Leo F. Forbstein
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Leo Frank Forbstein (October 16, 1892 – March 16, 1948) was an American film musical director and orchestra conductor who worked on more than 550 projects during a twenty-year period.
Forbstein was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He was attracted to music as a child, learning the violin at the age of four. As a conductor at the Royal Theater in St. Joseph, he synchronized the orchestra with the action in silent films; he then became principal conductor at the Newman Theatre in Kansas City, where the organist was future Warner Bros. colleague Carl W. Stalling. In the mid-1920s, Forbstein relocated to Hollywood to head the symphony orchestra at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre.
He signed with Warner Bros. as one of the directors of its Vitaphone Orchestra, alongside Erno Rapee (then Warners' general music director), Louis Silvers, and David Mendoza; Forbstein's first screen credit was The Squall in 1929. In 1931, Warners dismissed Rapee and Mendoza in a consolidation and economy move and Forbstein became the company's general music director.
In 1936, Forbstein and composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold were write-in candidates for the Oscar for Best Music, Score for their work on Captain Blood. The following year, he was nominated officially for The Charge of the Light Brigade and Anthony Adverse, winning for the latter. He was nominated again for The Life of Emile Zola in 1938.
Forbstein was married to the former Bess Gallas from October 16, 1914 until his death from a heart attack in Los Angeles, California. They had one daughter, Harriett (born 1915), who married assistant director Melvin Dellar. Leo Forbstein was entombed in the Corridor of Immortality at Home of Peace Cemetery.
Movies (311)
Two Guys from Texas
1948 · Original Music Composer
The Big Punch
1948 · Music Director
Romance on the High Seas
1948 · Music Director
Silver River
1948 · Music Director
Winter Meeting
1948 · Music Director
Rope
1948 · Music Director
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
1948 · Music Director
Escape Me Never
1947 · Music Director
The Unsuspected
1947 · Music Director
Dark Passage
1947 · Music Director
Cry Wolf
1947 · Music Director
Deep Valley
1947 · Music Director
The Unfaithful
1947 · Music Director
Possessed
1947 · Music Director
Love and Learn
1947 · Music Director
Stallion Road
1947 · Music Director
Pursued
1947 · Music Director
The Two Mrs. Carrolls
1947 · Music Director
Nora Prentiss
1947 · Music Director
The Beast with Five Fingers
1947 · Music Director
Humoresque
1947 · Music Director
The Man I Love
1946 · Music Director
Never Say Goodbye
1946 · Music Director
The Verdict
1946 · Music Director
Shadow of a Woman
1946 · Music Director
The Big Sleep
1946 · Music Director
A Stolen Life
1946 · Music Director
Devotion
1946 · Music Director
Cinderella Jones
1946 · Music Director
Three Strangers
1946 · Music Director
Danger Signal
1945 · Music Director
Mildred Pierce
1945 · Music Director
Pride of the Marines
1945 · Music Director
Christmas in Connecticut
1945 · Music Director
Conflict
1945 · Music Director
The Corn Is Green
1945 · Music Director
Hotel Berlin
1945 · Music Director
To Have and Have Not
1945 · Music Director
The Doughgirls
1944 · Music Director
The Conspirators
1944 · Music Director
Arsenic and Old Lace
1944 · Original Music Composer
The Mask of Dimitrios
1944 · Music Director
Make Your Own Bed
1944 · Music Director
Mr. Skeffington
1944 · Music Director
Uncertain Glory
1944 · Music Director
Passage to Marseille
1944 · Music Director
Destination Tokyo
1943 · Music Director
Northern Pursuit
1943 · Music Director
Princess O'Rourke
1943 · Music Director
Thank Your Lucky Stars
1943 · Music Director
Oklahoma Outlaws
1943 · Music Director
Watch on the Rhine
1943 · Music Director
Background to Danger
1943 · Music Director
The Constant Nymph
1943 · Music Director
Edge of Darkness
1943 · Music Director
Air Force
1943 · Music Director
Casablanca
1943 · Music Director
The Hard Way
1943 · Music Director
Gentleman Jim
1942 · Music Director
George Washington Slept Here
1942 · Music Director
Now, Voyager
1942 · Music Director
Wings for the Eagle
1942 · Music Director
The Big Shot
1942 · Music Director
Spy Ship
1942 · Music Director
Always in My Heart
1942 · Music Director
The Male Animal
1942 · Music Director
Captains of the Clouds
1942 · Music Director
The Man Who Came to Dinner
1941 · Music Director
Steel Against the Sky
1941 · Music Director
Blues in the Night
1941 · Music Director
The Maltese Falcon
1941 · Music Director
Sergeant York
1941 · Music Director
Nine Lives Are Not Enough
1941 · Music Director
Dive Bomber
1941 · Music Director
Manpower
1941 · Music Director
Kisses for Breakfast
1941 · Music Director
Underground
1941 · Music Director
Affectionately Yours
1941 · Music Director
The Wagons Roll at Night
1941 · Music Director
The Great Lie
1941 · Music Director
The Sea Wolf
1941 · Music Director
Meet John Doe
1941 · Music Director
Footsteps in the Dark
1941 · Music Director
The Strawberry Blonde
1941 · Music Director
The Great Mr. Nobody
1941 · Music Director
Flight from Destiny
1941 · Music Director
Honeymoon for Three
1941 · Music Director
Four Mothers
1941 · Music Director
Santa Fe Trail
1940 · Music Director
She Couldn't Say No
1940 · Music Director
The Letter
1940 · Music Director
South of Suez
1940 · Music Director
Knute Rockne All American
1940 · Music Director
They Drive by Night
1940 · Music Director
The Man Who Talked Too Much
1940 · Music Director
A Fugitive from Justice
1940 · Music Director
It All Came True
1940 · Music Director
Virginia City
1940 · Music Director
Castle on the Hudson
1940 · Music Director
Invisible Stripes
1939 · Music Director
Four Wives
1939 · Music Director
We Are Not Alone
1939 · Music
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex
1939 · Music Director
Espionage Agent
1939 · Music Director
Dust Be My Destiny
1939 · Music Director
Angels Wash Their Faces
1939 · Music Director
Each Dawn I Die
1939 · Music Director
The Old Maid
1939 · Music Director
Indianapolis Speedway
1939 · Music Director
Daughters Courageous
1939 · Music Director
Juarez
1939 · Music Director
Dark Victory
1939 · Music Director
Women in the Wind
1939 · Music Director
Dodge City
1939 · Music Director
You Can't Get Away with Murder
1939 · Music Director
The Oklahoma Kid
1939 · Music Director
Wings of the Navy
1939 · Music Director
Off the Record
1939 · Music Director
King of the Underworld
1939 · Music Director
Going Places
1938 · Music Director
The Dawn Patrol
1938 · Music Director
Heart of the North
1938 · Music Director
Comet Over Broadway
1938 · Music Director
Angels with Dirty Faces
1938 · Music Director
Torchy Gets Her Man
1938 · Music Director
The Sisters
1938 · Music Director
Valley of the Giants
1938 · Music Director
Secrets of an Actress
1938 · Music Director
Four Daughters
1938 · Music Director
Four's a Crowd
1938 · Music Director
Racket Busters
1938 · Music Director
My Bill
1938 · Music Director
Men Are Such Fools
1938 · Music Director
The Adventures of Robin Hood
1938 · Music Director
Crime School
1938 · Music Director
Jezebel
1938 · Music Director
A Slight Case of Murder
1938 · Music Director
Hollywood Hotel
1938 · Music Director
Tovarich
1937 · Music Director
First Lady
1937 · Music Director
The Great Garrick
1937 · Music Director
It's Love I'm After
1937 · Music Director
The Life of Emile Zola
1937 · Music Director
That Certain Woman
1937 · Music Director
Back in Circulation
1937 · Music Director
Confession
1937 · Music Director
Ever Since Eve
1937 · Music Director
Another Dawn
1937 · Music Director
Kid Galahad
1937 · Music Director
The Go-Getter
1937 · Music Director
The Prince and the Pauper
1937 · Music Director
Call It a Day
1937 · Music Director
Marked Woman
1937 · Music Director
Ready, Willing and Able
1937 · Music Director
Green Light
1937 · Music Director
Stolen Holiday
1937 · Music Director
God's Country and the Woman
1937 · Music Director
Gold Diggers of 1937
1936 · Music Director
Sing Me a Love Song
1936 · Music Director
The Charge of the Light Brigade
1936 · Music Director
Give Me Your Heart
1936 · Music Director
Stage Struck
1936 · Music Director
Earthworm Tractors
1936 · Original Music Composer
Satan Met a Lady
1936 · Music Director
The White Angel
1936 · Music Director
I Married a Doctor
1936 · Conductor
The Singing Kid
1936 · Conductor
Snowed Under
1936 · Conductor
Road Gang
1936 · Music Director
Colleen
1936 · Conductor
The Story of Louis Pasteur
1936 · Music Director
King of the Islands
1936 · Music Director
The Petrified Forest
1936 · Music Director
Freshman Love
1936 · Music Director
The Murder of Dr. Harrigan
1936 · Music Director
Miss Pacific Fleet
1935 · Music Director
Frisco Kid
1935 · Music Director
I Found Stella Parish
1935 · Music Director
Shipmates Forever
1935 · Music Director
A Midsummer Night's Dream
1935 · Music Director
The Case of the Lucky Legs
1935 · Music Director
Keystone Hotel
1935 · Music Director
The Goose and the Gander
1935 · Music Director
We're in the Money
1935 · Music Director
The Irish in Us
1935 · Music Director
Broadway Gondolier
1935 · Rehearsal Orchestra Leader, Music Director
Don't Bet on Blondes
1935 · Music Director
Going Highbrow
1935 · Music Director
Stranded
1935 · Music Director
Alibi Ike
1935 · Music Director
'G' Men
1935 · Music Director
Go Into Your Dance
1935 · Music Director
The Case of the Curious Bride
1935 · Music Director
The Florentine Dagger
1935 · Music Director
Traveling Saleslady
1935 · Music Director
A Night at the Ritz
1935 · Music Director
While the Patient Slept
1935 · Conductor
Living on Velvet
1935 · Conductor
Sweet Music
1935 · Conductor
The White Cockatoo
1935 · Conductor
Maybe It's Love
1935 · Conductor
The Secret Bride
1934 · Conductor
Murder in the Clouds
1934 · Conductor
Babbitt
1934 · Conductor
The St. Louis Kid
1934 · Music Director
The Firebird
1934 · Music
Happiness Ahead
1934 · Conductor
Big Hearted Herbert
1934 · Conductor
The Case of the Howling Dog
1934 · Conductor
British Agent
1934 · Conductor
Kansas City Princess
1934 · Conductor
Dames
1934 · Conductor
The Dragon Murder Case
1934 · Conductor
Housewife
1934 · Conductor
The Man with Two Faces
1934 · Music Director
Here Comes the Navy
1934 · Conductor
Midnight Alibi
1934 · Conductor
Dr. Monica
1934 · Conductor
He Was Her Man
1934 · Conductor
Fog Over Frisco
1934 · Conductor
Twenty Million Sweethearts
1934 · Conductor
Upperworld
1934 · Conductor
Journal of a Crime
1934 · Conductor
Jimmy the Gent
1934 · Conductor
Gambling Lady
1934 · Conductor
Heat Lightning
1934 · Conductor
Fashions of 1934
1934 · Conductor
Mandalay
1934 · Conductor
Massacre
1934 · Conductor
Hi, Nellie!
1934 · Conductor
The House on 56th Street
1933 · Conductor
Lady Killer
1933 · Conductor
College Coach
1933 · Conductor
The Kennel Murder Case
1933 · Conductor
Footlight Parade
1933 · Conductor
Wild Boys of the Road
1933 · Conductor
I Loved a Woman
1933 · Conductor
Goodbye Again
1933 · Conductor
She Had to Say Yes
1933 · Conductor
The Man from Monterey
1933 · Music
Baby Face
1933 · Conductor
The Narrow Corner
1933 · Conductor
Private Detective 62
1933 · Conductor
The Silk Express
1933 · Conductor
Gold Diggers of 1933
1933 · Conductor
Lilly Turner
1933 · Conductor
Picture Snatcher
1933 · Conductor
The Mind Reader
1933 · Conductor
42nd Street
1933 · Conductor
Girl Missing
1933 · Conductor
Blondie Johnson
1933 · Conductor
The King's Vacation
1933 · Conductor
Mystery of the Wax Museum
1933 · Conductor
Employees' Entrance
1933 · Conductor
Ladies They Talk About
1933 · Conductor
The Match King
1932 · Conductor
Lawyer Man
1932 · Conductor
Silver Dollar
1932 · Conductor
Haunted Gold
1932 · Original Music Composer
Central Park
1932 · Conductor
You Said a Mouthful
1932 · Conductor
Scarlet Dawn
1932 · Conductor
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang
1932 · Original Music Composer
They Call It Sin
1932 · Conductor
Three on a Match
1932 · Conductor
The Crash
1932 · Conductor
One Way Passage
1932 · Conductor
Tiger Shark
1932 · Conductor
Big City Blues
1932 · Conductor
Life Begins
1932 · Conductor
Stranger in Town
1932 · Conductor
Doctor X
1932 · Conductor
The Purchase Price
1932 · Conductor
Winner Take All
1932 · Conductor
Jewel Robbery
1932 · Conductor
Love is a Racket
1932 · Music
Street of Women
1932 · Conductor
The Strange Love of Molly Louvain
1932 · Orchestrator
Miss Pinkerton
1932 · Conductor
The Tenderfoot
1932 · Conductor
The Rich Are Always with Us
1932 · Conductor
Man Wanted
1932 · Conductor
Beauty and the Boss
1932 · Conductor
The Mouthpiece
1932 · Conductor
The Man Who Played God
1932 · Original Music Composer
Union Depot
1932 · Conductor
The Woman from Monte Carlo
1932 · Conductor
Safe in Hell
1931 · Conductor
Side Show
1931 · Music Director
The Road to Singapore
1931 · Conductor
The Last Flight
1931 · Conductor
The Star Witness
1931 · Music Director
Night Nurse
1931 · Conductor
Gold Dust Gertie
1931 · Conductor
Big Business Girl
1931 · Conductor
Smart Money
1931 · Music Director
Too Young to Marry
1931 · Music Director
Little Caesar
1931 · Conductor
Kiss Me Again
1931 · Conductor
One Night at Susie's
1930 · Conductor
The Doorway to Hell
1930 · Music Director
Road to Paradise
1930 · Conductor
The Dawn Patrol
1930 · Conductor
Sweet Mama
1930 · Conductor
Numbered Men
1930 · Conductor
The Flirting Widow
1930 · Conductor
Spring Is Here
1930 · Conductor
Loose Ankles
1930 · Conductor
Playing Around
1930 · Conductor
Broadway Babies
1929 · Music
The Squall
1929 · Conductor
TV shows (0)
No credits available.