Product Details

• Format: NTSC
• Running time: 110 minutes

Amazon.com
The winner of 1934's Best Picture Oscar proves that the Academy hasn't changed its tune much in 50-plus years. Though films of that year, such as King Kong, still remain in the public psyche, Cavalcade, which is rarely seen now, fits the Academy's bill as an "important" film, one worthy of the Best Picture title. It chronicles the life of two British families, from the eve of the 20th century to 1933. One family is upstairs, the other downstairs, but it's less a view of the class struggle than a remembrance of things past. People honeymoon on the Titanic, they fight in the War to End All Wars, and they seem to entirely avoid the 1920s. Based upon Noel Coward's play, young couples banter using frightfully high-tea terms--everyone's "dreadful," "horrid," or "pathetic." A final montage tirade about the decrepit state of the times (hey, they did it back then, too!) almost knocks the legs out from under the whole proceedings, but it holds on. Stiff upper lip and all that. --Keith Simanton

Customer Reviews

Memorable But Stylistically Dated
CAVALCADE is an extremely good example of films made in the first few years following the advent of sound, an era in which actors, directors, writers, and cinematographers struggled to find a new style that could comfortably accomodate the new technology. During this period, many actors and writers were drawn from the stage--only to discover that what seems real and natural in the theatre seems heavily mannered on screen.

This is certainly the case with CAVALCADE. The film presents the story of two London families whose lives intertwine between 1900 and 1933. The film begins with the upperclass Marryot family and their servants, Mr. and Mrs. Bridges, facing the Boer War--and then through a series of montages and montage-like scenes follows the fortunes of the two families as they confront changing codes of manners and social class and various historic events ranging from the sinking of the Titanic to World War I.

From a modern standpoint, the really big problem with the film is the script. CAVALCADE was written for the stage by Noel Coward, who was one of the great comic authors of the 20th Century stage--but the sparkling edge that seems so flawless in his comic works acquires a distastefully "precious" quality when applied to drama. Although the play was a great success in its day, it is seldom revived, and the dialogue of the film version leaves one in little doubt of why: it feels ridiculously artificial, and that quality is emphasized by the "grand manner" of the cast.

That said, the cast--in spite of the dialogue and their stylistically dated performances--is quite good. This is particularly true of the two leading ladies, Diana Wynyard and Una O'Connor (best known for her appearances in THE INVISIBLE MAN and THE BRIDE OF FRANKESTEIN), both of whom have memorable screen presences that linger in mind long after the film ends. The material is also quite interesting and startlingly modern; although it is more covert than such films as ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT, CAVALCADE has a decidedly anti-war slant, and the characters in the film worry about where technology (which has produced such horrors as chemical warfare by World War I) will take them in the future.

I enjoyed the film. At the same time, I would be very hesitant to recommend it to any one that was not already interested in films of the early 1930s, for I think most contemporary viewers would have great difficulty adjusting to the tremendous difference in style. The VHS (the film is not yet available on DVD) has some problem with visual elements and a more significant problem with audio elements, but these are not consistent issues. Recommended--but with the warning that if you don't already like pre-code early "talkies" you will likely be disappointed.

Cavalcade a historical timepiece
The most important thing to keep in mind with this film is the fact that it was made in 1933. It is an excellent film for capturing the mood of the English people at this time. It seems to be almost a tribute to English perseverance and a wake up call for a society that is spiraling into decadence and immorality. (ie Wake up - life is brief and may be over in an instant) I loved the symbolism in this movie, the horses portraying time marching on, the image of Jesus hanging on the cross as the troops march off to "sacrifice" themselves. The cross on the top of the church that symbolized faith and eternity. You really need to look under the surface to appreciate this film. As a timepiece, and a wakeup call that went unheralded, I give it four stars.

A world long lost, twice removed from our own...
Noel Coward's homage to the bygone era of Edwardian England. A long and somewhat lumpy script tracks one upper-upper class family's trials through 1899-1933, as their paths intersect the Boer War, WWI, and the Titanic... Oddly enough, considering Coward's bon vivant temprament, the movie seems to condemn the libertine sensibilities of the Jazz Era (great glimpses of the action, though, including a gay couple exchanging gifts in a nightclub...) and exalts the more traditional English reserve. An interesting film, although in retrospect WWII loomed large in the background...