Cavalcade is a movie that is based on the Noel Coward play of the same name. The movie stars Diana Wynyard as Jane Marryot, Clive Brook as George Marryot, Frank Lawton as Joe Marryot, John Warburton as Edward Marryot, Una O'Connor as Ellen Bridges, Herbert Mundin as Alfred Bridges, Ursula Jeans as Fanny Bridges, Irene Browne as Margaret Harris, and Margaret Lindsay as Edith Harris.
I wonder how to handle the synopsis on this film without giving away too much, but I will start by saying the movie chronicles the Marryot family of London, starting on New Years Eve 1899 and ends on New Years Eve of 1933. To describe this movie as a tragedy would be an understatement since it seems almost every one of the major character in the movie dies. While that may be an exaggeration it isn't far off as many of the men in the movie come to untimely deaths.
While the Marryots are front in center in the movie, the Bridges are also front and center in the movie. In the beginning of the movie, the Bridges are the Marryot families servants. The other important characters are the Harris family whom are friends of the Marryot family.
The movie begins as I mentioned earlier on New Years Eve 1899 with the Marryot family ringing in the new century. However, the celebration is short lived as England is involved in the Boer war being fought in South Africa. Both George Marryot and Alfred Bridges are off to South Africa to fight the war. Both end up making it through the war and benefit from it. George Marryot is knighted and Alfred Bridges purchases a pub from an estate of someone he befriended during the war.
Time moves along and Alfred Bridges is killed in a tragic accident. Queen Victoria also dies during this time frame. They all view the Queen's funeral procession from the Marryot house. The next scene is at the beach, where most of the kids have grown up Edward Marryot and Edith Harris show their first signs of moving from childhood friends to young love. They run into the Bridges who are also on holiday. Fanny has won a prize for her dancing which continues the story line of her as a dancer.
Tragedy is just around the corner though as the next scene is of Edward and Edith on an ocean liner. Before the scene starts the date April 14, 1912. If you know your history you can guess what ocean liner they were on. The famous liner sank the following day. Edward and Edith both die.
Finally they move to World War I and Joe is of age to fight in the war. Before he ships off to war he sees Fanny dancing in a club. She has become a star but she does not recognize him. During the war they fall in love and keep a correspondence going and he spends his time with her when he comes back to England on leave. Of course he does not survive the war and is another person added to the tragedy that this movie portrays.
The rest of the movie is just kind of a collage of the main characters in certain periods of their life. It was actually a waste of time, but probably was inserted because the play ends in the early 30's. I think that the movie could have just ended after World War I and Joe's death. There is really nothing meaningful shown after that. With the notable exception of the final scene where the Marryots reflect on their lives, the good and the bad. They do this on New Years Eve of 1932 and the movie returns full circle to another New Years Eve.
I was a bit worried because this movie started off awfully slow in my opinion. I have also watched quite a few of the older movies lately and I think I may be getting a bit tired of the "golden era" of film. I was unfamiliar with most of the actors and actresses in this movie as well. All of these factors made me a bit apprehensive that I would be bored. The only actor that was of recognition was Frank Lawton and only because I recently saw him in David Copperfield.
Cavalcade was a fairly successful movie and garnered four Academy Award nominations. Three of them landed the movie on our list. Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Picture. Winning two of the three and winning a third for Art Direction. The movie was actually featured in the Best Picture montage that was played during the 2008 Academy Award program. Which I thought was interesting because half the time I see those old movies on the Academy Awards I rarely know which movie it is aside from the obvious ones.
Moving on to the Best Actress category. Diana Wynyard was nominated for her role as the matriarch of the Marryot family, Jane Marryot. This was her one and only Oscar nomination in her career. I was unfamiliar with her prior to this movie, but I will talk about what I learned about her in my research for the blog. It is important to note this movie was part of the 6th Academy Awards, back when they were in their infancy and therefore the number of nominations differed from what we see today. Her competition for the statue was as follows.
- Katharine Hepburn as Eva Lovelace in Morning Glory
- May Robson as Apple Annie in Lady for a Day
There seems to be a lot of speculation that Wynyard would have likely received more nominations given her performance in Cavalcade. However, she was an English actress who started on the stage and prior to Cavalcade starred in one other Hollywood movie, Rasputin and the Empress which has the distinction of being the only movie all the Barrymore siblings appeared in together.
After Cavalcade she starred in a few other movies but the scripts were poor and they bombed so she opted to go back to the stage and was very successful there. She worked primarily on the stage until her death in 1964.
As for her performance in Cavalcade I must say it was solid. Looking back the suffering mother staying strong and taking every thing that comes her way with strength and dignity may seem to be a bit unoriginal now, but perhaps it wasn't as tried and tested back in 1933. Then again that isn't her fault, that is the writers fault and she played the part superbly.
The final scene is probably where she shines the most. She is reflecting back on the years with her husband, the good the bad, the happy times and the sad. Considering the losses she has held it together well and remains remarkably positive despite the bad things that have occurred in her lifetime. Unfortunately I can't write as well as she performed in this scene.
On to directing of which Frank Lloyd was nominated for his effort. Frank Lloyd is one of the original 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences (AMPAS). He was a very accomplished director and has five nominations for Best Director overall. Though in the early days there weren't official nominations and only the winners were revealed. The AMPAS website doesn't explain how they came up with the people who did not win if only the winners were revealed, but the database does include movies that did not win. I mention this because I don't want to give the impression that Lloyd won all of those awards. He did win for Cavalcade and it was his second and final win. His other win came for The Divine Lady and that win holds the distinction of the only time someone won the Best Director award when the movie was not nominated for Best Picture. He also directed seven Best Actor or Actress nominees throughout his career.
The other nominees for Best Director that year were as follows.
- Frank Capra for Lady for a Day
- George Cukor for Little Women
Last but not least the Best Picture nomination. Which despite the early years of the awards actually had a multiple of other pictures nominated. The other movies were as follows.
- 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 the VIII
- She Done Him Wrong
- Smilin' Through
- State Fair
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