The Carbon County news. [volume] (Red Lodge, Mont.) 1924-1931, 1927-10-06
COMING OF BIG PARADE"
hEENLN AWAITED HERE

-NL1 aN II ED HERt
A picture offered to the public as
human document is King Vidor's
Inc Big Parade" from a story by
Laurence Stallings. coming to the
ms theatre for four days. October IA
TO II. The title symbolizes the big
parade of humanity right up to the
world Crisis-and the big parade
coming back.
The coming of THE Big Parade"
Is keenly awaited, first. because
Metro Goldwyn-Mayer gave Mr..
Stalllngs the opportunity of embody-
ing plctorially his knowledge and
tremendous feeling about the war and.
second, because that concern put into
The task of production great en-
thuslasm and the utmost resource in
time, money, skill and personnel.
Following the authors idea, it was
made primarily as a simple and hu-
man story and not as a spectacular
movie Yet about twelve thousand
regulars from Fort Sam Houston
and the membership of several
American Legion posts took part in
the battle scenes and the representa-
ton of life behind the lines. That
there might be no flaw in history. |
Brig. Gen. Paul B. Malone and his
staff at the fort directed the re-
enaction of the fighting with Colonel
Harry Bishop as the officer of the
day. General Malone and the other
general officers, in these scenes of
Belleau Wood and the Argonne, COM
manded some of the same units of the
Second Division, I. s. A., which they
had led through the Argonne.
The special work of the vets was
to give verisimilitude to the scenes
Of life in the billet, where in the au-
thor from his store of experience
mad contributed many amusing Incl
dents. These We're added to by the
boys personal stories and reminis-
eences.
In the scenes with the French
Renee Adoree, the featured PLAYER in
he production, contributed from her
knowledge of peasant France. Miss
4doree was born in Lille. Through
he fortunes of the war her continent
al career as dancer and stage play
T was cut short and she barely es-
aped the German onset on Brussels. c
where she had been appearing; v
rench refugee not altogether like her i
haracter Of Melisande in "The Big t
arade," she was obliged to seek new c
ortunes in London and America. Il
The favorite, John Gilbert. was t;
asst for the role of jim Apperson.
le hero Of the story. Executives
ere 50 pleased with the film
'ushes" nightly screened after the
ly's work that they decided to make
e leading player the star Of the
cture. AS Bull O'Hara, the corporal.
ID Slim, the Scandinavian private.
T. Gilbert had two-fisted coadju-
RS in Tom O'Brien and Karl Dane;
e former an eX-service man, bic
me hunter and world adventurer
d the latter Dane by nature as
II as cognomen, who had played in
y Four Years in Germany" O'Brien
Dane were "finds." The Holly 'gf
cd underground" soon whisper gu
that these men had hit their OBJ 4 ~
'tunity. IN
Otherwise the cast included Hobart ait
swotth and Claire Mcdowell as 81
parents Of jim; Rosita Marstini, aih
3elgian actress, as mother of ~
Iisande; Robert Ober as a stay ose
lone and Claire Adams as Jim's '"'
erican sweetheart.
f course in "The Big Parade" the
'ter theme is the reaction of Jim
his buddies and his French girl
ne war-that dreadful catastrophe 2
en-, rather than any personal 2
ncy, is the villain Of the piece. 2
Vidor, with a fine sense of the 1
lor's values directed Gilbert. G
rec, O'Brien and Dane. He found like
responsive to the great thought as J
eager to embody the soul-crisis sug;
he participants. Pou
le highest proof of "The Big whit
'de" success is that it has already dc
seen and enjoyed by more than will
'oUO American theatregoers. It fruit
its second year at the Aston OF t
tire, New York, and now on view laye
lie principal capitals of the world. with