The opening credits of Cat-Women of the Moon misspells then-fledgling composer Elmer Bernstein’s name. Despite this early blip in his career, Bernstein went on to become one of film’s great composers.
The film generally gives Bernstein little room to work, relegating much of his score to incidental music, building tension and enhancing the tone, but little else. Much of this is relatively standard Golden Age film music, although Bernstein’s occasional heavy use of monolithic brass is surprisingly reminiscent of that used in the scores for the original Godzilla and some of its early progeny.
When the film does allow Bernstein the freedom to work, he truly shines. The first noteworthy piece comes just over halfway through the film, when he introduces a relaxing, entrancing motif to accompany the gradual seduction of earth’s astronauts by the titular Cat-Women. Bernstein’s best work on the film appears shortly after, during a ritualistic dance scene, and again repeats several more times throughout. The main melody is a lone woodwind, suspicious and mischievous, hinting at the Cat-Women’s true motives. Although repetitive, the theme is droningly hypnotic, like the repetition of a pendulum.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Bernstein’s score is how lean it is. Rarely do more than a few instruments play during any given cue, yet they never sound flimsy or thin. Despite the likely budgetary restrictions, lack of compositional freedom, and time constraints, Bernstein pulls off an ironic twist: his score is the best part of a film that couldn’t even be bothered to correctly spell his name.
