The Big Parade
(1925) United States of America
Color/B&W : 13 reels / [?] 11,519, 12,550 or 12,800? feet
Directed by King Vidor + [George W. Hill]
Cast: John Gilbert [James Apperson], Renée Adorée [Melisande], Karl Dane [‘Slim’ Jensen], Tom O’Brien [Michael Olysius ‘Bull’ O’Hara], Hobart Bosworth [Mr. Apperson], Claire McDowell [Mrs. Apperson], Claire Adams [Justyn Reed], Robert Ober [Harry Apperson], Rosita Marstini [the French mother]; Harry Crocker [Bull’s letter translator], Major Roup [a child extra]
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Corporation production; distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distributing Corporation [A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Picture]. / Produced by Irving Thalberg. Scenario by Harry Behn + [King Vidor], from the story treatment “The Big Parade” by Laurence Stallings based on the short story “The Big Parade” by Laurence Stallings. Art direction by Cedric Gibbons and James Basevi. Settings (set design) by Cedric Gibbons and James Baevi + [Robert Florey]. Wardrobe designed (costume design) by Ethel P. Chaffin + [Robert Florey]. Assistant director, David Howard. Photography (cinematography) by John Arnold + [Hendrik Sartov]. Film editor, Hugh Wynn. Intertitles written by Joseph W. Farnham. Original music score by William Axt and David Mendoza. Presented by Metro-Goldyn-Mayer. / © 10 September 1927 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distributing Corporation [LP24384]. World premiere, 5 November 1925 at Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, California (at 12,800 feet). Premiered 19 November 1925 at the Astor Theatre (where the film played for 96 weeks straight) and at the Capitol Theatre in New York, New York. General release (at [?] 12? reels), 1927. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format. Technicolor two-strip color process sequence (the Red Cross ambulance shot). / MGM production number 229. Principal cinematography was taken from 8 April 1925 through 29 May 1925. George F. Hill directed the night battle sequence at the orders of Irving Thalberg, while Vidor was occupied with directing La Bohème (1926). Variety reported that electrician Carl Barlow suffered a fatal fall from a platform during production. Some location photography was taken near San Antonio, Texas (the truck convoy), at Clover Field near Santa Monica, California (the walking barrage sequence), in Griffith Park (the departure sequence) and in Elysian Park (the march into the woods sequence) in Los Angeles. Vidor (in Dowd-Vidor p. ?) says the original length of the print for the Egyptian Theatre was 12,800 feet. The film was rereleased in the USA in 1929, with Western Electric Vitaphone sound-on-disc synchronized sound system with synchronized music and sound effects. All of the Vitaphone soundtrack discs for the 1929 rerelease survive. The film was restored in 2004 by George Eastman Museum.
Drama: World War I.
Survival status: Print exists [35mm positive].
Current rights holder: Public domain [USA].
Keywords: Chewing gum - Color cinematography - Death - France - French - Heroism - Peasants - Soldiers - Transportation: Trucks - War: World War I (28 July 1914-11 November 1918) - Weapons: Guns
Listing updated: 15 February 2016.
References: Film credits, film viewing : Baer-Film p. 24; Bardèche-History pp. 285, 298; Basten-Technicolor p. 169; Bohn-Light pp. xxiii, 92, 116, 162, 190, 241; Brownlow-Parade pp. 74, 287, 322, 341, 515, 533, 575; Card-Seductive p. 52; Carroll-Matinee pp. 141-142; Dardis-Keaton p. 160; Davies-Times pp. 56, 104; Dowd-Vidor pp. 29, 32, 52, 53, 57-74, 75, 77, 82, 85, 91, 96, 111, 129, 132, 142, 147, 150, 150f, 158, 185, 190, 192, 199, 216, 279, 282-283; Drew-Speaking pp. 38, 44, 49, 61, 243; Eames-MGM p. 18; Everson-American pp. 11, 148, 159, 167, 199, 283, 290, 292, 293, 323, 338, 363; Fell-History pp. 111-112; FilmYearBook-1926 pp. 31, 35; Geduld-Birth p. 117; Hirschhorn-Universal p. 68; Kerr-Silent pp. 8, 34, 47; Keylin-NYTimes p. 22; Kobal-Fifty p. 30; Lahue-Collecting pp. 27, 39; Lahue-Gentlemen pp. 100, 101; Lahue-Triangle p. 152; Lee-Not pp. 98-99; Leish-Cinema pp. 53, 57; Limbacher-Feature p. 22; Maltin-Classic p. 58; McCaffrey-Guide pp. 18, 19; MoPicAlmanac-1929 p. 11; Parish-Combat pp. 52, 56-59, 152, 442; Sarris-Sternberg p. 10; Shipman-Cinema pp. 86, 89; Sinyard-Silent pp. 8, 68, 69, 187; Sklar-Movie p. 96; Smith-Colman p. 47; Sweeney-Coming p. 98; Vermilye-Twenties pp. 26, 27, 171, 200; Walker-Garbo p. 54; Weaver-Twenty pp. 27, 143; Weinberg-Stroheim p. 138 : FilmDaily-19251106 p. 1; Vitaphone-1-4 : Website-AFI; Website-IMDb.
Home video: Blu-ray Disc, DVD.
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