CD REVIEW -
CLASSIC
BRITISH FILM
THEMES & SONGS
VOLUME 1 1940-1944
SEPIA 1391 [76:56
& 78:13]
This is an
entirely fascinating release: a
rich repository of nostalgia,
consisting of 59 tracks on two
discs. It is made up of items
previously unreleased on CD,
which have been drawn largely
from studio acetates, playback
discs, pre-recordings and
rehearsal discs.
The first track on
CD1 and the last two on CD2
feature the Mighty Wurlitzer
Organ, played by Leon Berry and
Joseph Seal respectively, with Cinema
Fanfare, the National
Anthem and A.B.C.
Parade: Play Out Music.
There are other Fanfares
including those for Pathe
News, Gainsborough
Pictures and the J
Arthur Rank Organization.
Although mainly
vocal there are a fair number of
orchestral pieces such as The
Warsaw Concerto from 'Dangerous
Moonlight', played by Louis
Kentner with the LSO conducted by
Muir Mathieson, The Night Has
Eyes, from the film of the
same name, written by Charles
Williams who conducts the Queen's
Hall Light Orchestra, 'The
Wizard of Oz' theatrical
trailer played by Herbert
Stothart and his Orchestra and
William Walton's Spitfire
Prelude and Fugue, from 'First
Of The Few' with the
composer conducting The Halle
Orchestra.
Then there is an
intermission piece, Ragamuffin
Romeo, played at the console
of Brighton's Regent Cinema
Wurlitzer Organ by Terence Casey.
Commando
Patrol from the film 'The
Life and Death of Colonel Blimp'
is played by The Royal Air Force
Dance Orchestra, while Philip
Green and his Orchestra play a 'One
Exciting Night' Film Selection:
There’s A New World Over The
Skyline, You Can’t
Do Without Love, It's So
Easy To Say Good Morning, My
Prayer, One Love, It's
Like Old Times. Other
accompanying orchestras are the
Ealing Studio/Ernest Irving, RKO
Studio/Anthony Collins and
Columbia Studio/Harry Bidgood,
also Jack Hylton and his Band.
Vera Lynn and Anne
Shelton share a goodly number of
songs, including the former
singing Be Like The Kettle
And Sing, one of four from
the 1942 film 'We’ll
Meet Again', with Mantovani
and his Orchestra, and the latter
with Keep A Sunbeam In Your
Pocket, from 'Bees in
Paradise', with the Gaumont
British Studio Orchestra
conducted by Louis Levy. Other
performers include Bud Flanagan
and Chesney Allen, Tommy Trinder,
Deanna Durbin, Pat Kirkwood and
Anna Neagle.
Among the songs
are the Noel Gay/Clifford Gray The
Only One Who’s Difficult Is
You from 'Band Waggon',
Alice Blue Gown from 'Irene',
A Fine How-Do-You-Do
from 'Miss London Ltd',
and Champagne Charlie, The
Man On The Flying Trapeze
and Everything Will Be Lovely
(By And By) from the 1944
film 'Champagne Charlie'
– the last named appropriate
for this General Election year.
I hugely enjoyed
everything here and, together
with Robin Cherry's fine CD
re-mastering and Marcus Bagshaw's
booklet notes also taking us down
memory lane, you can get it all
for only £10.99 including
postage by ordering direct from Sepia online. Richard
Tay's label is to be
congratulated on such an
imaginative programme, and it
seems there is a promise of more
to come.
©
Peter Burt, July 2024
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