Genevieve is a 1953 British comedy film produced and directed by Henry Cornelius and written by William Rose.
Starring John Gregson, Dinah Sheridan, Kenneth More and Kay Kendall as two couples comedically involved in a veteran automobile rally. It was a significant commercial success on release and has been called perhaps the most successful British comedy film ever made.” Plot - Two veteran cars and their crews are participating in the annual London to Brighton Veteran Car Run. Alan McKim, a young barrister, and his wife, Wendy, drive Genevieve, a 1904 Darracq. Their friend Ambrose Claverhouse, a brash advertising salesman, his latest girlfriend, fashion model Rosalind Peters, and her pet St. Bernard ride in a 1905 Spyker.
Larry Adler, born Lawrence Cecil Adler in February 1914 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, died August 2001 London, England. Larry Adler was a composer, actor and musician. As an harmonica player he is best known for playing major works and compositions by George Gershwin, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Malcolm Arnold, Darius Milhaud and Arthur Benjamin. Adler was one of the first harmonica players to perform major works written for the instrument, often written especially for him: these include Jean Berger's Concerto for Harmonica and Orchestra - Caribbean (1941), Cyril Scott's Serenade for harmonica and piano (1936), Vaughan Williams' Romance in D flat for harmonica, piano and string orchestra (1952), Milhaud's Suite Anglaise (1947), Arthur Benjamin's Harmonica Concerto (1953), Malcolm Arnold's Harmonica Concerto (1954), and Naresh Sohal's Concerto for harmonica, percussion and strings (1966). He recorded all, some more than once. Adler also performed transcriptions of pieces for other instruments, such as violin concertos by Bach and Vivaldi. Other works he played in harmonica arrangements were by Bartók, Beethoven, Debussy, de Falla, Gershwin (Rhapsody in Blue), Mozart, Poulenc, Ravel (Boléro), Stravinsky and Walton. The 1953 film Genevieve brought him an Oscar nomination for his work on the soundtrack, and considerable wealth. Other film scores included A Cry from the Streets (1958), The Hellions (1961), The Hook (1963), King & Country (1964) and A High Wind in Jamaica (1965). In 1994, for his 80th birthday, Adler and George Martin produced an album of George Gershwin songs, The Glory of Gershwin, on which they performed Rhapsody in Blue. The Glory of Gershwin reached number 2 in the UK albums chart. Adler was a musician and showman. Concerts to support The Glory of Gershwin showed he was a competent pianist. He opened each performance with Gershwin's "Summertime", playing piano and harmonica simultaneously. The Glory of Gershwin album included Peter Gabriel, Oleta Adams, Elton John, Sting, Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora, Meat Loaf, Sinéad O'Connor, Robert Palmer, Cher, Kate Bush, Elvis Costello, Courtney Pine, Issy Van Randwyck, Lisa Stansfield and Carly Simon, all of whom sang Gershwin tunes with an orchestra and Adler adding harmonica solos.
Denis Burton spent an impressive 50 years or so on Regular and Reserve service in the British Army. He enlisted in 1972 as a junior musician before establishing himself as the principal trombone of the Staff Band of the Royal Army Ordinance Corps. His musical potential was quakily realised, and he was selected for the Bandmaster Course, graduating as the top student and winning six prizes – including the Worshipful Company of Musicians Medal for Best Overall Bandmaster. He held appointments in the Light Infantry and in the Training Development Team at the Royal Military School of Music. He was commissioned and promoted to Director of Music, leading the Band of the Royal Lancers and the Band of the Corps of Royal Engineers as well as being Chief Instructor at the Royal Military School of Music responsible for musical training of all Army musicians. His final appointment in Regular Service was as Director of Music, Grenadier Guards, achieving world class standards of excellence in this high-profile state ceremonial role. After finishing his Regular Army career, Denis served as Director of Music of The Band of The Royal Welsh as part of the Army Reserve for another 15 years. Denis’s compositions and arrangements for wind, brass and ensembles have been published across the UK and Europe, with many of his arrangements still being used on occasions such as Trooping the Colour.
