CAVALCADE

My New Year’s Commitment to watching all the Oscar Winning Best Films that I have not previously seen continues! This time around it’s Cavalcade which was released in 1933. It is based on the 1931 play written by the master himself, Noel Coward. The movie follows two families in England from New Year’s Eve 1899 through New Year’s Eve 1933, with each family representing two separate classes… similar to "Upstairs Downstairs" (for the Millennials or Gen Yers, think "Downton Abbey").

The central character of the movie is Jane Marryot (Diana Wynyard). She, along with her husband Robert and their two sons, live a life of means in London. Downstairs among the servants are their butler, Alfred, and their maid Ellen. Alfred and Ellen are married with a new daughter, Fanny. The movie begins as both Robert and Alfred are heading off to serve England in the Second Boer War in South Africa. The film follows both families from this point through World War I and on through 1933. Love and loss, joining and separation, and social growth and decline are all central themes. Diana Wynyard would be nominated as best actress for her pivotal role.

For its time, the sets are quite lavish, and the camera does a wonderful job of capturing the enormity of various large-scale gatherings. The movie is dated for sure, but its central themes are ones that anyone can relate to. Too often the actors play their scenes as if they were playing to an audience rather than a camera. Additionally, some of the dialogue almost drips with heavy-handed foreshadowing. This is best exemplified when a newlywed couple boards their cruise ship for their honeymoon. Standing on the open deck, they begin talking at great length about how this is the happiest they will ever be and how neither of them would be afraid to die now having experienced their current bliss. As they exit the scene, the camera stays locked in place, revealing a life buoy that had been hanging behind them.  It has TITANIC written on it.

The human journey is one shared by all of us. Wealth and class don’t guarantee happiness, nor does obtaining wealth and privilege guarantee class. What we make of things along the way is something we can celebrate... or be mired in. That choice is up to each of us.