The Liquidator (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

The Liquidator (1966) was an M-G-M spy spoof starring Rod Taylor as "Boysie" Oakes, a cowardly assassin who takes orders from Trevor Howard and falls for Howard's secretary, future "Bond girl" Jill St. John. The film was a black-comic look at the secret agent milieu popularized by the James Bond series, filmed in England and on the French Riviera, directed by noted cinematographer Jack Cardiff, and based on the novel by John Gardner. Scoring The Liquidator was the composer who would become iconic for another '60s spy franchise, Mission: Impossible—Lalo Schifrin. The Liquidator was one of Schifrin's first feature-film assignments, which he tackled with his characteristic jazz/symphonic panache, combining eclectic, tuneful source cues with dramatic, avant-garde score—all with a gloriously '60s flair. Schifrin did not attempt to emulate the James Bond scores, but provided his own sense of danger and excitement, making use of many of England's finest jazz players. The Liquidator soundtrack does acknowledge the James Bond films in one major way, which is the presence of Shirley Bassey (Goldfinger, Diamonds Are Forever) singing the main and end titles. Schifrin wrote a memorable title theme (lyrics by Peter Callendar) which fits gloriously into the '60s spy-film tradition—an unusual, dance-like melody, almost a tango—and is belted out with gusto by the distinctive Bassey. The Liquidator was available on LP and cassette but in a shorter program focusing on the source music. This premiere CD of the complete score is entirely in stereo for the soundtrack's definitive presentation. (A vinyl source has been used for a handful of tracks, due to missing masters.) Liner notes feature new interview material with the composer.