmas carols.
David L. Snell died in 1967.
Filmography
all 145
Movies 145
Director 3
Producer 1
Liberace Live (1985)
My Old Town (1948)
Alias a Gentleman (1948)
Killer McCoy (1947)
Song of the Thin Man (1947)
Dark Delusion (1947)
Undercover Maisie (1947)
The Mighty McGurk (1947)
Love Laughs at Andy Hardy (1946)
Lady in the Lake (1946)
The Show-Off (1946)
The Cockeyed Miracle (1946)
Bad Bascomb (1946)
Up Goes Maisie (1946)
What Next, Corporal Hargrove? (1945)
The Hidden Eye (1945)
Dangerous Partners (1945)
Twice Blessed (1945)
Keep Your Powder Dry (1945)
Between Two Women (1945)
The Thin Man Goes Home (1944)
Gentle Annie (1944)
Maisie Goes to Reno (1944)
Andy Hardy's Blonde Trouble (1944)
Rationing (1944)
See Here, Private Hargrove (1944)
Twenty Years After (1944)
Swing Fever (1943)
The Man from Down Under (1943)
The Omaha Trail (1942)
The War Against Mrs. Hadley (1942)
Jackass Mail (1942)
Pacific Rendezvous (1942)
Sunday Punch (1942)
Grand Central Murder (1942)
Tarzan's New York Adventure (1942)
Kid Glove Killer (1942)
Acro-Batty (1942)
Going to Press (1942)
The Courtship of Andy Hardy (1942)
Nazi Agent (1942)
The Vanishing Virginian (1942)
Flag of Mercy (1942)
We Must Have Music (1942)
Main Street on the March! (1941)
Tarzan's Secret Treasure (1941)
Shadow of the Thin Man (1941)
Unholy Partners (1941)
Football Thrills of 1940 (1941)
Ringside Maisie (1941)
Down in San Diego (1941)
Billy the Kid (1941)
Love Crazy (1941)
The People Vs. Dr. Kildare (1941)
Washington Melodrama (1941)
The Penalty (1941)
Third Dimensional Murder (1941)
Maisie Was a Lady (1941)
Dr. Kildare's Crisis (1940)
Gallant Sons (1940)
Third Finger, Left Hand (1940)
Sky Murder (1940)
Wyoming (1940)
Dr. Kildare Goes Home (1940)
The Golden Fleecing (1940)
Gold Rush Maisie (1940)
Andy Hardy Meets Debutante (1940)
A Way in the Wilderness (1940)
Phantom Raiders (1940)
Hollywood: Style Center of the World (1940)
20 Mule Team (1940)
The Hidden Master (1940)
Dr. Kildare's Strange Case (1940)
The Ghost Comes Home (1940)
Stuffie (1940)
The Man from Dakota (1940)
Miracle at Lourdes (1939)
Judge Hardy and Son (1939)
Henry Goes Arizona (1939)
Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President (1939)
The Secret of Dr. Kildare (1939)
Dancing Co-Ed (1939)
Thunder Afloat (1939)
Captain Spanky's Show Boat (1939)
Blackmail (1939)
The Women (1939)
These Glamour Girls (1939)
The Story That Couldn't Be Printed (1939)
Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever (1939)
Stronger Than Desire (1939)
The Giant of Norway (1939)
Yankee Doodle Goes to Town (1939)
Angel of Mercy (1939)
Prophet Without Honor (1939)
Calling Dr. Kildare (1939)
The Hardys Ride High (1939)
Happily Buried (1939)
Somewhat Secret (1939)
The Story of Dr. Jenner (1939)
The Story of Alfred Nobel (1939)
Ice Antics (1939)
Heroes at Leisure (1939)
Burn 'Em Up O'Connor (1939)
Another Romance of Celluloid: Electrical Power (1938)
The Great Heart (1938)
Men of Steel (1938)
Once Over Lightly (1938)
Out West with the Hardys (1938)
Passing Parade (1938)
Grid Rules (1938)
Young Dr. Kildare (1938)
Nostradamus (1938)
Football Thrills of 1937 (1938)
The Man on the Rock (1938)
Party Fever (1938)
It's in the Stars (1938)
Bravest of the Brave (1938)
Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938)
The Magician's Daughter (1938)
Anaesthesia (1938)
Hollywood Goes to Town (1938)
Strange Glory (1938)
What Do You Think? Tupapaoo (1938)
Joaquin Murrieta (1938)
The Forgotten Step (1938)
Snow Gets in Your Eyes (1938)
That Mothers Might Live (1938)
Billy Rose's Casa Mañana Revue (1938)
Judge Hardy's Children (1938)
The Canary Comes Across (1938)
What Do You Think? (Number Three) (1938)
You're Only Young Once (1937)
Madame X (1937)
My Dear Miss Aldrich (1937)
Married Before Breakfast (1937)
Song of Revolt (1937)
Carnival in Paris (1937)
The Thirteenth Chair (1937)
A Family Affair (1937)
Bars and Stripes (1937)
Dangerous Number (1937)
Mad Love (1935)
The Thin Man (1934)
Faithless (1932)
Some Time Soon
Ratings
Information
Known ForSound
GenderMale
Birthday1897-09-10
Deathday1967-03-27 (69 years old)
Birth PlaceMilwaukee, United States of America
CitizenshipsUnited States of America
Also Known AsDavid L. Snell, Dave Snell
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