# In 1942, before Ronald Reagan became president, he starred in a movie that helped inspire ‘Star Wars’

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/in-1942-before-ronald-reagan-became-president-he-starred-in-a-movie-that-helped-inspire-star-wars/
- Published: 2026-10-27T21:45:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-27T22:23:19+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/1942-hollywood-drama-star-wars-main-theme/
- Topics: Celebrity, Entertainment, Film, Government, Politics

## Key points

- *Star Wars* aimed to revive old-Hollywood adventure.
- Williams drew on Korngold’s 1942 *Kings Row* score.
- Reagan’s inauguration featured the same music.

## Summary

George Lucas’s 1977 *Star Wars* offered audiences a sweeping space fantasy at a time when American cinema was dominated by darker, more cynical films. John Williams’s orchestral score helped give it the romantic, old-Hollywood feel Lucas wanted, and the film became a cultural phenomenon associated with a shift away from the pessimism of the 1970s.

Williams took inspiration for the film’s opening theme from Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s score for *Kings Row*, a 1942 period drama starring Ronald Reagan. Both themes feature a grand brass swell and rising strings, with similarities in their notes and structure. Reagan later chose Korngold’s music for his 1981 presidential inauguration.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.