The Mad Parade

MGM's war drama 'The Big Parade' was the single biggest money-maker of Hollywood's silent-film period. (Actually, 'The Birth of a Nation' made more money, but the profits were divided among several different distributors.) Consequently, there were several unrelated movies -- such as 'The Wet Parade' -- with titles evoking that box-office bonanza. 'The Mad Parade' was one of them, and (unlike 'The Wet Parade') it resembles 'The Big Parade' to the extent that it's also about the Great War ... but this time from a female viewpoint.

The film which 'The Mad Parade' most nearly resembles is 'The Women', in which an all-female cast spent most of their time obsessing over men who remained just offscreen. But that movie took place in a female universe of salons and boutiques. 'The Mad Parade' sets a bigger challenge: it's a war movie (traditionally male territory) with an all-female cast. It would be very contrived to keep men entirely absent from this setting, so (unlike in 'The Women') we do hear men's offscreen voices, occasionally seeing a man's shadow outlined on the wall, or glimpsing a man's shoulder at the edge of the frame.

The setting is a military canteen during the Great War, staffed by women so that men will be available for combat duty. The commander is Schuyler, played by the underrated character actress Irene Rich. Each of the young women on her staff has a distinctly different personality, and much of the drama (with some comedy relief) comes from the clash of these personalities under the pressure of war.

Monica Dale is nicknamed 'the Duchess' for her reserved manner. She's romantically involved with Tony, a handsome young aviator. One drawback of this film's all-female conceit is that we know we're never going to see Tony even though we keep hearing about him. Monica's co-worker Janice is jealous and wants Tony for herself. Lilyan Tashman (whom I've never liked) supplies some bad comedy relief; Louise Fazenda's comic playing is more welcome. Fazenda's character is cried Fanny Smithers, a name which would provoke unintended laughter in British cinemas.

The film takes pains to establish that these women are in physical danger, just like the men they cater for. A German bombing raid hits the canteen. Monica finds a dud German grenade, and chucks it at a rat ... but the grenade explodes and kills her co-worker Prudence.

One thing I found immensely annoying about this movie is that most of the women are constantly obsessing about romantic entanglements with men, even though they've got far more pressing matters. In fairness, I'm sure that plenty of men in combat zones were thinking about women during lulls in the battle ... but I'm also sure they put aside those thoughts and got to work when the shooting started. Most of the characters in 'The Mad Parade' live utterly for male attention. Marceline Day's dialogue reveals her bizarre enunciation. Bill Beaudine's directorial efforts are -- as usual for him -- workmanlike and unimaginative. The editing is poor. But there aren't many films with an all-woman cast, and still fewer of those are war movies. This film's unusual setting and casting go far to raise it above the mundane. Despite its flaws and its derivative title, I'll rate 'The Mad Parade' 8 points out of 10.

I saw the 1936 re-release (Forgotten Women) at the Library of Congress Mary Pickford Theater. Pre-Code film always amazes me with the sex, sass and overall message, but this one really got me. Most war films have a good side, a bad side, and in the end the good side wins. FW shows no particular side, but focuses on the individuality of war, specifically the uniqueness of the female experience. The opening screen of the '36 version has a written thank you to the women who served in WWI, but after seeing the film, the thank seems almost absurd. You don't just say thank you for permananent psychological damage, alcoholism, love and utter loss in 45 seconds. FW is a beautiful testament to the reality of war, especially for women, and especially at the time it was made. My total approval.

Seven of my very favorite film actresses, and all in an unusual tale of WWI - as told through the experiences of the hard-working, dedicated, heroic women who served right in the thick of battle. Regal yet warm Captain Irene Rich issues a final warning to tough Sargent Evelyn Brent, a war and world-weary vet who cannot help living life in the fastest way, to the point of falling for the upright good girl's betrothed flyer! The first half is slice-o-life with the women going about their day; second half takes them by truck into the line of fire. Despite a performance that mainly illustrates Louise Brooks' assessment of Brent's acting "style," I believe today's audiences can at last appreciate her straightforward, contemporary aggressiveness. Before there was Sigourney, there had to have been Evelyn Brent. In the films at least, you didn't push Brent around or you got pushed back twice as hard, and there's plenty of that going on in THE MAD PARADE (aka FORGOTTEN WOMEN). There's nothing particularly notable about Wm. Beaudine's direction, but the interplay of the actresses elevates the script a notch or two above average. And what actresses! June Clyde makes a smartly modern upright good girl, proving nobody's fool. Delicate silent beauty Marceline Day suffers sweetly, absorbing more bad breaks than any character deserves. Sennett vet Louise Fazenda reigns in her mug to offer a surprisingly effective yet free-spirited performance. All are nicely balanced by "regal yet warm" Irene Rich (a mature beauty, a marvelous cross between a Gibson Girl and Margaret Dumont). Best of all is that underrated American original, Lilyan Tashman as the "best pal," and a robust, fearless turn by rarely seen Fritzi Ridgeway, both expertly spinning gold out of often straw dialogue, and providing the most entertaining and stirring moments in an unexpectedly interesting yarn.

At a field first-aid station that is staffed solely by women, the personnel bicker about men, get drunk, and try to do their jobs.

It's another early talkie with Evelyn Brent, so far as I am concerned, and in the period from about 1926-1936, she could do no wrong, even as her career began to decline. Mostly, though, it struck me as a pre-code version of THE WOMAN, caught up in the random events of war. It looks like it was opened out slightly from a stage-play, since almost all of it takes place at and ambulance-and-aid station near the front. That, however, appears not to be the case; it's from a story with the ambiguous title of "Women Like Men."

This seems to have begun production with Dorothy Arzner as director and an entirely different cast. Then suddenly Arzner was replaced by William Beaudine. Those who are familiar with both directors may think that's like replacing William Wyler with Sam Newfield. However, in this era, Beaudine was a respected and able director and Miss Arzner, while very capable, was known to be predatory on set.

Although the different registers of the actresses may make some of the performances stagier and less compelling, it's how people act under stress. Some try to outshout the guns, while others turn into themselves. This pre-code movie does what a movie of that era could. It is frank, shocking, well produced and almost unique in depicting a small part of the Great War that denounces the standard ideas of its time.

The cover to the DVD for "Forgotten Women" (an alternate title for "The Mad Parade") makes the film look a bit more salacious than it really is, as it's emblazened with the phrase "Shocking Pre-Code classic!". But it's really not all that shocking...even for 1931. Aside from some cursing, a trampy character and the fact that it's about women serving in the war, there isn't that much shocking content. Of course, if it was shown after the toughened Production Code of 1934, then these story elements might have been removed in order for the film to be allowed to be seen in theaters.

The story is a bit hard to follow, as there are a lot of women and at first it's easy to mix them up. It's a very episodic story....and shows how these women coped with the hellish conditions. While it seems very gritty, no film comes close to capturing the horrors of the war...and this one isn't as realistic as, say, "All Quiet on the Western Front". Essentially, the film is mostly about how these women cope...or don't cope...with death and destruction all around them.

Overall, a modestly interesting story...with a dandy finale. Not exactly a must see but a decent and watchable story nevertheless.