Movie Monday: The Big Parade (1925)
The Big Parade was the first silent film I ever saw and it made a lasting impression on me. One day I just happen to turn on the TV to TCM, and there it was! This 1925 film gave me a passion for early cinema and for John Gilbert films!
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As a viewer, in this film you witness many sides of war. It starts out as a simple experience, but quickly turns into one that is devastating. Initially, in the early lighthearted moments of the war, Gilbert’s character attempts to win over a French girl who doesn’t speak English while he doesn’t speak French. Their strained communication adds a sweet and slightly humorous side to this film. One of my favorite scenes in particular is when the couple are chewing gum together, I later learned that this scene was entirely improvised by the actors.
These photos are not mine.
The Big Parade was a huge boost to John Gilbert’s career and made him a popular choice as a leading man in early cinemas romantic films. It also created a superstar in Gilbert’s co-star Renee Adoree, and made her a famous actress in Hollywood. Adoree was especially able to capture the innocence of romance that helped sustain Gilbert’s soldier character to get through the tough times of war.
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That wholesomeness and naivety slowly fades as the film goes on, and John Gilbert’s character become weary. This sudden reality makes him realize the jeopardy he is in while fighting for his country. The Big Parade was the first movie to show war in a more realistic portrayal, and with wider camera angles to display the mass destruction war often causes. The high, arial shots were also used to demonstrate how many men would on the battle fields to fight.
The use of music in The Big Parade was what really struct me as a first time silent film viewer. In modern films, it seems the art of using music as important sounds and capturing a feeling has been somewhat lost. This movie was one that not only used music to accent movement and sound, but to overall give you the feeling of dread or excitement.
These photos are not mine.
The reason The Big Parade made such an impact on me was because it showed such a raw and real version of love and war. It showed how both love and war translates between languages and cultures universally. Never before, without CGI and modern technology, was war shown in such a realistic way. This film was an establishing movie for everyone involved and remains a classic to this day.
Much Love,
Sarah
