"The Sound and Color Will Translate . . . to the Visual": Sound in the Adaptations of John Huston

My thesis focuses on the relationship between sound and adaptation in the work of American filmmaker John Huston. By focusing on three films, from three distinct periods of Huston’s career, I demonstrate how Huston’s use of sound in his adaptations evolved throughout his career. Each chapter focuses on one particular aspect of Huston’s use of sound but also comments on other auditory elements present in each film. My introduction serves as an overview of Huston’s adaptive process. The main focus of the first chapter centers on Huston’s use of speech throughout his adaptation of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. The second chapter focuses on Huston’s adaptation of Moby Dick and the use of diegetic song throughout the film. The final chapter centers on Huston’s adaptation of Flannery O’ Connor’s Wise Blood and focuses on Alex North’s non-diegetic score’s adaptive elements. My conclusion centers on Huston’s final film, The Dead. In one scene, Huston combines the elements that have been discussed throughout the thesis and illustrate the power of Huston’s use of sound in his adaptations. While Huston is not the first director to use sound as an adaptive element in his work, I believe the critical discussion of his film adaptations has neglected his use of sound in adapting literary texts. I hope my project will lead to more work being done on Huston’s use of sound since my study only focuses on three of Huston’s thirty-seven films.