Richard Rodgers, Robert Russell Bennett, and Victory at Sea

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Richard Rodgers, Robert Russell Bennett, and Victory at Sea — NBC-TV’s 1950s WWII Documentary Series

Researcher George J. Ferencz dives deep into the waters of the documentary’s iconic score, as detailed in his new book The Music for Victory at Sea (16 May 2023)—the series’ backstory, plus a close look at (and listen to) several musical excerpts.

NBC-TV’s acclaimed 1952–53 WWII documentary Victory at Sea enjoyed decades of broadcast popularity worldwide. The 26 half-hour Victory films drew upon film footage from the military, governments, and newsreel agencies of 14 nations.

Each Victory episode paired minimal narration with nonstop orchestra scoring. Richard Rodgers is credited as the series’ composer, and Robert Russell Bennett as Victory’s arranger and conductor. Bennett resourcefully developed Rodgers’s twelve piano themes while also composing the majority the score—11-1/2 hours of orchestra music—outright. RCA Victor released three LPs of Victory at Sea music, the first of them an RIAA “Gold Record” winner.

Film review Victory at Sea: Timeless Film, Soaring Music at The National WWII Museum New Orleans wrote: The groundbreaking 1952 television documentary "Victory at Sea" and its magnificent musical score marked an enduring tribute to the US Navy’s role in winning World War II.

Bio

George Ferencz’s research specialty since the late 1980s has been Robert Russell Bennett, founding President of ASMAC (American Society of Musi Arrangers and Composers). George authored Robert Russell Bennett: A Bio-Bibliography in 1990 and is editor of Bennett’s memoir, The Broadway Sound:The Autobiography and Selected Essays of Robert Russell Bennett, published in 1999. He regularly serves as a resource on Bennett’s life & work to conductors, researchers, performers, and institutions worldwide.

George retired in 2019 from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he taught music theory, ear-training, and arranging. His freelance arranging for Hal Leonard has included contributions to the PVG folios for “Wicked,” “Urinetown,” “Avenue Q,” and “The King and I.”