This week on “Picture Perfect,” a show built around movies with women’s names for titles permits us to travel across a broad of array of genres – contemporary drama, Regency Era comedy of manners, 1940s film noir, and 16th century costume picture.

In “Rachel, Rachel” (1968), Joanne Woodward plays a repressed, small-town schoolteacher, who learns to take control of her own life. The film marked the directorial debut of Woodward’s husband, Paul Newman. “Rachel, Rachel” was nominated for four Academy Awards, including those for Best Actress and Best Picture. Newman picked up a Golden Globe and a New York Critics Circle Award for his direction. The lovely Americana score is by Jerome Moross.

In “Emma” (1996), adapted from novel of Jane Austen, Gwyneth Paltrow plays a high spirited-though-somewhat-clueless matchmaker, who fails to recognize her own feelings or those of the men around her. Among the supporting cast are Alan Cumming, Toni Collette, Ewan McGregor, and Jeremy Northam. Screenwriter and director Douglas McGrath fell in love with the book while an undergraduate at Princeton University. Rachel Portman wrote the Academy Award-winning score.

Not surprisingly, the Otto Preminger film noir “Laura” (1944) also sports quite the cast, including Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Clifton Webb, Judith Anderson, and Vincent Price. The equally impressive theme, heard in multiple permutations throughout the film, was written by Philadelphia-born composer David Raksin. Outfitted with lyrics by Johnny Mercer, it went on to become the second most-recorded song during the composer’s lifetime, behind only Hoagie Carmichael’s “Stardust.”

Finally, “Diane” (1956) takes us back to 16th century France, with a plot concerning Diane de Poitiers, played by Lana Turner, a member of the court of Francis I, who becomes the mistress of the king’s son, Henri d’Orléans, a very young Roger Moore. Their illicit love unfolds against the backdrop of Medici intrigue and lust for power. Miklós Rózsa, M-G-M’s go-to-composer for historical spectacles, wrote the music.

I hope you’ll join me for “What’s in a Name?,” on “Picture Perfect,” music for the movies, now in syndication on KWAX Classical Oregon!

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Clip and save the start times for all three of my recorded shows:

PICTURE PERFECT, the movie music show – Friday at 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT

SWEETNESS AND LIGHT, the light music program – Saturday at 11:00 AM EDT/8:00 AM PDT

THE LOST CHORD, unusual and neglected rep – Saturday at 7:00 PM EDT/4:00 PM PDT

Stream them, wherever you are, at the link!

https://kwax.uoregon.edu

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PHOTO: Dana Andrews likes his women stiff, like his bourbon