James Bernard

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James Bernard (1925 - 12 July 2001) was a British film composer.

He is remembered almost exclusively for the music he composed for the Hammer horror films of the 1950s, '60s and '70s. Undoubtedly his most famous was Horror of Dracula in 1958, for which he composed a motif based on the sound Dra-cu-laaaaa. Other memorable Hammer scores included The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), Kiss of the Vampire (1962), The Plague of the Zombies (1966) and The Devil Rides Out (1968).

While he was a pupil at Wellington College, Bernard became good friends with the future actor Christopher Lee, who was a fellow classmate. It was a fortuitous meeting, because Lee would go on to star in a great many horror films for Hammer Studios, for which his friend James Bernard would write the scores.

In later years, he was called upon to write an original score for F.W. Murnau's classic silent horror Nosferatu (1922/1997) and Kevin Brownlow's documentary Universal Horror (1998).

His music was distinct for its clashing harmonies, often created by doubling a motif a tone higher, as in his famous Dracula theme. His music was also frenzied and pacey at times, frequently making use of percussion such as timpani and snares. The Devil Rides Out and The Plague of the Zombies are good examples of this. However, he could also write lushly romantic melodies, such as appear in Frankenstein Created Woman and Scars of Dracula.

Bernard also co-wrote the screenplay for the 1950 film Seven Days to Noon, and won an Academy Award for best original screen story.