Ennio Morricone's Score to Duck You Sucker

Ennio Morricone is known for creating unusual film scores to spaghetti westerns, especially those made by Sergio Leone. His score to Duck You Sucker continues this legend by incorporating a variety of instruments, voices and themes. One specific song, entitled March of the Beggars, is a good example of the odd mix of sound that Morricone produces. March of the Beggars coincides with the beginning of a revolution. The song, which starts with the repetition of an unidentified word and includes the opening phrase from Mozart's Eine Kleine Nacht Musik, accompanies scenes of humor and excitement. This mix of obscure voices and classical themes with scenes of discovery and gunfire exemplifies the conflict between the ordinary and extraordinary. Morricone's score, through its stability of failure, emphasizes the conflict between order and disorder that exists throughout the score of Duck You Sucker.

The conflict inherent in Morricone's score begins at the beginning of March of the Beggars, a song that plays at the beginning of a revolution scene. The song starts with an unidentified word coming from an unidentified voice. If one were forced to describe what was happening at the beginning of this piece, one could say it is a low voice, probably male, saying the word "wop" or something similar in sound. The sound produced by the bass tone could also be copying the instrument that accompanies it. This sound, although slightly identifiable, does not exist in language - there is no signifier to express what the audience is hearing at this moment. The "voice" is mixed with a common symbol for structure - the snare drum. The snare drum is an instrument heavily used in marches and often invokes armies advancing upon one another. By combining the unidentified voice with the controlled snare Morricone is strengthening the conflict between structure and confusion.

Another way Morricone creates a conflict is within the rhythm of the song itself. The song commonly known as "charge" occurs before the characters advance upon the bank. As the revolution begins, a variation of the well-known song played by a trumpet sounds and lingers. The high note hangs in the air almost as if it is expecting the return yell of "charge"! Although the rest of the song until this point has been methodical in its steady rhythm, this section hovers without a clear direction. Shortly thereafter, the reoccurring theme in the song is cut off to be replaced with a softer, more fluid melody only to jump back to the bouncy yet steady beat that makes up most of the song. During this scene a gunfight occurs, the protagonist's group looks for money, and another gunfight ensues down in the basement. This jump from a steady drumbeat to a loose melody intensifies the scenes on the screen but also the inherent conflict between stability and disorder. A final play on rhythm comes at the end of the song, when it noticeably speeds up. The ceaseless drumbeat that has existed throughout the song, that matches the ceaseless discovery of prisoners of state in the scene it accompanies, is suddenly sped up as everyone in the scene gathers at the bank's vault. The change in rhythm heightens the anticipation in the scene but also perpetuates the internal conflict of the music.

March of the Beggars not only combines rhythms but known and unknown instruments as well. Guitars, trumpets and flutes can be identified easily in the musical rotation but also in the mix are sounds that are not so recognizable. The other sounds are typical of what one would find on a keyboard (like the Clavinova) or some other electronic device that simulates musical instruments. On such similar instruments a button can be pushed to change the sound from that of a piano to that of a drum set, a string section or woodwind. Although the button pushed may resemble woodwinds it will not match the woody sound of a clarinet or haunting timbre of an oboe. The difference between the electronic trombone and a live trombone are unmistakable and show up on Morricone's score. Other sounds are not as easy to identify. At the end of the scene it seems as if a choir, string section and/or high-pitched unidentified objects or persons are rejoicing. The confusion caused by this moment is typical of the confusion found throughout the song as well as the entire score.

A final example of Morricone's playfulness with the conflict between organization and chaos occurs when Eine Kleine Nacht Musik enters the mix of known and unknown instruments, unidentifiable voices and recognizable themes. Even if one cannot name what movement or style of Mozart's they are hearing, they can still recognize it as a common theme and most likely can attach Mozart's name. The opening phrase to Eine Kleine Nacht Musik is popular and has many connotations. A common image that springs to mind upon hearing the phrase is a classy setting, men in tuxedos and girls in formal dresses - not a bank robbery and hidden prisoners of the state. Also, the phrase connotes structure; the notes are crisp and even. Setting this theme in the midst of a revolution further exemplifies the conflict inherent in the score. The theme is played on a variety of instruments and each time it is played the other instruments remain silent. The contrast between the crisp notes and the chaotic setting as well as the single instrument and silence continues the overall conflict between stability and failure.

Morricone's musical score has an inherent conflict between stability and failure that he constantly enhances. This internal conflict adds to Leone's film and increases the audience's participation in the film. The mixing of instruments, the confusion caused by unknown voices in the middle of symphonic music and the meshing of recognizable themes with a monotonous plucky background is not typical of a spaghetti western film score. But precisely because it is not typical, it is refreshing. The stability in Morricone's failure causes the audience to be more attentive and therefore causes Duck You Sucker to succeed.

Works Cited

Duck You Sucker. Dir. Sergio Leone. Perfs. James Coburn, Rod Steiger. Euro International Film, 1971.