Review of Cavalcade (1933) by Jordan P — 25 Jan 2019

I could not believe the reviews I read concerning this film. It seems that if a movie is philosophical, people end up getting bored fast with it. First, the title itself has meaning, for this is the story of a procession that whether or not they had success, they participated in the wildness that was the turn of the century.

I loved the feelings being expressed by the character Jane, because though she is patriotic and cares about her country, she worries and grieves over her son and husband going to war. War itself creates wastelands, power vacuums, immense death and destruction, and is often glorified for more than it is.

People come back from war different people than when they left. Next the film shows how vice and immoral living changes people, such as alcohol consumption, sleazy living, atheism, sexual deviance in general, and communism and how they help to create a society that no matter its prior successes is a country that has lost a great amount of its honor.

This movie reflects a lot of what we see today, and although some of the acting techniques are less refined than they are now, the message still rings as clear as it did then. Great final number and great scripting, very underrated in our time (though back then they seemed to understand its merit well enough to give it a Best Picture award.

).