Movies with Musical Saw

• One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Musical saw on soundtrack. Composed by Robert Armstrong
• Flight of the Phantasm Musical saw on soundtrack.
• Sweet and Lowdown - Directed by woody Allen. Musical saw performance in about mid movie in an amateur showcase scene.
• Swing Your Lady (1938). The movie stars Humphrey Bogart and has a saw duet played by the Weaver Brothers. The saw duet is in the first 10 minutes and the name of the song is "Dig Me A Grave in Missouri". The first 30 seconds of the song (right before the saw duet comes in, unfortunately) is here: Dig Me a Grave in Missouri (376K) Although "The Weaver Brothers and Elviry" were only on screen for about 4 minutes they were given top billing in the opening credits along with Humphrey Bogart and Penny Singleton. Frank and Leon played the saws while Elviry sang. One of the bit players in the movie is young Ronald Reagan - he didn't get credits until the end of the film... Elviry is June Weaver, wife of Frank, was a saw player too, but in this movie she was the lead singer. Thank you Luther Harris and summitmarsh-pa for the info!
• Cabaret with Liza Minelli. Musical saw performance in mid film in scene in the cabaret before Liza Minelli is seen sitting at a table talking with a man.
• To Die For Musical saw on soundtrack during opening credits.
• Oh Brother, Where Art Thou Musical saw on soundtrack (very short).
• Charlie Devin Carroll informed us that this movie about the retarded man who gets medicine that temporarily makes him a genius has a beautiful musical saw number in the opening credits. Tabitha K. Sandoval informs us that the movie 'Charlie' is based on the book 'Flowers for Algernon'. It's a book that most children in the US read in middle/high school.
• Funny Bones Robert Rittenhouse informed us that this movie, directed by Peter Chelsom (1995) has the musical saw played by a sweet old lady (Maudie Blake) in an audition scene.
• Quantum Leap Sci-Fi TV channel. The 'Miss Deep South' episode (broadcasted October 10th, 2001, 12AM) about a beauty pageant has a girl playing the saw in mid-episode. The sound of her saw can be heard in the back ground later, too.
• Gilligan's Island episode number 26 from the first season, "Music Hath Charm". First aired March 27th, 1965. The castaways form a band of triangle, conch shells, flute, and Mary Ann is on the musical saw.
• Ingmar Bergman's Fanny and Alexander - Max Butler informed us that this movie has a saw player in the background of a street scene as Fanny and Alexander run through the streets. Passes by pretty quickly. Saw's sound is not heard.
• Charlie Chaplin's film A Dog's Life - Timothy Brock informed us that this 1918 movie has a soundtrack written in 1959 by Charlie Chaplin, which includes a big saw solo accompanied by orchestra. Frank from Iceland informs us that "In the film it's a woman singing, and so bad that everybody is crying!"
• The Japanese horror film Goke, Body Snatcher From Hell - The soundtrack has standard symphonic horror film swells, unearthly analog synthesizer sounds and keening musical saw.
• Pipi Longstoking - South Seas has an old man (Konrad, a glue merchandiser) playing the saw in one scene, as reported by Karen.
  Konrad, the saw player, is played by Hans Alfredsson, but it's obvious that he doesn't produce the sound of the saw heard. Later in the film, when the flying car is falling from the sky, there's the sound of saw playing on the sound track as well. (Thank you Johannes B. for this info!)
• The Station Agent has musical saw in the soundtrack(at the end during credits), as reported both by Heidi and Ed (Thank you!).
• Bugs bunny had an episode called 'knighty knight bugs' in which bugs rescues the singing sword from the black knight, played by yosemite sam. This episode, which aired 8-23-58 earned bugs bunny an oscar and director Friz Freleng his fourth. When the singing sword was singing, it was actually the sound of someone playing the saw.
• Salmer fra kjïkkenet, also Known As: Kitchen Stories (International: English title), Psalmer frïn kket (Sweden), Psalms from the Kitchen (literal English title)
  This is a movie from Norway/Sweden, directed by Bent Hamer in 2003, it is in Norwegian / Swedish
  The film is about kitchen efficiency in Norwegian bachelors homes in 1950. A scientific observer's job of observing an old cantankerous single man's kitchen habits is complicated by his growing friendship with him.
  It's a comedy, and it has a musical saw in it!
• Steamboat Round the Bend - a Will Rogers movie from 1935 has a scene where a man plays 'No place like home' on the musical saw. On screen is an actor imitating saw playing while the recorded sound was played by someone else.
• Walking Tall - (2003) starring the Rock, has a tiny musical saw part at the very beginning, when the police car drives up to talk to "the Rock" as he's looking at the notice at the Mill which had shut down. You'll have to listen hard, as there are just a couple of audible moments.
• Robots - (2005) Animated. A world populated solely by mechanical beings. Musical saw in sound track.
• The Three Stooges had a bit they did with a musical saw, where Curley would get slapped silly with a serrated band of metal: In the Sweet Pie and Pie (1941) the boys are in Hangemall Prison after being wrongfully convicted when mistaken for the Mushroom Murder Mob. As they plan their escape, Curly produces a saw. Moe asks, "Is that a musical saw?" Curly replies, "Why certainly. It plays 'I Hear a Ripsody.' Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk."
• The Three Stooges' short "Termites of 1938". In one sequence the Stooges are at a fancy party, with a musical trio end everything. You have to be very fast in this one (you will if you know what you are looking for, of course) to see a saw player just behind Moe (there are a pianist and a violinist too) and when the musicians leave, the Stooges take their places and Moe plays the cello, and later on, he changes the bow for the saw. Again, you can only catch a very short glimpse of the saw player, but... there he is.
  Thank you, Marcello, for this info! Beginning of the reel, right after the scene where a couple is eating:
• Another Three Stooges musical saw bit: In Beer Barrel Polecats(1946): Moe, bending a saw: "Is this a musical saw?" C: "Soitenly".. [saw hits his face]: "That was a rhapsody in the kisser!" At the very end of this reel:
• Get Rich or Die Tryin' - (2005) has a tiny bit of musical saw in the soundtrack: in a scene where the main character (50 Cent) is on his deathbed in a hospital, and the saw plays a slow tune in unison with violins. The effect is to portray the dying man's soul escaping his body and ascending to heaven. The story is a tale of an inner city drug dealer who turns away from crime to pursue his passion, rap music.
• Fen e-mailed to inform us (thank you, Fen!) that another movie with "music" from the saw is War of the Gargantuas (1966). It is a Japanese monster film. The saw can be heard in the very opening credits and in the opening scene. It's meant to be creepy, and it succeeds.
• Curtis e-mailed to inform us (thank you, Curtis!) that 'Duel in the Sun' with Jennifer Jones, Gregory Peck and a whole slew of famous actors has saw in it. In the middle of the movie there's a barn dance scene and the band has a musical saw player fronting the band. 1947.
• Marcelo e-mailed to inform us (thank you, Marcelo!) that Jim Carrey's "The Grinch" in a scene during the first sequence taking place in Whooville, one of the musicians in the marching band is playing a saw !!!!. It lasts only a second, but it's Interesting.... A saw player MARCHING in a band... I guess that would be impossible to do in "real life"...
• Another find of Marcelo (thanks again!) is Smiley Burnette playing the saw in episode six of "The Undersea Kingdom" (1935), staring Ray "Crash" Corrigan.
• 'American Splendor' - saw in soundtrack
• 'Flirting With Disaster'- saw in soundtrack
• 'Joe's Apartment'- saw in soundtrack
• 'Searching for the wrong-eyed Jesue' - a documentary film made in the deep south of America. In it a girl is playing 'Amazing Grace' on the saw. Thank you to Diane or Ireland for this info!
• 'King of California' with M. Douglas - lots of musical saw on the soundtrack.
• 'Steamboat Round the Bend'(1935) - Directed by John Ford, starring Will Rogers. In this movie John McGuire, the juvenile Duke - aka Steamboat Bill, spends his jail time wisely. He learns to play the musical saw.
  
• 'Hobson's Choice' (1954), directed by Muir Mathieson - in the scene in which the drunken Hobson (played by Charles Laughton!) stumbles out of a pub and crosses a brick street mesmerized in his intoxicated state by the reflection of the full moon in the puddles at this feet. The reflected moon cross fades into his moon-shaped face staring blankly from above. Malcolm Arnold composed the score for this film James Ursoni indicates in the commentary with the Criterion release of this film on DVD that the musical saw player was from Vienna but does not offer the sawist's name.
• 'Is Anybody There' with Michael Cain. Musical saw throughout the score.
• Betty Boop cartoon titled "Betty in Bunderland" (1934), where Betty goes through a Looking Glass, Alice-style and meets all sorts of characters, one of which plays a musical saw. The musical saw scene is about 4:15 minutes in:
  Thank you Lisa Vallez for this info.
• Bosko cartoon, "Hold Anything!" (1930's). Musical saw at about 1:20 minutes in:
  Thank you Lisa Vallez for this info.
• Mickey Mouse: The Barnyard Broadcast - Originally Released on October 10, 1931. Mickey and the gang make a wild radio show broadcast on station ICU. Quite a long musical saw solo starts at 1:30Thank you Randy Morris for this info.
• "Michael Strogoff " - European (France, Austria, Switzerland, West Germany) TV mini-series (7 episodes) in 1975, had musical saw player Maurice Dalle (passed away 2012) play on this soundtrack in what is known as 'Nadia's theme. Composed by Vladimir Cosma. Director: Jean-Pierre Decourt. Musical saw starts at 41:00
  
• "Cutter's Way" (1981), a thriller directed by Ivan Passer, staring Jeff Bridges, with music by Jack Nitzsche, who also composed the music for 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest', which is also full of musical saw! The reason why he changed the musical saw players he used is because the one who played on 'Cuckoo's Nest' couldn't read music (had to learn by ear). It was fine for the simple music of that film, but not for the more complicated music of 'Cutter's'. Musical saw all over the score, played by Ann Marie of Germany. There's also a lot of glass music in it.
  Thank you Daniel McCoy for telling me about this movie!
• Steamboat Round the Bend (John Ford, 1935) has John McGuire playing the musical saw for Anne Shirley.
  
• China Express (1929) - Edmund Meisel composed the score to include musical saw. The soundtrack was written for the Lewis Ruth Band, a jazz band, who had 13 players, including a musical saw player. The musical saw in this score is used to evoke the sound of the Chinese instrument, the er-hu (which indeed sounds kind of similar). (Thank you Robert Horter for telling me about this movie!)
• Wristcutters: A love Story (2006) -  has a short campfire scene, with a man playing saw, and a woman doing throat singing.  The camera angle is from the back. (Thank you Laura C. for telling me about this movie!).
• Concrete Cowboy (2021), Director: Ricky Staub.

Know of another movie with a musical saw performance in it? Please e-mail us the information and we will post it here with credit given to you.

"Star Trek" (the original show) theme by Lalo Schifrin - the melody was carried by an ondes-martenot, whose sound is very similar to that of the musical-saw.