Bernard Herrmann

This complex and irascible man was plagued by frustration, but remains one of cinema's most iconic musical voices, says Michael Beek 

- Michael Beek

A young woman steps into a motel shower; she smiles, the water seemingly washing away her sins she stole a lot of money, but has decided to return it. Beyond the shower curtain the door opens and a dark figure approaches slowly before ripping back the curtain; with it comes a torrent of shrieking strings, the musicians' slashes and stabs working in unison with those of the faceless, knife-wielding maniac. When it's done, as the sounds of the cellos ebb away, so too does the woman's life.

Marion Crane's demise at the hands of (spoiler alert) Norman Bates is one of the most famous scenes in cinema history. But this shocking moment from early in director Alfred Hitchock's 1960 masterpiece Psycho could have been very different. Hitchcock didn't want music in the scene, but composer Bernard Herrmann felt he knew better (as he often did) and wrote some anyway. Herrmann was almost 20 years into his film career by this point, so knew his craft; Hitchcock was quickly convinced, but they wouldn't always see eye to eye, famously going their separate ways a few years later.