THE SEVENTH SIN

The Seventh Sin is the 1957 filming of W. Somerset Maugham's novel The Painted Veil, an exotic tale of personal redemption earlier produced with Greta Garbo. Eleanor Parker plays a brittle adulteress who accompanies her doctor husband (Bill Travers) to a cholera-stricken region of China, where she undergoes a profound transformation with the help of the local convent and a cynical bystander played by George Sanders.

The film's score is by Miklós Rózsa and a powerful convergence of three of his styles: his "epic" work of the period (late '50s M-G-M—the theme bears a resemblance to his questing melody for Lust for Life); his "film noir" moods (for the story's marital infidelities); and his "exotic" style (for the remote Asian setting). A highlight is "East Meets West/Tea Party," where Rózsa's enchanting music turns a small personal gathering into a supple, transcendent affair.

FSM's premiere CD of The Seventh Sin features the complete underscore followed by the film's source music: a 17:28 suite of Chinese-styled pieces (written by Rózsa to emulate Hong Kong records) and a waltz re-recorded from The Story of Three Loves (1953). The soundtrack is presented in the best-possible monaural sound, as it was originally recorded onto mono 17.5mm magnetic film rather than the stereo 35mm magnetic film customary for the period.

Prelude 2:15
Briefcase 1:55
Alibi/Mystery Story 4:26
Homecoming 1:21
Boat Trip 0:51
Cortege 2:16
Alone 0:49
Nursery/Turmoil/Reminiscences 5:38
Rape 2:07
East Meets West/Tea Party 5:25
New Life 2:20
Home 1:15
Bad News/Rough Passage/Forgiveness 7:17
Finale 2:01
Total Time: 40:32

Source Music

Chinese Montage 16:27
Waltz 2:23
Total Time: 18:54

Total Disc Time: 59:26