The Warner Archive April 20, 2018 DVD of the 1964 hilarious user-friendly documentary "M-G-M's The Big Parade of Comedy" is another example of Archive demonstrating one of its many exceptional strengths. In this case, this release illustrates the grand continuum of the Archive caatalog by following up on the Archive DVD of the (reviewed) Patrick Stewart hosted epic mini-series "When the Lion Roars." That one is a comprehensive history of M-G-M.
The back-cover liner notes for "Parade" perfectly convey the expertise of this film by producer/director/writer Robert Youngson. Archive reminds us that Youngson is "most famous for reacquainting the moviegoing public with the titans of the silent era in The Golden Age of Comedy (1957) and When Comedy Was King (1960)."
The focus this time is on classic M-G-M comedies from the '20s to 1948. This pedigree includes Buster Keaton, Laurel and Hardy," and the "Thin Man" films.
The fun of "Parade" is apparent from the amusing variation on the aforementioned roaring lion that appears before M-G-M productions. This leads to clever opening credits that consists of a "Who's Who" of early comedy greats. The most notable of this impressive lineup includes Clark Gable and Joan Crawford.
The opening scenes provide an equally entertaining and educational look at the early days of watching movies. This includes information (with accompanying footage of films of the day) about the common elements that early cinephiles demand from these productions.
The action then shifts to the early days of the titular studio. Overlap with "Roars" occurs in the form of mentioning the mandate to produce one film a week. A scene that is hilarious to fans of the Joan Crawford biopic "Mommie Dearest" essentially asserts during footage from the beginning of the career of Crawford that she still is Hollywood royalty (rather than box-office poison) in 1964. A latter scene that depicts an early role of real-life hard-drinker Crawford as a Prohibition agent who infiltrates a speak easy is equally amusing to "Mommie" boys (and girls).
Another memorable segment has Gable and Jean Harlow in a scene that has Gable playing a philanderer who is caught in the act. We get similar footage of Carole Lombard in the (recently reviewed) comedy "The Gay Bride," which has her married to mob for fun and profit.
We further get glimpses of "The Philadelphia Story," an especially hilarious Three Stooges film "Hollywood Party" that also has Laurel and Hardy tangling with Mexican spitfire Lupe Velez, the PERFECT performance of W.C. Fields in "David Copperfield," some of the best physical comedy of Keaton, and far too many other hilarious clips to discuss.
The second biggest picture (no pun intended) this time is that "Parade" illustrates the genius of the studio system. The tried-and-true method is that a future American Idol, such as Crawford, gets on the radar of the "suits." This leads to said thespian being cast in increasingly large parts until he or she gets his or her name above the title of the film on the marquee and the poster.
The biggest picture relates to a statement by legendary comic actress Carol Burnett. In speaking about her eponymous variety show, Burnett notes that she and her cast kept the laughs coming by simply being funny. largely staying away from topical subjects, and never resorting to blue material. She states that funny stands up to the test of time because it always is funny.
Anyone with questions or comments regarding "Parade" is strongly encouraged either to email me or to connect on Twitter via @tvdvdguy.
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