Hollywood Cavalcade

This is a movie about the old silent movie days in Hollywood and I think one of the best movies about the subject. Don Ameche and Alice Faye are terrific. But in my opinion the real treat is watching Buster Keaton perform his unforgettable slapstick for the first scene in the movie studio, and the recreation of an old Mack Sennett style comedy. (Which was supervised by Mack himself.) This is a great movie for silent film buffs... and anyone for that matter. But unfortunately you can't get it on video, but it's on T.V every once in a while so try and catch it. Chio!

Didn't like "Hollywood Cavalcade" because it was a disappointment. Don't be deceived by the glitzy picture of happy faces on the title page, this is a somber drama which starts out happy, but quickly descends into discord and bitterness. The question is why Ameche and Faye? I guess because they were two of Fox's brightest stars and money was hopefully to be made. Ameche played a scold who wallowed in self-pity and Faye was his verbal punching bag. Talk about casting against type.

Not one song. This picture didn't need technicolor, or either of the stars, it needed black-and-white and a twosome like John Garfield and Claire Trevor, and a heavier hand on the script, if Fox was going for strife and pathos. I got this picture in a Fox Musical DVD set and it doesn't fit in.

Its only redeeming quality is a look into silent-movie Hollywood, with some of its stars in small parts. I think movies like this - "Singing In The Rain" is another - fill in the blanks for those of us who were too young when silents gave way to talking pictures. Otherwise, "Hollywood Cavalcade" was a chore to watch.

It's 1913. A studio prop boy spies the actress who is going to become Hollywood's next great movie star and he's the director that's going to make it happen. After inventing pie throwing and the keystone cops, his dream comes true. Being completely absorbed in his film-making, however, he fails to notice that he is losing his leading lady to another man. Several over-budget flops later, he is known as nothing more than the director who turned down Rin-tin-tin. Fortunately for him, the loyal and compassionate residents of Hollywood are untainted by ambition and ego. He'll be okay as long as he still has his friends.

This movie starts out as a mad-cap comedy typical of the time period, and in the opening scenes it holds its own with the best of them. It has a playful lack of self-consciousness which is sorely missing in most of today's comedies. Shortly into the film, however, it moves away from this mode of comedy and instead attempts to entertain us using the films within the film. These are silent slapstick comedies, well done but nothing out of the ordinary, and they go on for much longer than is necessary for any audience which has seen the originals. Upon returning, the film takes a dramatic turn. It's well written and the cast does an excellent job of making the transition, but the movie really should have decided from the beginning what it was going to be.

By the end of the film, it has transformed once again - this time into a paean to the glitter of Hollywood. The small town of Los Angeles has grown up into the city which makes the movies that entertain the whole world.

In spite of its promising beginnings, this film has not aged particularly well. Nevertheless, it does have some strong scenes, a certain nostalgic appeal, and an entertaining sub-text about the people who made it and the audiences it was made for.

In this sweet salute to old Hollywood, Alice Faye plays a silent movie star vaguely reminiscent of Mabel Normand, often remembered by her pie-throwing work in silent comedies. When Alice goes to Hollywood with her ambitious director Don Ameche in tow, she and Buster Keaton accidentally become responsible for inventing the pie-in-the-face gag. She rockets to stardom, but when Don seems like he's more interested in her career than her heart, she finds comfort in Alan Curtis's arms.

The romance in Hollywood Cavalcade is predictable, but still manages to be sweet and tragic. It's obvious to the audience that Don cares, and when Alice confronts him, he shows off his acting chops in a wonderfully dramatic scene. His character is extremely strong, stubborn, and prideful, but he gives enough humanity in his performance to make the audience root for him unconditionally. In contrast, Alice comes across as flaky and weak, but since Don's the protagonist, it's alright.

The other half of Hollywood Cavalcade shows what it's like to be in the business. Here today, gone tomorrow, and all at the whim of the audience and the studio. Several silent legends gave cameos and received a special thank-you during the opening credits-Buster Keaton, Lee Duncan, Chester Conklin, Ben Turpin, Hank Mann, Jed Prouty, Snub Pollard, and Al Jolson-and it was sweet to see them reliving their heydays. And when talking pictures come, Don delivers an incredible monologue about the power of sound in films. "They were looking at shadows on the screen, only they weren't shadows anymore," he describes. I'm sure audiences of 1939 remembered how they felt in 1929 during that speech.

All in all, this is a very good movie, but generally overlooked because of the year it was released. If you're looking for a better, more dramatic version of Singin' in the Rain, check this one out.

"Hollywood Cavalcade" (1939), directed by Irving Cummings, became 20th Century-Fox's answer to David O. Selznick's ever popular and often imitated Hollywood story, "A Star is Born" (1937) featuring Janet Gaynor and Fredric March. As with "A Star is Born," "Hollywood Cavalcade" begins with opening titles in type written form on a movie script, and, with the exception of theatrical screenings of silent comedies and re-enactment of "The Jazz Singer," the entire production is in Technicolor. Unlike "A Star is Born," however, the photo-play goes back further in time, in fact, during the silent years of motion pictures instead of a ten year cycle concluding to the present day. While one might expect Gaynor to appear in this "Star is Born" imitation set during the cycle where her career actually began, the surprise turns out to be Alice Faye, better known for musicals, whose screen career started in 1934, assuming the role as a silent movie queen. Don Ameche, on the other hand, minus his famous mustache in the early portion of the story, is appropriately cast as Faye's guide and director.

As for the fictional account to an existing era, the plot begins in 1913 where Michael Linnett Connors (Don Ameche) and his partner, Dave Spingold (J. Edward Bromberg) come to New York City where they attend a stage production of "The Man Who Came Back" featuring Molly Adair (Alice Faye), an understudy filling in for Trixie Farrell, whose come up with laryngitis. Although Molly's performance comes across as bad, it does attract some attention by Connors, who offers her a studio contract in "pictures" for $100 a week. At first she declines, but after much persuasion, she takes him up on his offer and heads for Hollywood. Molly's screen test for Globe Pictures makes an impression, especially in a slapstick comedy starring Buster Keaton where she accidentally gets a pie in her face that has audiences roaring in laughter. Pie throwing comedies become a sensation, but eventually fade for more sophisticated productions. As years pass, Mike attempts new ideas, making Molly as top star in dramatic roles. While Molly has fallen in love with Michael, his mind is mostly on his work, creativity and his own movie studio bearing his name. He realizes his error too late when Molly marries Nicky Hayden (Alan Curtis), her leading man (who was discovered working in a gas station). Having lost Molly, whose career is at its peak, Michael falls to hard times, with no movie offers due to his big budget costs and bad temperament towards his actors and crew. With the 1927 premiere of "The Jazz Singer" that becomes the talk of Hollywood, putting an end to the silent era, closing a chapter to old careers and opening the door for the new, the studio is faced with the dilemma as to what to do with Molly's unfinished silent production of "Common Clay" with Michael now back in the director's chair.

A great idea to an old story, "Hollywood Cavalcade" is a fun film to sit through, full of nostalgia and re-enactment of how silent movies, especially comedies, were made. Guest appearances by silent comics now past their prime including Buster Keaton, Ben Turpin and Chester Conklin are a plus; Eddie Collins, Hank Mann, Heinie Conklin, Snub Pollard and James Finlayson adding to the enjoyment as The Keystone Kops; with added bonuses of comedy director Mack Sennett delivering a testimonial at the Cocoanut Grove; Lee Duncan, the man who discovered Rin-Tin-Tin, the first dog superstar, as played by Rinty Jr.; as well as the legendary Al Jolson appearing briefly in the Sabbath prayer sequence of "Kol Nidre" from "The Jazz Singer" during the latter part of the story. Up to then, the fun has dimmed due to melodramatics and tragic circumstances that take up the second half with harsh realities taking place during the close of an age of silent movie making.

In the supporting cast, look for the familiar faces of Stuart Erwin as Pete Tinney, the cameraman; Donald Meek as Lyle P. Stout; Jed Prouty, Chick Chandler, Irving Bacon, Willie Fung, and much more.

Because Alice Faye was a specialized singer, it's a wonder why the screenwriters didn't think of having her perform in an early sound musical? A missed opportunity put to better advantage years with MGM's "Singin' in the Rain" (1952) starring Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds. As for "Hollywood Cavalcade," it's sadly forgotten due to lack of revivals, even with Technicolor, though it would have been more authentic with black and white photography. Out of circulation for many years, it did have some repeated showings on American Movie Classicscable channel in 2001, followed by the Fox Movie Channel where it can currently be seen and studied by film enthusiasts. Thanks to its authentic recreation of a bygone era and a grand first hour or so, "Hollywood Cavalcade" is recommended viewing. (***)