Search - Charles Fox/Dolly Parton :: 9 to 5

The 1980 hit comedy 9 to 5 from 20th Century Fox was Jane Fonda's first outing as both star and producer. Fonda saw herself as Judy Bernly, a meek housewife thrown into the secretarial pool of a massive urban firm. Lily Tomlin was the star s first choice for Violet Newstead, a secretary passed over one too many times by the sexist boss she trained (Dabney Coleman as Mr. Hart). And after hearing a Dolly Parton song on the radio, Fonda hired the vivacious country singer for her first acting role as the sassy secretary Dora Lee Rhodes. All three have been pushed passed their limits by their oppressive boss and first take their frustrations out through fantasy murders...but then find themselves in over their heads as one fantasy accidentally starts to play out. Hart ends up bound and gagged, with his secretaries becoming kidnappers to liberate their office. Few composers were better at playing this kind of cunning mischief than Charles Fox (all you need to hear is his score to Foul Play from two years earlier as proof). But first, the song: Dolly Parton also debuted as a film songwriter, with a soon-to-be classic tune that she d compose on the set. While I was watching the action, I used my acrylic nails for the rhythm to make the sound of a typewriter, Parton recalls. The song became a hit. Fox incorporated the upbeat, bluesy-pop feel of Parton s title song into his score, most notably in the triumphant newfound freedom of The Office Montage. And 9 to 5 s caper music is as suspenseful as it fun. In such cues as Violet Steals the Body and Violet Poisoned the Body, Fox engages in a playfully syncopated chase for horns, strings and a harpsichord as Violet tries to hide the seeming corpse of Mr. Hart. The strings of Ajax Warehouse swirl with dramatic import, while The Intruder stalks with menacing strings, pianos and flutes until the danger is revealed to be an ex husband. Fox s biggest challenge on 9 to 5 was scoring the secretaries murderously madcap fantasies. Judy s Fantasy is a wild percussive chase as she blasts the office apart while hunting down Hart. Dora Lee s Fantasy is a country hoedown for harmonica, guitar and a rollicking orchestra as she lassos Hart and roasts him on a spit. Fox later reprises this hogtying music when Dora Lee hoists her boss to the ceiling in Hart Tries To Escape, even turning his theme into a Fandango for Pillow Fight. But the most hilarious musical revenge accompanies Violet s Fantasy, as the Snow White secretary and her furry animated friends exact decidedly un-Disney-like revenge on Hart. After swinging from jolly brass to fife and drum, the speedy orchestra practically says, That s all folks as Hart is thrown out the window. Charles Fox is a composer greatly underrepresented on compact disc and it is with great pleasure that Intrada gives this score its premiere CD release, featuring the same contents as the original FOX LP, remastered for optimal sound. This release is limited to 3000 copies.