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Today’s blog post tackles a monumental silent film....on which very little has been written. And the reason, distinguished readers, is simple – very little is known! Unlike films such as our beloved “Wings”, which has a great many stories and details on production, “The Big Parade” has just a fraction. But we’ve put our minds to assembling as much as possible for you to enjoy, as this film is too important to fall to the wayside...Hey, it was MGM’s top-earning film of the silent era, with profits of $3.4M (not too shabby for those days) - and MGM wouldn’t see that record broken until “Gone With the Wind”!
Opening night (1925), at (guess whose??) theater - Sid Grauman's!
“The Big Parade” is the story of a wealthy young man who spontaneously decides to join the Army and fight in World War 1. The film follows his journey to France, and gives audiences a heart-wrenching look into soldiers in combat. Along the way, our young soldier falls in love with a French girl, whose family hosts the American soldiers at their farm in the country.
Shooting the combat scenes
Actor John Gilbert was cast to play the leading man, at the suggestion of Irving Thalberg - without even reading the script! He had enough faith and trust in his boss (Irving) and director King Vidor to accept the part, script unseen, even though he wasn’t King’s first choice. French actress Renée Adorée was cast as the leading lady, and proved to be a great pick. It was said that she came up with ideas for her character’s mannerisms and made suggestions for scenes. Sadly, Renée was diagnosed with tuberculosis soon after, and passed away a few years later. “The Big Parade” would prove to be one of her defining roles. The film, which boosted both of their careers, played continuously in theaters in some larger cities for a year or more! It’s widely contested (of course) but “The Big Parade” may have been the most successful film of the silent era. So why isn’t there more recorded about it?! WE WISH WE KNEW.
In between takes
Director King Vidor was (somewhat) played by the studio lawyers when it was discovered that his contract had a clause, entitling him to 20% of the net profits. A meeting was called, in which the studio accountants made the film seem much more expensive to make than it actually was, and they "forecasted" that it wouldn’t make much money at the box office. Wouldn’t he rather just sell his stake in the film before it flopped?? Well...he shouldn’t have – but he did! When it became the blaze that it was, ol’ King didn’t get any of it. But it did boost his own career as a first-rate director so...that’s something. He’d directed some films for MGM before, but he told Irving Thalberg that he would put a lot more effort and love into a project that had a chance to run a long time – and he most definitely proved that!
"Soldiers" getting ready to march! Notice the stage number in the far righthand corner??
Left to right: Renée, King and John
King wrote a bit about the film in his autobiography:
“I wanted it to be the story of a young American who was neither over patriotic or a pacifist, but who went to war and reacted normally to all the things that happened to him. It would be the story of the average guy…He simply goes along for the ride and tries to make the most of each situation as it happens. Thalberg was immediately interested.”
Shooting the now-famous romantic scene by the river
Screenwriter Lawrence Stallings drew from his own experiences during World War 1, including the loss of his own leg – giving the entire story a personal, “human” perspective. The “Exhibitor’s Herald” gave a rave review of his writing:
“The Big Parade has about it a vividness, a genuineness and a reality that could only have been achieved by an author who had lived through the drone of German machine gun fire, trench mud and the peculiar psychology that came to be imposed upon the participants in the Great War. Mr. Stallings does not picture the war for the spectator; he actually takes you into it. He does not moralize about his subject matter and he does not even dramatize it; he simply takes the spectator to France with the American doughboys in the great days of 1919 [sic] and permits him to experience sensations, situations, and events that range from the ridiculous to the tragic.”
As for where the film was shot, THAT is a whole 'nother blog post, beautifully done by our fellow CMBA member, John Bengston at Silent Locations! We highly recommend reading his post in full-length (link in references), but here's a few tidbits:
Orange, California - as shown in the movie, and in the present day
Many thanks to our friend Casey Smith for providing the remarkable behind-the-scenes photos of this glorious film!
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