The Big Parade
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| The Big Parade | |
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| Directed by | King Vidor |
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| Produced by | Irving Thalberg (uncredited) |
| Written by | Harry Behn Laurence Stallings (novel Plumes) |
| Starring | John Gilbert Renée Adorée Hobart Bosworth Claire McDowell |
| Music by | William Axt |
| Release date(s) | November 5, 1925 |
| Running time | 141 min |
| Country | United States |
| Language | Silent film English intertitles |
The Big Parade is a 1925 silent film which tells the story of an idle rich boy who joins the US Army's Rainbow Division and is sent to France to fight in World War I, becomes friends with two working class men, experiences the horrors of trench warfare, and finds love with a French girl.
The film was groundbreaking for not glorifying the war or its human costs, exemplified by the lead character's loss of a leg from battle wounds. It heavily influenced all subsequent war films, especially All Quiet on the Western Front (1930). It was adapted by Harry Behn and King Vidor (uncredited) from the play by Joseph Farnham and the autobiographical novel Plumes by Laurence Stallings, and directed by Vidor. It stars John Gilbert, Renée Adorée, Claire Adams, Karl Dane, Robert Ober and Tom O'Brien.
The Big Parade was one of the greatest hits of the 1920s, and made Gilbert and Adorée major stars. Tragically, Renée Adorée would soon be diagnosed with tuberculosis and die only a few years later. The film is the highest grossing silent film in cinema history (taking in $6,400,000 at the box office, $22,000,000 worldwide.)[1] In some larger cities this film was shown for a year or more continuously.
After the film's producers found a clause in Vidor's contract, entitling the director to 20% of the net profits, studio lawyers called for a meeting with him. At this meeting, accountants played up the costs of the picture while downgrading their forecast of its potential success. King Vidor was thus persuaded to sell his stake in the film before receiving his percentage. However, the film's tremendous success did establish Vidor as one of MGM's top directors for the rest of his career.
In 1992 the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.
The film was re-issued in 1931 with a sound-track consisting of William Axt's score. Composer Carl Davis created a new orchestral score for the film in the 1980s (quoting the theme associated with Melisande in Axt's original setting), and it was restored and released on video in the late 1980s as part of the MGM and British television Thames Silents project.
[edit] Cast
- John Gilbert - James Apperson
- Renée Adorée - Melisande
- Hobart Bosworth - Mr. Apperson
- Claire McDowell - Mrs. Apperson
- Claire Adams - Justyn Reed
- Robert Ober - Harry
- Tom O'Brien - Bull
- Karl Dane - Slim
- Kathleen Key - Miss Apperson
- Rosita Marstini - Melisande's mother
- Julanne Johnston - Justine Devereux
- George Beranger - (as Andre Beranger)
- Frank Currier
- Harry Crocker - Soldier (uncredited)
- Dan Mason - (uncredited)
- Carl 'Major' Roup - Extra (uncredited)
- Carl Voss- Officer (uncredited)
[edit] External links
[edit] References
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