Overview
Herbert Stothart composed or contributed to more than 100 film scores during his two decades at MGM, becoming one of the studio’s most relied‑upon musical voices. His work spans historical epics, literary adaptations, musicals, and some of the most enduring films of Hollywood’s Golden Age.
Stothart’s output reflects the full range of MGM’s prestige productions. He scored major adaptations of classic literature, including Anna Karenina, David Copperfield, A Tale of Two Cities, and Pride and Prejudice, as well as large‑scale historical dramas such as Mutiny on the Bounty, The Good Earth, and The Yearling. He was equally central to the studio’s dramatic and romantic films, contributing to titles like Random Harvest, Madame Curie, and Waterloo Bridge.
His background in Broadway and operetta shaped his approach to film scoring. Stothart frequently worked on MGM’s musical productions, including the Jeanette MacDonald–Nelson Eddy operettas, and contributed original songs that became part of the American songbook. His ability to write for both intimate ensembles and full orchestras made him a versatile figure within the studio’s music department.
Stothart’s orchestral writing is notable for its clarity, economy, and classical grounding. His scores often integrate existing musical material — including classical works and thematic references — alongside original composition, a common practice in early Hollywood scoring. His training and experience allowed him to create expressive results with relatively lean orchestral forces, a skill that reflected his years arranging and conducting for the stage.
His most celebrated achievement, The Wizard of Oz (1939), earned the Academy Award for Best Original Score. The film’s music, which blends Stothart’s dramatic underscoring with the songs of Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg, remains one of the most studied and recognized scores in American cinema.
Across genres and decades, Stothart’s work helped define MGM’s musical identity during a formative period in Hollywood history. His scores continue to be performed, restored, and examined for their craftsmanship and their role in shaping the sound of early American film.
Filmography & Academy Awards
Herbert Stothart composed more than 100 film scores during his career at MGM. He received ten Academy Award nominations, and on February 29, 1940, won the Oscar for Best Original Score for The Wizard of Oz. The award was presented at the 12th Academy Awards ceremony at the Cocoanut Grove in the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.
1929–1934
• Devil-May-Care (1929)
• Rasputin and the Empress (1932)
• Queen Christina (1933)
• The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934)
• What Every Woman Knows (1934)
1935
• Anna Karenina (1935)
• China Seas (1935) • David Copperfield (1935)
• Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) — (NOMINATED)
• Naughty Marietta (1935) — musical score only
• A Night at the Opera (1935)
• A Tale of Two Cities (1935)
1936–1938
• After the Thin Man (1936)
• The Good Earth (1937)
• Maytime (1937) — (NOMINATED) (Best Music, Scoring)
• Marie Antoinette (1938) — (NOMINATED) (Best Original Score)
• Sweethearts (1938) — (NOMINATED) (Best Music, Scoring)
1939
• Idiot’s Delight (1939)
• The Wizard of Oz (1939) — (WON) Best Original Score
1940
• Northwest Passage (1940)
• Pride and Prejudice (1940)
• Waterloo Bridge (1940) — (NOMINATED) (Best Original Score)
1941
• Come Live With Me (1941)
• Ziegfeld Girl (1941)
• The Chocolate Soldier (1941) — (NOMINATED) (Best Scoring of a Musical Picture)
• Blossoms in the Dust (1941)
1942
• Mrs. Miniver (1942)
• I Married an Angel (1942)
• Random Harvest (1942) — (NOMINATED) (Best Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture)
1943
• The Human Comedy (1943)
• Madame Curie (1943) — (NOMINATED) (Best Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture)
• Thousands Cheer (1943) — (NOMINATED) (Best Scoring of a Musical Picture)
1944
• National Velvet (1944)
• Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944)
• Dragon Seed (1944)
• Kismet (1944) — (NOMINATED) (Best Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture)
• The White Cliffs of Dover (1944)
1945
• The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)
• They Were Expendable (1945)
• The Valley of Decision (1945) — (NOMINATED) (Best Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture)
1946–1947
• The Green Years (1946)
• The Yearling (1946)
• The Sea of Grass (1947)
Major Actors & Actresses Herbert Stothart Worked With
THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939) CAST
Judy Garland
Ray Bolger
Bert Lahr
Jack Haley
Margaret Hamilton
Frank Morgan
MGM STARS — DRAMA, ROMANCE & PRESTIGE FILMS
Greta Garbo – Anna Karenina (1935)
Clark Gable – Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
Charles Laughton – Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
Spencer Tracy – Boys Town (1938) and The Yearling (1946)
Mickey Rooney – Boys Town (1938) and The Human Comedy (1943)
Elizabeth Taylor – National Velvet (1944)
Lana Turner— Honky Tonk (1941) and The Three Musketeers (1948) —
Norma Shearer –The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934), Romeo and Juliet (1936), Idiot’s Delight (1939)
Joan Crawford – The Gorgeous Hussy (1936)
Robert Taylor – Waterloo Bridge (1940) and The Gorgeous Hussy (1936)
Lionel Barrymore — The Valley of Decision (1945)
Walter Pidgeon – Mrs. Miniver (1942) and Madame Curie (1943)
Greer Garson — Random Harvest (1942) and Mrs. Miniver (1942)
Myrna Loy — Whipsaw (1935) and The Great Ziegfeld (1936)
OPERETTA & MUSICAL STARS
Jeanette MacDonald & Nelson Eddy — Naughty Marietta (1935); Rose Marie (1936); Maytime (1937); Sweethearts (1938); New Moon (1940); Bitter Sweet (1940); Smilin’ Through (1941); I Married an Angel (1942)
DIRECTORS & PRODUCERS
Victor Fleming (The Wizard of Oz)
David O. Selznick
Sidney Franklin
Clarence Brown
George Cukor
King Vidor
Mervyn LeRoy
MAJOR COLLABORATORS
Oscar Hammerstein II
Rudolf Friml
Vincent Youmans
George Gershwin
Sigmund Romberg
Otto Harbach