Buttkickin' Halloween Songs: "Experiment In Terror" - Henry Mancini (1962)

Another instrumental for our Buttkickin’ Halloween Songs playlist, this time courtesy of legendary composer Henry Mancini.

Mancini is one of those composers for which you really don’t need to rattle off a list of credits to acknowledge his bonafidity. I just made that last word up… I think? Anyway, there’s zero need to establish Mancini’s pop culture street cred, but I will anyhow. We’re talking:

Moon River
The Pink Panther
Peter Gunn
Romeo & Juliet Love Theme
The Magnificent Seven
The theme song to The Streets of San Francisco
Even the damned adorable Baby Elephant Walk

I love elephants, man. They are the best people.

Anyway, Henry Mancini often collaborated with another legend by the name of Blake Edwards, and one of these was the 1962 suspense-thriller film Experiment in Terror, for which Mancini wrote the orchestral score. Included here is the title track, a wondrously taut and atmospheric slice of 60s jazz. From the opening Morricone-esque vibe and through its almost three minute run time, you’re transported into a noirish underworld of moral uncertainty and smart urban attire.

Smart urban attire?

Well anyway, enjoy Experiment In Terror. Keep on swingin’, Hokeyfolks!