CONSENSUS #49. The Big Parade (1925)

SYNOPSIS: A spoiled rich boy (John Gilbert) is peer-pressured into volunteering for the Western Front in WWI. He befriends two common Joes (Karl Dane and Tom O’Brien) and hooks up with a feisty French femme (Renee Adoree). Before they can consummate the affair, the trio of doughboys are off to fight the Battle of Belleau Wood.

BACK-STORY: “The Big Parade” is a very influential war movie released in 1925. It was directed by King Vidor (“Northwest Passage”) and was a huge hit. The film cost $245,000 and made over $22 million. It is the highest grossing silent movie in history. The screenplay is based on a play by Joseph Farnham and the autobiographical novel Plumes by Marine veteran Laurence Stallings. It made a superstar of its lead John Gilbert (previously known for romantic roles opposite Marlene Dietrich) and boosted the career of Renee Adoree, who sadly died a few years later from tuberculosis. Vidor had the cooperation of the War Department, specifically the 2nd Division and the Signal Corps. Vidor watched hours of Signal Corps film to get the rhythm of battle and used some of the footage in the movie.

TRIVIA:  wikipedia, imdb, TCM

1.  It was based on the autobiographical novel by Laurence Stallings.  Stallings had been a Marine captain in WWI and was wounded in the leg in the Battle of Belleau Wood.  He was awarded the Croix de Guerre and Silver Star.

2.  It was MGMs highest grossing film until “Gone With the Wind”.

3.  The movie made a major star of Renee Adoree.  Unfortunately, she died a few years later at age 35 from tuberculosis.  Her co-star John Gilbert died at age 38.

4.  The gum chewing scene was improvised after director King Vidor saw a crew member chewing some.  He and Gilbert were not expecting Adoree to swallow it at the end of the scene.

5.  Vidor had a contract that called for 20% of the profits.  The studio’s lawyers conned him into believing the movie had been overly costly and would underperform.  He sold out for a small sum, thus avoiding becoming a millionaire.

6.  After a successful screen testing, it was decided to expand the film.  Vidor reshot the column scene with 3,000 extras, 200 trucks, and 100 planes (all provided by the War Department).  Uncredited director George W. Hill added some more combat.

7.  First film to use the word “damn” (on a title card).  Gilbert’s Apperson says:  “GOD DAMN THEIR SOULS!”

8.  Vidor used a bass drum when the soldiers are marching through the woods to get the men to keep a relentless pace into death.

9.  It was the second most profitable silent movie after “Birth of a Nation”.

Belle and Blade  =  N/A

Brassey’s              =  4.0

Video Hound       =  3.8

War Movies         =  N/A

Military History  =  #58

Channel 4             =  no

Film Site                =  yes

101 War Movies  =  yes

Rotten Tomatoes  =   no

OPINION: If you define “greatest” as most important, “The Big Parade” belongs in the top 100 and probably should be higher than #49. It is one of the great WWI movies. It will be interesting to see how it stacks up against “Wings” and “Hell’s Angels”. As far as the most obvious comparison, it is definitely inferior to “All Quiet” which came out five years later. However, if you define “greatest” as best quality, “The Big Parade" naturally comes up short due to its simplistic plot and the drawbacks of the silent era. I would not hesitate to call it a classic, but it is not one of the best war movies ever made.

The battle section of the movie is very good. It may lack a bit of accuracy and realism, but it is excitingly done. The deaths are unexpected. The “fog of war” is emphasized. Audiences got a taste of what it must have been like to be trapped in no man’s land.

The movie is important because it showed the human dimensions of war. Previous movies about war had not concentrated on the grunts (or in this case, doughboys). You had not seen realistic deaths like Slim’s and Bull’s. The main character would not have been crippled. Previous movies were either anti-German or propagandistic, or both. This movie is neither. It is anti-war, but not as strongly as some critics have claimed. It does have a happy ending which dilutes the anti-war message.