Review: The Golden Age of Hollywood at Chester Cathedral

Words: Paul Crofts

For many, the golden age of Hollywood is defined by the glittering, big-budget musicals which were produced by the famous studios of the day like  Disney, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Universal, Warner Bros and 20^th Century Fox.

The soundtracks to movies like Ben Hur, Mary Poppins, South Pacific, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and The Great Escape were performed by large-scale studio orchestras featuring the top flight musicians of the day, producing some iconic moments and pure movie magic.

When the south west-based Fulltone Orchestra, a modern day successor to those large-scale orchestras, visited Chester Cathedral recently as part of a UK tour, We Are Chester’s Paul Crofts was delighted to be invited along for an evening which celebrated The Golden Age of Hollywood.

Featuring no fewer than 50 musicians and star singers Jemma Brown and Edward Kerr, The Fulltone Orchestra, under the baton of charismatic conductor and founder Anthony Brown, took the audience on a spectacular journey through some of the best-loved film scores from some iconic movies and film musicals.

Starting with the majestic prelude from Ben Hur, the glorious sound of the full orchestra filling the cavernous cathedral, other highlights of the first half of the concert included The Adventures of Robin Hood, Dance of Cuckoos, better known as the Laurel and Hardy theme, and a simply beautiful arrangement of Some Enchanted Evening with some gorgeous vocals from Edward Kerr.

The majestic sweeping strings of The Big Country, classic Western The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (including the famous whistling) followed, plus a show-stopping performance of Don’t Rain on My Parade from Funny Girl, with the stunning vocals of Jemma Brown giving Barbra Streisand a run for her money. 

The absolute standout of the first half for me was the overture from one of my all-time favourite movie musicals – Mary Poppins.

The well-known toe tapping tunes from 1964 Disney film, with music and lyrics by The Sherman Brothers, were expertly recreated by the superb musicians of The Fulltone Orchestra and I confess that I may have had something in my eye during Feed The Birds. Simply magical. 

The second half of this homage to the golden age of Hollywood started in grand style, taking us to Oklahoma with Rodgers and Hammerstein’s sublime score.

The hauntingly beautiful  Pure Imagination from Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory, flawlessly sung by Edward Kerr, and Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend from Breakfast at Tiffany’s, followed as Jemma Brown evoked Marilyn Monroe herself with a barnstorming version of the Hollywood classic. 

Other highlights included the mighty theme from Lawrence of Arabia, the iconic theme from The Great Escape, whilst the music of James Bond was represented by Lional Bart’s beautiful arrangement of From Russia With Love.

My stand out from the second half has to be the fabulous Trolley Song, with Jemma Brown’s powerful vocals proving a highlight of the evening.

During an evening of glittering entertainment featuring musicians at the top of their game and two extremely talented singers all under the leadership of Anthony Brown, The Fulltone Orchestra demonstrated why they are absolutely worthy successors to the large-scale studio orchestras of yesteryear. I sincerely hope they will return to Chester again one day to sprinkle just a little more Hollywood magic around.

We give The Fulltone Orchestra and The Golden Age of Hollywood an Oscar winning

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Paul Crofts 2025.