IMDb RATING
7.9/10
7.4K
YOUR RATING
A young American soldier witnesses the horrors of the Great War.A young American soldier witnesses the horrors of the Great War.A young American soldier witnesses the horrors of the Great War.
- Awards
- 6 wins
Renée Adorée
- Melisande
- (as Renee Adoree)
Arthur H. Allen
- Dying German
- (uncredited)
George Beranger
- Patriotic Letter Reader
- (uncredited)
Harry Crocker
- Doughboy
- (uncredited)
Julanne Johnston
- Justine Devereux
- (uncredited)
Kathleen Key
- Miss Apperson
- (uncredited)
Dan Mason
- Second Patriotic Letter Reader
- (uncredited)
Carl 'Major' Roup
- Doughboy
- (uncredited)
- Directors
- King Vidor
- George W. Hill(uncredited)
- Writers
- Laurence Stallings(uncredited)
- Harry Behn
- Joseph Farnham
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe famous scene in which Jim (John Gilbert) teaches Melisande (Renée Adorée) to chew gum was improvised on the spot during filming. Director King Vidor observed a crew member chewing gum and later recalled, "Here was my inspiration. French girls didn't chew or understand gum; American doughboys did...Gilbert's efforts to explain would endear him to her and she would kiss him...[It was] one of the best love scenes I ever directed." Gilbert also claimed that he did not expect Adorée to swallow the gum, which proved to be the scene's comic highlight.
- GoofsWhen Jim is getting dressed in the hayloft for his date, Slim jokingly refers to him as "Mr. Hemingway". When the film was being made in 1924-25 Ernest Hemingway was becoming famous, but in the movie's time frame of 1917, he was still unknown.
- Quotes
James Apperson: [to Melisande, who speaks French] French is Greek to me.
- Crazy creditsMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer gratefully acknowledges the splendid co-operation of the Second Division, United States Army and Air Service Units, Kelly Field.
- Alternate versionsThere is an Italian edition of this film on DVD, distributed by DNA srl, "LA FOLLA (1928) + LA GRANDE PARATA (1925)" (2 Films on a single DVD), re-edited with the contribution of film historian Riccardo Cusin. This version is also available for streaming on some platforms.
- ConnectionsEdited into Marianne (1929)
Featured review
Outstanding Silent Film
This is one of the best silent movies ever made, and probably the best WWI movie ever made, silent or sound. It's one of the greatest movies I have seen to show how war can turn one man's world upside down, yet not necessarily in a completely negative way as have other films. The direction is superb. The acting is wonderful. In particular, Renee Adoree's character is adorable as the French heroine. In one of the movie's most romantic scenes (and a much parodied one), Renee's character anxiously finds Gilbert, who is in the process of moving on to battle. When they unite, the two almost can't be seperated, even as the cars are moving. It's one of the most emotional scenes ever.
Then there are the battle scenes, which are stellar. The character development is wonderful, as lazy, rich boy Jim joins the war only to please his friends and fiancee. Then, he finds out what war is all about, as well as true love. "Slim" makes a nice comedic supporting character, who again is finally seen in a different light in the face of battle.
One thing I should note, is that the version of this film I saw is the one scored by Carl Davis. I also heard his score for "the Lodger" and thought it was distracting if anything. But this score is an example of the perfect silent score. It actually shows the maximum "potential" of the film. It's always appropriate, is molded to every scene, takes advantage of a modern orchestra while still preserving several stylistic nuances of older films. Kudos to Mr. Davis for a fine score.
Finally, why wasn't there room for this on AFI's 100 list? It's certainly better than "the Jazz Singer" or "Easy Rider", and probably a ton of others on the list. Part of the problem, I realize is that so few people have seen this. There's only about 150 votes so far on this site. This masterpiece should be seen at least once by any serious film lover. A perfect 10!
Then there are the battle scenes, which are stellar. The character development is wonderful, as lazy, rich boy Jim joins the war only to please his friends and fiancee. Then, he finds out what war is all about, as well as true love. "Slim" makes a nice comedic supporting character, who again is finally seen in a different light in the face of battle.
One thing I should note, is that the version of this film I saw is the one scored by Carl Davis. I also heard his score for "the Lodger" and thought it was distracting if anything. But this score is an example of the perfect silent score. It actually shows the maximum "potential" of the film. It's always appropriate, is molded to every scene, takes advantage of a modern orchestra while still preserving several stylistic nuances of older films. Kudos to Mr. Davis for a fine score.
Finally, why wasn't there room for this on AFI's 100 list? It's certainly better than "the Jazz Singer" or "Easy Rider", and probably a ton of others on the list. Part of the problem, I realize is that so few people have seen this. There's only about 150 votes so far on this site. This masterpiece should be seen at least once by any serious film lover. A perfect 10!
helpful•396
- mr composer
- Sep 17, 2001
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- El gran desfile
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $245,000 (estimated)
- Runtime2 hours 31 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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