---
name: "Leigh Harline"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/leigh-harline"
roles: ["Composer"]
born: "26 March 1907"
died: "10 December 1969"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 3
average_fi1m_score: 86
updated: "2026-09-17T05:52:44.963400+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Leigh Harline

Composer. Born 26 March 1907 in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. Died 10 December 1969.

## Details

- **Work:** Composer
- **Born:** 26 March 1907, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
- **Died:** 10 December 1969
- **Active:** 1938–1942
- **Also known as:** Leigh Adrian Harline 
- **Works often with:** [Edward H. Plumb](https://film.one/person/edward-h-plumb.md), [Frank Churchill](https://film.one/person/frank-churchill.md), [Walt Disney](https://film.one/person/walt-disney.md), [Ben Sharpsteen](https://film.one/person/ben-sharpsteen.md), [David Hand](https://film.one/person/david-hand.md), [Paul Smith](https://film.one/person/paul-j-smith.md), [Wilfred Jackson](https://film.one/person/wilfred-jackson.md)
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1930s 85 (1), 1940s 87 (2)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 86 to 82 across 3 titles
- **Score spread:** 3 at 80+, 0 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Animation 3, Family 3, Fantasy 2, Drama 1
- **Screen time:** 4 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $616m across 3 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1367518, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0363316/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/5467

## Streaming the US now

- **Disney+:** [*Pinocchio*](https://film.one/film/pinocchio.md) (88), [*Bambi*](https://film.one/film/bambi.md) (86), [*Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs*](https://film.one/film/snow-white-and-the-seven-dwarfs.md) (85)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Leigh Adrian Harline (26 March 1907 – 10 December 1969) was an American film composer and songwriter. Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, he studied music at the University of Utah with J. Spencer Cornwall. He worked in radio in California before joining the Walt Disney Studios in 1932, where he contributed to numerous animated shorts.

At Disney, Harline worked on the scores for *Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs* (1937) and *Bambi* (1942), and composed the score and several songs for *Pinocchio* (1940) with lyricist Ned Washington. The film won Academy Awards for Best Original Score and Best Original Song for "When You Wish Upon a Star". He left Disney in 1941 and freelanced for other studios.

His later credits include *Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House* (1948), *Pickup on South Street* (1953), *The Enemy Below* (1957) and *Man of the West* (1958). He joined ASCAP in 1940 and wrote other songs such as "Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee", "Give a Little Whistle" and "Jiminy Cricket".

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, d23.com, snowwhitemuseum.com.*

## On Fi1m (3)

- *Bambi* (1942), Fi1m 86, Music — [page](https://film.one/film/bambi.md)
- *Pinocchio* (1940), Fi1m 88, Music — [page](https://film.one/film/pinocchio.md)
- *Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs* (1938), Fi1m 85, Music — [page](https://film.one/film/snow-white-and-the-seven-dwarfs.md)

## Also known for

- *River of No Return* (1954), Music
- *Pickup on South Street* (1953), Original Music Composer
- *Monkey Business* (1952), Original Music Composer
- *Man of the West* (1958), Original Music Composer
- *The Old Mill* (1937), Original Music Composer
- *The Enemy Below* (1957), Original Music Composer
- *Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House* (1948), Original Music Composer
- *The Band Concert* (1935), Music

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/leigh-harline