‘THE BIG PARADE’

Evening Star, Issue 19550, 7 May 1927, Page 3

‘THE BIG PARADE’

COMEDY-DRAMA OF THE WAR Both humorous and dramatic incidents abound in ‘ The Big Parade,’ the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer picture of the Great War. The war theme has not been grafted on to the story of ‘The Big Parade ’ in a pander to excitement, nor introduced for the takingoff of an awkward husband or 'over There is a story, there is a hero, but they are manifestations of war in themselves. There is a love affair of the billets and the humor of the trenches. And all along the action is marching—left—left— ‘ The Big Parade,’ if only for the splendid climax that rounds off the first pars witu a long, remorseless snake of waggons rolling along the dusty road, rolling and rolling away into the distance, and still more at hand, and more, and then the aeroplanes winging over our heads, shooting and skimming off above the waggon train, three at first, then a dozen, then a full flight like swallows in autumn—if ouly for these ten minutes of majesty—must take its place amongst the beautiful things that war has suggested to many a musician and poet and dramatist since Homer sang.

Three men, each playing his part in tho trench warfare of Flanders, came from entirely different walks cf life, trained in different ideals, and .with an entirely different view of life One, before' he donned the uniform of a soldier, was a wealthy young man about town, used to the niceties of life, in which the ladies played a very prominent part; the second was a barman, used to all the roughness that characterises that kind of life in the larger cities of civilisation; while the (bird corner of this strangely-assorted friendship was a riveter, used to working on the world’s highest buildings. Brought together under conditiour which could only exist in war tiniu. these three became friends to tho death, and passed through many heroic incidents-in the trenches. The riveter is killed during a big “ push,” and the wealthy young man loses a log in the same struggle and is invalided home. During his residence in France lie meets Melisande, who provides the feminine love element in the story. Sh follows her “ Jimmee ” in the war area, where she suffers all the misery and fear that must of necessity be her portion under such conditions, and when her sweetheart is invalided home she disappears. After his recovery he. returns to France to siek for Melisande. and this side of the story is intensely human. As the three friends John Gilbert, Karl Dane, and Tom O’Brien are delightful; while Renee Adoree is irresistible as the French girl.