Nominated: A Farewell to Arms, 42nd Street, I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, Lady for a Day, Little Women, The Private Life of Henry VIII, She Done Him Wrong, Smilin' Through, State Fair
Should have won: King Kong
Be sure to see: Duck Soup, The Invisible Man
“Let us drink to our
sons who made part of the pattern and to our hearts that died with
them. Let us drink to the spirit of gallantry and courage that made a
strange heaven out of unbelievable hell.”--Jane Marryot
One
of the greatest movies ever made—and will ever be made—was
released in 1933. The timeless wonder of King Kong, the
best monster movie of all time, will last for eternity. To watch
Cavalcade and see it
took home the best picture Oscar leads me to believe the early years
of the Academy were a little unfocused. I wouldn't say that Cavalcade
is a mess but it is certainly
forgettable.
As
1899 comes to a close, England and Boers are at war in South Africa.
A London family awaits the cavalcade of the 20th
century. The movie follows the Marryot family, starting with the
husband, Robert, getting ready to ship off to war. I've seen a lot of
movies where someone leaves for war and the soldiers are typically young
upbeat men with a twinkle in their eye. Robert is a proper gentleman
in a tuxedo.
Time
passes; it is 1909 and a man is making sand art of various figures of
England...and Theodore Roosevelt. There are some nods at the war and
also at the sinking of the Titanic when 1912 rolls around. This is
one of my favorite scenes because, though it is capped with the nod
to the doomed vessel, the conversation leading to it is mysterious and heartfelt. A
couple is discussing a honeymoon and other topics like
the depths of the Atlantic, their future together, and even death. But it is
done in a caring way so we connect with the couple, then we see the name of the ship they are aboard and our hearts sink, no pun intended.
Different
characters come in and out and there is a a musical number. I love musicals so usually I would enjoy a musical number. In this case, the women were singing over each other
with no harmony or cohesive lyrics. I believe the song might have
been intended to be a novelty act but it was just annoying to me.
When
the war does hit, the sequence is shown in very effective overlapping
shots. This movie is definitely an event-driven story rather than a
character-driven one. I didn't care about most of the characters but
it was nice to see Una O'Conner in it. You might recognize her from
her roles in Bride of
Frankenstein and The
Invisible Man
with her unmistakably obnoxious accent.
The
movie isn't too bad but is extremely unfocused and ultimately forgettable, as mentioned. I would not recommend Cavalcade unless you are a completist.
Early on Robert tells his wife, Jane to give the future a chance. I wonder if
that is what the members of the young Academy, in only its sixth
year, were telling each other,
too. The future turns out to be pretty bright though; the 1930s best pictures end up to be very strong.
No comments:
Post a Comment