“But it was Bass’ involvement with less-than-successful films that proved his real undoing. When Edward Dmytryk’s A Walk on the Wild Side (1962) opened, Bass’s contribution – minidrama enhanced by the skillful use of montage to create the illusion of a fight between two cats – received raves, while the film itself was panned. Bass recounted to Morgenstern an uncomfortable lunch with Dymytryk after a Time magazine review said in effect: see the credits, then leave before the film. His title work had become so compelling it threatened to overwhelm the director’s autonomy. Bass saw the writing on the wall (or perhaps, on the check) and switched careers.”
— Ken Coupland on Saul Bass