---
name: "W. Franke Harling"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/w-franke-harling"
roles: ["Composer"]
born: "18 January 1887"
died: "22 November 1958"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 4
average_fi1m_score: 78
average_over: 4
updated: "2026-09-19T22:00:59.399197+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."
---

# W. Franke Harling

Composer. Born 18 January 1887 in London, England, UK. Died 22 November 1958.

## Details

- **Work:** Composer
- **Born:** 18 January 1887, London, England, UK
- **Died:** 22 November 1958
- **Active:** 1929–1932
- **Also known as:** William Franke Harling, W. Frank Harling, Franke W. Harling, Franke Harling, Frank Harling
- **Frequently works with:** [Adolph Zukor](https://film.one/person/adolph-zukor.md), [Ernst Lubitsch](https://film.one/person/ernst-lubitsch.md), [Eugene Pallette](https://film.one/person/eugene-pallette.md), [Jeanette MacDonald](https://film.one/person/jeanette-macdonald.md), [Maurice Chevalier](https://film.one/person/maurice-chevalier.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar (1 won · 1 nominated)
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1920s 76 (1), 1930s 79 (3)
- **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Romance 4, Comedy 2, Drama 2, War 2
- **Screen time:** 6 hours of reviewed films
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Franke_Harling, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q331123, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0006123/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/13336

## Streaming the US now

- **Apple TV:** [*A Farewell to Arms*](https://film.one/film/a-farewell-to-arms.md) (80)
- **Tubi:** [*The Love Parade*](https://film.one/film/the-love-parade.md) (76)

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

## Biography

W. Franke Harling (also credited as William Franke Harling) was a composer of film scores, operas and popular songs. Born in London in 1887, he was educated at the Grace Choir Church School in New York City. He worked as an organist and choir director in Brussels, attended the United States Military Academy at West Point for two years, and composed its hymn "The Corps" and official march "West Point Forever".

Harling contributed incidental music to Broadway productions including *Pan and the Young Shepherd* (1918) and collaborated on the opera *Deep River* (1926). He began scoring films in 1928. His credits include *The Love Parade* (1929), *Monte Carlo* (1930), *Blonde Venus* (1932), *Shanghai Express* (1932), *A Farewell to Arms* (1932), *The Bitter Tea of General Yen* (1932), *The Invisible Man* (1933), *Peter Ibbetson* (1935), *Black Legion* (1937), *Souls at Sea* (1937), *Stagecoach* (1939) and *Penny Serenade* (1941). He won the Academy Award for Best Music Scoring for *Stagecoach* and received nominations for *Souls at Sea* and *Three Russian Girls* (1944). His popular songs include "Beyond the Blue Horizon" and "Sing, You Sinners".

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (4)

- *A Farewell to Arms* (1932), Fi1m 80, Music, Original Music Composer — [page](https://film.one/film/a-farewell-to-arms.md)
- *One Hour with You* (1932), Fi1m 77, Original Music Composer, Music — [page](https://film.one/film/one-hour-with-you.md)
- *Shanghai Express* (1932), Fi1m 80, Music, Original Music Composer — [page](https://film.one/film/shanghai-express.md)
- *The Love Parade* (1929), Fi1m 76, Original Music Composer, Music — [page](https://film.one/film/the-love-parade.md)

## Complete filmography (57)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *The Missing Juror* (1944), Additional Music
- *Johnny Doesn't Live Here Anymore* (1944), Original Music Composer
- *Three Russian Girls* (1943), Original Music Composer
- *The Lady Is Willing* (1942), Original Music Composer
- *Blondie in Society* (1941), Original Music Composer
- *Riders of Death Valley* (1941), Original Music Composer
- *Adventure in Washington* (1941), Music
- *Penny Serenade* (1941), Original Music Composer
- *Adam Had Four Sons* (1941), Original Music Composer
- *Men with Wings* (1938), Music
- *You and Me* (1938), Additional Music
- *Souls at Sea* (1937), Original Music Composer
- *Black Legion* (1937), Music
- *Isle of Fury* (1936), Music
- *So Red the Rose* (1935), Original Music Composer
- *Peter Ibbetson* (1935), Original Music Composer
- *The Church Mouse* (1934), Music
- *One More River* (1934), Original Music Composer, Music Director
- *By Candlelight* (1933), Music
- *Man's Castle* (1933), Original Music Composer
- *Cradle Song* (1933), Music
- *The Invisible Man* (1933), Music
- *The Kiss Before the Mirror* (1933), Music Director, Original Music Composer
- *The Keyhole* (1933), Original Music Composer
- *No Man of Her Own* (1932), Additional Music
- *Madame Butterfly* (1932), Original Music Composer
- *The Bitter Tea of General Yen* (1932), Original Music Composer
- *A Farewell to Arms* (1932), Original Music Composer — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/a-farewell-to-arms.md)
- *Trouble in Paradise* (1932), Original Music Composer
- *The Crash* (1932), Original Music Composer
- *A Bill of Divorcement* (1932), Original Music Composer
- *Blonde Venus* (1932), Original Music Composer
- *Winner Take All* (1932), Original Music Composer
- *Week-End Marriage* (1932), Music
- *Two Seconds* (1932), Original Music Composer
- *The Rich Are Always with Us* (1932), Original Music Composer
- *Beauty and the Boss* (1932), Original Music Composer
- *This Is the Night* (1932), Original Music Composer
- *The Miracle Man* (1932), Music
- *One Hour with You* (1932), Original Music Composer — Fi1m 77, [page](https://film.one/film/one-hour-with-you.md)
- *Shanghai Express* (1932), Original Music Composer — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/shanghai-express.md)
- *Broken Lullaby* (1932), Original Music Composer
- *The False Madonna* (1931), Original Music Composer
- *Rich Man's Folly* (1931), Music
- *Stranger in Town* (1931), Original Music Composer
- *Scandal Sheet* (1931), Original Music Composer
- *The Right to Love* (1930), Original Music Composer
- *Sea Legs* (1930), as Songs
- *Monte Carlo* (1930), Original Music Composer, Songs
- *Only the Brave* (1930), Original Music Composer
- *Behind the Make-Up* (1930), Original Music Composer
- *The Kibitzer* (1930), Original Music Composer
- *The Love Parade* (1929), Original Music Composer — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/film/the-love-parade.md)
- *Sweetie* (1929), Music
- *Dangerous Curves* (1929), Original Music Composer
- *Waterfront* (1928), Sound
- *The Whip* (1928), Music

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 1 won, 1 nominated

- 1945: Best Original Dramatic or Comedy Score (nominated), for *Three Russian Girls*
- 1940: Best Score, Adaptation or Treatment (won), for *Stagecoach*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© 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/w-franke-harling