Evening star., 1933-03-19

Y Y such a good picture?"
said a film patron last
week, shaking his head over all
the enthusiasm which the film
had caused in this department.
"What standards do you judge it
by? What standards do you judge
any picture by? can remember
a great many films that are better
than 'Cavalcade.'"
"Can you name them?"
certainly" He scratched his
head for a minute. "Well," he
said, there's" And he
scratched his head again. "Well,
there's 'CimmarOn, he said,
finally, and he smiled broadly over
his victory.
"And?"
"And-well, I don't know. But
there are lots of others. I'll think
them over and give you a list.
But first tell me what methods
you use in judging a film. Why
is 'Cavalcade' that good? Why is
it, according to many, the perfect
picture'?"
The question has been asked
much of late because there is
much difference Of opinion about
it. Although it has been recog-
nized both here and abroad as a
film which deserves almost un-
qualified approval, it has met with
considerable GOODNESS in some Sec
tionS.
The reason for the complete
satisfaction that it gave this desk
is due to the completeness of it's
theme, the skill of it's actors and
the deep significance which lies
just under its surface. It cannot
be judged according to other
films, because it is totally unlike
other films. You cannot say that
it is wildly exciting in the fashion
Of King Kong; you cannot say
that it is highly amusing; you will
have to admit that many of its
scenes are long. There is no bliS-
tering love story, no hinging over
board of ideas and ideals, as there
was in MIR. Coward's Design for
Living" Instead, there is merely
the story of a family-a family
which is so drawn into the web
of it's countrys policies and cam
paignS that what remains OF 1t Is
a rather mutilated but still cour-
ageous quantity.
"Cavalcade" is not a "happer"
picture. It's thesis does not engulf
one in a brief hours time. You
must stay through the whole OF it
to appreciate its significance. If
you have missed those fine strong
words which Husband and Wife
Marryot speak just before the
final curtain then you have missed
the spark which has famed it into
life. In that brief "epilogue" MIR.
Coward has spoken from his heart,
and England'S heart as well.
AS to the judging of it-that is
a matter of personal feeling
and the amount of entertainment
Stimulant the film has given you.
If you are not aroused by it's sig
nificance, if it has not prompted
you to a nobler state of mind, then
either you have not delved deep
enough or you are not susceptible
to matters of this sort. You must,
in fact, not be interested in the
march of time" and the effect
that it has on the family as unit.
The judging of a film is not as
simple matter as it might
seem. Comparisons being gener-
ally unfortunate, it is unfair to 60
on saying "this is better than
that" and "this is the best of them
all" The reason, however, for
saying that "Cavalcade" is "the
best of them all' is because in
thinking back over photoplays in
general there is no other picture
which has gone so deep and at
the same time has been so simple
in treatment. Events of history
are not presented in Cecil B. De
Mile fashion. There are null
titude of significant world doingS
which are treated sketchily, yet
trenchantly. One of the most
stirring sequences in it is the fu-
neral of Queen Victoria. In that
you glimpse the satisfaction that
Mr.. Coward has had over the
filming of his play, because moth
ing has been done to destroy that
dramatic moment when the little
boy turns to his mother and says,
"She must have been a very little
lady," Il Mr.. De Mile had filmed
this you would have seen, instead
of glimpseS Of the balcony with
the Marryots watching the process
sion, a magnificent duplicate of
the original, with extras marching
on and on until the end OF time,