BY LIAM HEITMANN-RYCE-LEMERCIER
Every film, even those written off at release, is the result of at least some care and effort. In fact, many ‘forgotten’ films stand the test of time, and are well worth revisiting.
Celebrating its 30th birthday this year, one such film is the underrated children’s comedy Baby’s Day Out. Produced by the legendary John Hughes, fresh off the mammoth success of the first two Home Alone films, the film follows the hapless efforts of three hair-brained kidnappers and the wily baby that outsmarts all of them.
Receiving mixed reviews upon release in July 1994 – opening in Australian cinemas in December – Baby’s Day Out underperformed at the box office, raking in US$30 million against its enormous US$48 million budget. By all accounts, the Home Alone magic of Hughes’ earlier efforts could not be replicated.
But there is still much to enjoy in this film, such as Thomas E. Ackerman’s vibrant cinematography and an effervescent score from composer Bruce Broughton. A veteran of the industry with over 50 years of film and television credits to his name, as well as an Academy Award nomination for his work on 1985’s Silverado, Broughton adds a tremendous sense of play to the zany goings-on of the film’s madcap plot.
Looking back, Broughton (pictured above) remembers his time on Baby’s Day Out with particular fondness. His landing the job, however, occurred several years prior to the film’s production, when he first crossed paths with Hughes who was shooting Home Alone.
Before John Williams ultimately took up the baton for that film, Broughton was first choice as composer.
“I went to a screening of it and afterward spoke with the production team,” he recalls.
The film’s tight production schedule gave him serious second thoughts.
“I was working on Disney’s The Rescuers Down Under and didn’t want one film to get in the way of the other. When I was a boy, my only ambition had been to become an animator, and Disney was my hero. So, to work on a complete Disney animated feature – with no songs – was a fantasy come true.”
The two films had to record in the same week, and that was that.
“I turned it down, thinking it was impossible.”
Fortunately, it was not the last time Broughton would cross paths with the powerhouse producer. The musical duties of Baby’s Day Out originally landed on the desk of Oscar-winning composer Jerry Goldsmith, but he was still busy on another project.
Broughton was still on the list, so he was offered the job.
“After the Home Alone debacle, I was very happy to get another call from John Hughes,” Broughton remembers.
Early scoring “spots” took place on two occasions during the production of Baby’s Day Out, first with Hughes and then, a few weeks later, with director Patrick Read Johnson. Early test screenings found that the music spotting under Hughes’ guidance was less effective than that of Johnson’s input.
“We looked at a somewhat different film the second time, and I started from scratch,” Broughton says. Thanks to the film’s unusually large budget, funded by the box office tailwinds of Hughes’ recent hits, there were plenty of resources available.
“I enlarged the size of the orchestra to include 12 woodwinds rather than eight or six. I had a full brass section, a large ensemble of strings, a piano, harp, lots of percussion, and a large women’s choir.”
It was a grand undertaking, to be sure.
“The mass of instruments is often unnecessary for the film. But in this case, I was able to create a really rich sound, using as many doubles as I needed and including a full-bodied chorus.”
Recorded in the famed Newman Stage at Fox Studios, Broughton credits sound mixer Armin Steiner for “making things that sound naturally good even better”.
“His recordings are clear, spacious, and just beautiful.”
As such, it remains a score Broughton has always loved for its rich audio.
Baby’s Day Out is also distinctive for the sheer amount of music Broughton recorded, occupying 80 minutes of a 100-minute movie. It was a decision shared by Broughton and the director, who Broughton recalls was “very clear about where he felt music should be”.
The overall guidance from Johnson as to what he wanted from Broughton’s baton was emotional more than stylistic.
“He wanted to be sure that people saw a beautiful baby. To him, it was all about the baby,” Broughton remembers.
Though the director was present at the scoring sessions to offer some words of guidance, Broughton’s main concern remained the opinion of Hughes.
In the end, Broughton was safe. Once the recording sessions wrapped, “we used all the music. The baby was beautiful, and the film was funny, too”.
The success of Broughton’s music speaks to the strong creative relationship the composer shared with Hughes throughout the film’s production. As such, the two worked together again shortly after, on the remake of Miracle on 34th Street – released several months after Baby’s Day Out.
Hughes again served as a screenwriter and producer, with Broughton as composer.
“I got on well with John Hughes,” Broughton says of his relationship with the revered filmmaker, who died in 2009.
“He was a very interesting and very intelligent guy. I can honestly say that working with him twice was a pleasure. I like both of the films I did for him and their scores.”
Above all, Baby’s Day Out occupies a special place within his long career. The warmth and humour of the film’s gags kept Broughton in high spirits as he was composing the score. Even today, “I’ve always thought it was a funny movie, and I still think the film is much better than the reception it received when it was released”.
One of Broughton’s more recent celebrated scores is that of the Disney TV movie Eloise at the Plaza, adapted from the beloved children’s books by Kay Thompson and broadcast in April 2003. Broughton won an Emmy for his work on the film, and won the same award again for the sequel Eloise at Christmastime.
Following the sprightly activities of the titular Eloise and her adventurous life within the iconic Manhattan hotel, the films share much of the brash spirit of Broughton’s work on Baby’s Day Out.
Both scores are heavy with strings, brass, and percussion, as well as a handful of references to other famous works of classical Western canon. Indeed, Eloise’s character motif opens with a direct quote of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.
“I never thought of Baby’s Day Out and the Eloise movies as being similar,” Broughton says.
“But I suppose they are. Eloise, of course, is older and knows what she’s doing. She’s able to make decisions and directly intervene in someone’s life if she thinks it’s necessary. She’s kind-hearted and well-meaning, but also a ball of fire.”
Meanwhile, “the baby can only crawl”.
In the 30 years since its release, Baby’s Day Out has not undergone the fervent reappraisal of many cult comedies. It is not a film that frequently undergoes rediscovery among new audiences, remaining well-liked by many who remember seeing it in their childhood.
“I still occasionally listen to it,” Broughton says.
“I love the recording, the sound of the orchestra and choir; it brings back nothing but good memories.”
As Broughton reflects with some pride, “I did some things musically in it that I had never done before, so there are many reasons to include this movie in my happy memories box”.
High praise, surely, for a film unfairly dismissed as a Home Alone rip-off.
Liam Heitmann-Ryce-LeMercier is a freelance writer and reviewer based in Melbourne.
Photo of Bruce Broughton (supplied) by Stephen Busken. Featured image by Sawyer Bengtson via Unsplash.
