Who composed the famous theme for the 1944 noir Laura?

David Raksin composed the famous theme for the 1944 film noir Laura.

Raksin wrote the haunting instrumental theme after director Otto Preminger rejected the idea of using Duke Ellington’s “Sophisticated Lady” as the film’s main music. Fox music director Alfred Newman gave Raksin a weekend to create an original piece, and the resulting theme became one of Hollywood’s most recognizable melodies.

The film stars Gene Tierney as Laura Hunt, a woman whose apparent murder drives the mystery, with Dana Andrews as detective Mark McPherson. Raksin’s music helps turn Laura into an almost dreamlike presence, even before the investigation complicates what the characters believe about her.

Johnny Mercer later supplied lyrics to the theme, also titled “Laura.” The song became a jazz standard recorded by hundreds of artists, including Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Charlie Parker, and Ella Fitzgerald. Raksin went on to write more than 100 film scores and hundreds of television scores.