The Big Parade
| The Big Parade | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | King Vidor |
| Produced by | Irving Thalberg |
| Screenplay by | Harry Behn |
| Based on |
Plumes 1925 autobiographical novel by Laurence Stallings |
| Starring | |
| Music by | William Axt |
| Cinematography | John Arnold |
| Edited by | Hugh Wynn |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | Loew's Incorporated |
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Release date
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Running time
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141 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language |
Silent film, English intertitles |
| Budget | $382,000 |
| Box office | $18–22 million (theatrical rental) |
The Big Parade is a 1925 American silent film directed by King Vidor and starring John Gilbert, Renée Adorée, Hobart Bosworth, and Claire McDowell. Adapted by Harry Behn from the play by Joseph W. Farnham and the autobiographical novel Plumes by Laurence Stallings, the film is about an idle rich boy who joins the US Army's Rainbow Division and is sent to France to fight in World War I, becomes a friend of two working class men, experiences the horrors of trench warfare, and finds love with a French girl.
Although other anti-war films chronologically preceded it, The Big Parade is nevertheless an early film to have neither glorified the war nor ignored its human costs. It heavily influenced a great many subsequent war films, especially All Quiet on the Western Front (1930).
In the United States in 1917, James "Jim" Apperson's (John Gilbert) idleness (in contrast to his hardworking brother) incurs the great displeasure of his wealthy businessman father. Then America enters World War I. Jim informs his worried mother that he has no intention of enlisting, and his father threatens to kick him out of the house if he does not join. However, when he runs into his patriotic friends at a send-off parade, he is persuaded to enlist, making his father very proud.
During training, Jim makes friendships with construction worker Slim and bartender Bull. Their unit ships out to France, where they are billeted at a farm in the village of Champillon in the Marne.
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Wikipedia