- [on the death of his father in 1945 and the expiration of his Warner contract in 1946] I will be fifty next May. I feel it is a turning point... Fifty is very old for a child prodigy. I feel I have to make a decision now, if I don't want to be a Hollywood composer the rest of my life.
- [on his work on "Magic Fire"] I made a three minute montage of "The Ring's" sixteen hours of music. But when the picture had to be shortened , we cut the montage to two and-a-half minutes. That was too short!
- [when encountering Bette Davis on the Warner lot after scoring the remake of "Of Human Bondage"] After twelve years some of the scenes in the old version seem a little ridiculous, but we, with our new version, are ten years ahead of time because we are ridiculous already.
- [on his tenure at Warners] I feel very happy as an artist here. No one tells me what to do. I do not feel part of a factory. I take part in story conferences, suggest changes in the editing when it is dramatically necessary to coincide with a musical structure. It is entirely up to me to decide where in the picture to put music. But I always consult thoroughly with the music-chief... I also keep the producer well-informed and always secure his consent for my musical intentions first. But in none of my pictures have I 'played' my music first to either the music-chief, the director, or the producer. And the studio heads never make the acquaintance of my music until the day of the sneak preview. As for my working habits, I like the idea of perfection. If a thing is not right, it is done over and over again.
- Form may change, the manner of writing may vary, but the composer needs to make no concessions whatever to what he conceives to be his own musical ideology.
- Music is music whether it is for the stage, rostrum, or cinema.
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