Frank Skinner
Known For: Sound
Gender: Male
Date of Birth: December 31, 1897
Day of Death: October 8, 1968 (71 years old)
Place of Birth: Meredosia, Illinois, USA
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.
1967
1966
1965
1964
1963
1961
1960
1959
1958
1957
Original Music Composer
Tammy and the Bachelor
Original Music Composer
My Man Godfrey
Original Music Composer
The Tarnished Angels
Original Music Composer
Interlude
Music
Battle Hymn
Original Music Composer
Man of a Thousand Faces
Original Music Composer
The Tattered Dress
Music
The Midnight Story
Music
The Night Runner
1956
1955
Original Music Composer
Lady Godiva of Coventry
Original Music Composer
All That Heaven Allows
Original Music Composer
One Desire
Music
Chief Crazy Horse
Music
The Shrike
Music
Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops
Music
Revenge of the Creature
Original Music Composer
6 Bridges to Cross
Original Music Composer
Foxfire
1954
1953
1952
1951
Music
Hollywood Story
Music
The Strange Door
Music
The Mark of the Renegade
Music
Week-End with Father
Music
Francis Goes to the Races
Original Music Composer
The Raging Tide
Original Music Composer
Bright Victory
Music
Comin' Round the Mountain
Music
Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man
Music
Iron Man
Original Music Composer
Bedtime for Bonzo
1950
1949
Original Music Composer
The Lady Gambles
Original Music Composer
Bagdad
Original Music Composer
Sword in the Desert
Original Music Composer
Tulsa
Additional Music
Red, Hot and Blue
Music
Free For All
Music
The Gal Who Took the West
Music
Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff
Music
Abandoned
Music
Johnny Stool Pigeon
1948
1947
1946
1945
1944
1943
Original Music Composer
The Amazing Mrs. Holliday
Original Music Composer
Keep 'Em Slugging
Original Music Composer
Fired Wife
Original Music Composer
All by Myself
Original Music Composer
Gung Ho!
Music
Hers to Hold
Music
Sherlock Holmes in Washington
Music
White Savage
Music
It Ain't Hay
Orchestrator
Crazy House
Music
Captive Wild Woman
1942
Original Music Composer
Saboteur
Original Music Composer
There's One Born Every Minute
Original Music Composer
Tough as They Come
Original Music Composer
Arabian Nights
Original Music Composer
Mug Town
Music
Eagle Squadron
Music
The Mummy's Tomb
Music
Nightmare
Original Music Composer
Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon
Music
Who Done It?
Music
Invisible Agent
Original Music Composer
Ride 'Em Cowboy
Music
Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror
Music
Pittsburgh
Original Music Composer
Eyes of the Underworld
1941
Original Music Composer
Hellzapoppin'
Original Music Composer
Riders of Death Valley
Original Music Composer
Never Give a Sucker an Even Break
Original Music Composer
Keep 'Em Flying
Orchestrator
Nice Girl?
Music
Appointment for Love
Music
The Black Cat
Music
The Flame of New Orleans
Music
The Wolf Man
Music
Nice Girl?
Music
Hold That Ghost
Music
Man-Made Monster
Music
Horror Island
Orchestrator
Moonlight in Hawaii
Original Music Composer
Back Street
1940
Original Music Composer
The Invisible Man Returns
Original Music Composer
When the Daltons Rode
Original Music Composer
The Invisible Woman
Original Music Composer
La Conga Nights
Music Score Producer
Hired Wife
Music
The House of the Seven Gables
Original Music Composer
Green Hell
Orchestrator
One Night in the Tropics
Music
One Night in the Tropics
Music Score Producer
South to Karanga
Music Score Producer
My Little Chickadee
Music
The Mummy's Hand
Original Music Composer
Seven Sinners
Original Music Composer
Black Friday
Songs
It's a Date
1939
Original Music Composer
Tower of London
Original Music Composer
Destry Rides Again
Original Music Composer
Son of Frankenstein
Original Music Composer
Charlie McCarthy, Detective
Original Music Composer
The Sun Never Sets
Original Music Composer
Ex-Champ
Music
One Hour To Live
Music
The House of Fear
Music
The Big Guy
Music
Three Smart Girls Grow Up
Music
First Love
Orchestrator
Son of Frankenstein
Orchestrator
Tower of London
Original Music Composer
The Witness Vanishes
