History of Theremin in Films
History tells us that, one hundred years ago, the Soviet scientist Leon Theremin accidentally set out to develop an electronic device to measure the density of gasses and ended up inventing a musical instrument. At first, Theremin’s measuring device sought to generate electrical oscillations in a cathode lamp. A test gas was placed in a cavity between metal plates and became an element in an oscillating circuit, affecting the frequency of the electrical oscillations. The scientist noticed how the sound emitted by his invention varied depending on the position his hands were in, and, after playing around a bit, noticed that composing a melody was not difficult. Theremin had liked music since childhood and knew how to play it, after all.
What he later understood was that the presence of a body in an electromagnetic field altered the frequency reproduced by the device. Thus, it was enough to bring his hand close to its right antenna to modify the notes emitted, while bringing it to the left one changed the intensity of the volume. His body conducted the electric current. Then, in November 1920, at a meeting with some of his colleagues, he gave a short concert. Nowadays, it is considered a professional instrument like any other, and music students go through serious headaches learning to play it:
But the history of this instrument necessarily relates to cinema. The Soviet scientist visited the United States in the 1940s and the Hollywood industry immediately set its eyes on this new device. Due to its characteristic sounds, it was used as a soundtrack in many horror and science fiction movies.
Let’s see.
In fact, the first film to use this instrument in its soundtrack was a 1931 Soviet film called Odna (“One”), by Grigori Kozintsev and Leonid Trauberg. Then it was Alfred Hitchcock who used it for the first time in the USA in 1945 with his film Spellbound. The thereminist hired was Miklos Rosza, and he won an Oscar for best soundtrack thanks to it. At the time, the sound of the theremin did not evoke space, parallel dimensions, or an alien invasion: it was simply mysterious and suitable for building the suspenseful atmosphere Hitchcock was looking for. However, that idea was not long in coming.
In 1951, Rocketship X-M was released, in which some astronauts travel to the moon, but (spoiler alert…) a meteorite interferes with the ship’s route, and, surprisingly, they end up on Mars. On this planet, they encounter a particularly hostile Martian civilization, and the theremin music is perfect for the orchestral landscape played by Ferde Grofé. In this way, this film laid the musical foundations of space and alien sound for the films that followed, such as The Thing from Another World or It Came from Outer Space. The interesting thing about the latter is the minimalism of the soundtrack, since, throughout the film, only a four-note melody is played, well-used, though, with that typical ululating sound that makes us think of beings from other worlds.
After the aliens and outer space trend, the theremin was used in a new genre which included the undead, giant monsters, and mutants. An example from this era was John Brahm’s The Mad Magician (1954). In this B-movie, a legend is present: Vincent Price. Another example is The Day the World Ended (1955), one of those famous low-budget films — that teach how to make the most of it. A group of survivors of a nuclear holocaust encounter a mutant created by radioactivity. A gem that tapped into those memorable Cold War nuke terrors.
But, undoubtedly, the film of that era that takes the theremin sound to a new level of experimentation is Voodoo Island (1957), a zombie movie with the famous actor (and eternal enemy of Bela Lugosi) Boris Karloff. In this film, the theremin reaches high degrees of tension with one, and, in some cases, two notes. In this case, it can be said that the theremin was rather a sound effect than the soundtrack itself (but still, there are also melodic moments.) This treatment of the theremin is an exception in cinema history, and you will not come across another case like this.
In the following decade, there’s Billy the Kid versus Dracula, directed by William Beaudine in 1966 — a mix of vampires and cowboys, with a creepy theremin sound in the background. For the rest of the decade and beyond, films like this one continued to use this instrument, though less and less frequently. In the 1980s, horror films began to include stochastic music, such as that composed by Iannis Xenakis, or the haunting melodies of György Ligeti.
However, after a long time, we hear the theremin again in films that refer to B movies, such as Ed Wood (1994) or Mars Attack (1996), both directed by Tim Burton. Nowadays, it is not used much in films (much less in horror ones) but it is still an interesting sound resource.
If you need advice for the sound of your productions to reach those levels of experimentation you dream of, do not hesitate to contact us (enhanced media sound studio). We will be happy to help you!
