Werner Janssen
Composer · Died September 19, 1990, aged 91 · New York City, New York, USA
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Werner Janssen (1937) Hans-Werner Janssen (1 June 1899 – 19 September 1990) was an American conductor of classical music, and composer of classical music and film scores. He was the first New York born conductor to lead the New York Philharmonic. Janssen was born in New York City on 1 June 1899. His father was a New York restaurateur, founder of the Janssen Hof Brau Haus on Broadway. The family lived in Great Neck on King's Point Road next door to musician George M. Cohan. It was Cohan who encouraged young Werner to continue to play piano and explore his passion for music. Cohan describes the interplay of families as he states, "I'll hold to my dying day that Werner became a musician because his dad made him practice the piano all day to keep me awake, just to get even with me for playing all night and keeping him awake." Werner recounts that his first two music students were the daughters of George M. Cohan, whom he taught in their home. As a teenager Werner remembers hearing the first renditions of "Over there" from across the fence between the houses. Cohan reflects on those days writing to Werner's father, "those were golden days when you were singing songs and I was trying to write them down next door—they were in fact the happiest of all any days as I look back on them now." While Janssen filled roles as guest conductor, he was also contracted to write film music. His first credited film score was for The General Died at Dawn (1936), which was nominated for an Academy Award, the first of six Janssen scored films to be nominated. In 1939, he resigned his position with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra to work with film producer Walter Wanger. He composed several other film scores including Blockade (1938), Winter Carnival (1939), Eternally Yours (1939), Slightly Honorable (1940), The House Across the Bay (1940), Guest in the House (1944), The Southerner (1945), Captain Kidd (1945), A Night in Casablanca (1946), Ruthless (1948), and Uncle Vanya (1957), starring and co-directed by Franchot Tone. He was also responsible for the score for the 1966 German television production Robin Hood, der edle Ritter (Robin Hood, the Noble Knight). He continued to write non-film compositions too, including the Foster Suite (1937), the String Quartet No. 2 (1938), the Octet for Five (1965), and the Quintet for 10 Instruments (1968). In 1940, he formed the Janssen Symphony in Los Angeles, which became a rival organization to the Los Angeles Philharmonic and a forum for contemporary music until 1952. Compositions for this were commissioned from American composers. This group performed and recorded film music, musical theater works, and contemporary musical scores. Numerous recordings were made by Janssen and this orchestra for Capitol Records. Janssen formed a partnership with producer David L. Loew to produce the Musicolor series of classic musical shorts, including Toccata and Fugue (1946) and Enchanted Lake (1947), both filmed in Cinecolor.
Read moreShow less
Biography from TMDB.
- June 1, 1899
- September 19, 1990 (aged 91)
- New York City, New York, USA
- Composer
- 10 on MovieCove · 12 credits in all
What are Werner Janssen's films like?
Across their 10 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Bonds.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 2 · Wry 1 · Earnest 7
A split, not a type: Light 4 · Serious 3 · Dark 3
Grounded 4 · Stylized 5 · Heightened 1
Gentle 3 · Charged 4 · Intense 3
Steady 4 · Shifting 6 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 4 · Some laughs 4 · Funny 2
Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 7 · Relentless 0
Casual 5 · Engaged 5 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 6 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 2
Resolved 7 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy6
- Bittersweet2
- Ambiguous2
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Werner Janssen's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 9 of their 10 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (8).
- The Southerner (1945) · composer · free
- A Night in Casablanca (1946) · composer · free
- The House Across the Bay (1940) · composer · free
- Captain Kidd (1945) · composer · free
- Slightly Honorable (1939) · composer · free
- Eternally Yours (1939) · composer · free
- Blockade (1938) · composer · free
- Winter Carnival (1939) · composer · free
Subscription and free streaming for Werner Janssen's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
12 credits, 10 with a MovieCove page.
Robin Hood, der edle Räuber (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1966)
Ruthless (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1948)
A Night in Casablanca(1946)
Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films
Captain Kidd(1945)
Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all films
The Southerner(1945)
Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films
Guest in the House(1944)
Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films
The House Across the Bay(1940)
Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films
Slightly Honorable(1939)
Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all films
Eternally Yours(1939)
Midcredits score: 28th percentile of all films
Winter Carnival(1939)
Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all films
Blockade(1938)
Midcredits score: 26th percentile of all films
The General Died at Dawn(1936)
Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films
Career shape
A full career of 12 titles from 1936 to 1966.
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Werner Janssen's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 47th percentile, the median of all 10; across their 10 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 48th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up2
- 50th to 74th3
- 25th to 49th4
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
None of their 10 titles divides audiences: 5 are Crowd Pleasers.
- Crowd Pleaser5
- Broadly Agreed4
- Mixed1
Reviewers score the sound and music 61/100 in their films, across 8 reviewed titles; fans 65, detractors 49. The element that speaks to their work as a composer.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does Werner Janssen work with?
People who share at least 2 of Werner Janssen's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Dorothy Spencer shares the most, 5.
Directors
- Archie MayoShared titles: A Night in Casablanca (1946), The House Across the Bay (1940)See all 2 shared titles with Archie Mayo
- Lewis MilestoneShared titles: Guest in the House (1944), The General Died at Dawn (1936)See all 2 shared titles with Lewis Milestone
- Tay GarnettShared titles: Eternally Yours (1939), Slightly Honorable (1939)See all 2 shared titles with Tay Garnett
Writers
- Clifford OdetsShared titles: Blockade (1938), The General Died at Dawn (1936)See all 2 shared titles with Clifford Odets
Actors
- Percy KilbrideShared titles: The Southerner (1945), Guest in the House (1944)See all 2 shared titles with Percy Kilbride
- Broderick CrawfordShared titles: Eternally Yours (1939), Slightly Honorable (1939)See all 2 shared titles with Broderick Crawford
- Eve ArdenShared titles: Eternally Yours (1939), Slightly Honorable (1939)See all 2 shared titles with Eve Arden
- Madeleine CarrollShared titles: Blockade (1938), The General Died at Dawn (1936)See all 2 shared titles with Madeleine Carroll
Cinematographers and editors
- Dorothy SpencerShared titles: The House Across the Bay (1940), Eternally Yours (1939), Slightly Honorable (1939), Winter Carnival (1939), Blockade (1938)See all 5 shared titles with Dorothy Spencer
- Merritt B. GerstadShared titles: The House Across the Bay (1940), Eternally Yours (1939), Slightly Honorable (1939), Winter Carnival (1939)See all 4 shared titles with Merritt B. Gerstad
- Otho LoveringShared titles: Eternally Yours (1939), Slightly Honorable (1939), Winter Carnival (1939), Blockade (1938)See all 4 shared titles with Otho Lovering
- Gregg G. TallasShared titles: A Night in Casablanca (1946), The Southerner (1945)See all 2 shared titles with Gregg G. Tallas
Producers
- Walter WangerShared titles: The House Across the Bay (1940), Eternally Yours (1939), Winter Carnival (1939), Blockade (1938)See all 4 shared titles with Walter Wanger
- David L. LoewShared titles: A Night in Casablanca (1946), The Southerner (1945)See all 2 shared titles with David L. Loew
Mixed roles
- Peter GodfreyShared titles: Eternally Yours (1939), Blockade (1938)See all 2 shared titles with Peter Godfrey
