Evening star., 1933-03-14

family-it is moving and sympa-
thetic spectacle"
The wonder of it is that it should
be so intrinsically compelling, when
its theme is merely the theme Of
our times. 1t is perhaps hard to
believe, after hearing so much in
advance about it, that it is so funda-
mentally simple and unpretentiouS.
You will hear none of the vibrant
cyniciSms Of Design for Living" in
of Private Lives; none of the SOM
Der ashes of Post Mortem." Its
words are words with which you are
familiar. and its people are neither
so fanciful or SO theatric as not to
seem vaguely related to a part or
parcel of a family within a stones
throw of your own. What is most
remarkable about it is that you have
become so fond of Jane and Robert
Marryot that when you are reluc-
family torn from them by the cur
tain you could almost swear that you
are saying good-by to some very old
and some very devoted friends.
Few pictures have this hold Of
friendship on you. Few pictures are
natural enough for you to believe
that the whole of what is happening
before you is true. Few pictures are
SO absolutely fine and strong and
courageous in their faith that they
leave some of the taste of that faith
with you.
"Cavalcade" is not merely spec
tacle or pageant. 1t is the very
real chronicling of a family which
has been built on the foundations of
love for its country-and love for
each other. The Marryots are a
great family" just as "Cavalcade"
Is a great picture. They advance
with the times, husband and wife,
smilingly courageous, giving their
sons to the various causes which
England demands of them. having
their little triumphs and their inf
nitely greater sorrows, and growing
old together with courage and un-
derstanding. When you consider
what they have gone through and
what they have suffered in the dis
aSters' of the times, you are bound
to admire their creeds and their
stability and their loyalty to coun-
try which has been far from gentle
on them.
Mr.. Coward's march OF time" is
done with powerful and at the
same time simple gesture. He lets
you in on the funeral of Queen Vic
toria, the sinking of the Titanic and
other events without more than in
dicating them. When. as the funeral
procession of the Queen goes by.
little Joey Marryot douglas Scott)
turns to his mother and says, "She
must have been a very little lady,"
you are somehow closer to the event
than If the whole parade had been
spread out before you. Similarly,
with the sinking Of the Titanic, you
are shown only the name of the
boat after the young honeymoon
couple has pledged love to each
other-ard you know (without being
told) that their first night will be
their last together.
The settings, the costuming and
the acting in all of this has been
done so unostentatiously and so
perfectly that it is difficult to break
the picture into fragments and hold
any of It up as being better than the
rest. Diana Wynyard. beautiful and
sincere. fingers longer in the mind.
perhaps, than the others-although
Give Brook never makes an unin-
telligent gesture or speaks, as it
were, "out of turn; Una O'Connor,
q British actress Of note. gives Ellen
just enough of that cockney as
surance to make her seem complete
reality; Frank Lawton is by all odds
the most believable "son" that the
films have produced; John War
burton is well enough as half Of the
honeymoon couple which goes down
on the Titanic; Ursula Jeans, blonde
and sometimes handsome. plays the
musical comedy daughter with re-
straint and disg-ession-and Herbert
Mundirr and Beryl Mercer contribute