''Dress Parade'' is a 1927 American silent romantic drama film produced by

William Sistrom William "Billy" Sistrom (19 March 1884 – March 1972) was an English film producer who worked in the United States. Biography Sistrom was born in Lincolnshire, England. He began work with Universal Pictures. Later he joined RKO Pictures in 19 ...

and

Cecil B. DeMille Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American film director, producer and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of the American cine ...

and distributed by

Pathé Pathé or Pathé Frères (, styled as PATHÉ!) is the name of various French people, French businesses that were founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France starting in 1896. In the early 1900s, Pathé became the world's largest ...

. The film stars William Boyd and

Bessie Love Bessie Love (born Juanita Horton; September 10, 1898April 26, 1986) was an American-British actress who achieved prominence playing innocent, young girls and wholesome leading ladies in silent and early sound films. Her acting career spanned ei ...

, and was directed by

Donald Crisp Donald William Crisp (27 July 188225 May 1974) was an English film actor as well as an early producer, director and screenwriter. His career lasted from the early silent film era into the 1960s. He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor ...

. Although it is based on a story by Major Robert Glassburn, Major Alexander Chilton, and Herbert David Walter, the plot is essentially the same as ''

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

'', produced at

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

in 1928. ''Dress Parade'' is preserved at the

Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive The Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA, formerly abbreviated as BAM/PFA) are a combined art museum, repertory movie theater, and archive associated with the University of California, Berkeley. Lawrence Rinder was Director from ...

and the

UCLA Film and Television Archive The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a visual arts organization focused on the preservation, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Also a nonprofit exhibition venue, the archiv ...

, and has been released on home video by Grapevine Video.

Production

For authenticity, many scenes were filmed at

. Actress Bessie Love was so impressed by her time on location that she penned an unpublished novel based on her experiences, ''Military Mary''.

Plot

Civilian Vic Donovan (Boyd) visits

, and falls for beautiful Janet Cleghorne (Love), daughter of the commandant (Geldart). He successfully wins an appointment to the Academy, where he and Stuart Haldane (Allan), another cadet, vie for Janet's affection. Their competition escalates, nearly resulting in Haldane's dismissal, but Donovan takes responsibility, and Janet falls in love with him.

Cast

* William Boyd as Vic Donovan *

as Janet Cleghorne * Hugh Allan as Stuart Haldane *

Walter Tennyson Walter Tennyson (1899-1980) was a British actor and film director of the silent and early sound era. Selected filmography Actor * ''The Call of the East'' (1922) * '' The Virgin Queen'' (1923) * ''Women and Diamonds'' (1924) * ''Reveille'' (1924 ...

as Dusty Dawson *

Maurice Ryan Maurice Lloyd Ryan (7 June 1943 – 12 August 2011) was a New Zealand cricketer who played first-class cricket for Canterbury and Central Districts from 1965 to 1979. Maurice Ryan was a versatile cricketer: an opening or middle-order batsman an ...

as Mealy Snodgrass *

Louis Natheaux Louis Natheaux (born ''Louis F. Natho''; December 10, 1894 – August 23, 1942) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than eighty films between 1919 and 1942. Born in Danville, Illinois, Natheaux performed in vaudeville and in a C ...

as Patsy Dugan *

Clarence Geldart Clarence Geldart (June 9, 1867 – May 13, 1935) was an American film actor. He appeared in 127 films between 1915 and 1936. He was sometimes credited as C.H. Geldart or Charles H. Geldart. He was born in New Brunswick, Canada, and died i ...

(as Clarence Geldert) as Commandant

Release and reception

The film received positive reviews, and the performances of Boyd, Natheaux, and Allen were especially praised. The film was screened to

War Department War Department may refer to: * War Department (United Kingdom) * United States Department of War (1789–1947) See also * War Office, a former department of the British Government * Ministry of defence * Ministry of War * Ministry of Defence * Dep ...

officials in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Adjutant General Lutz Wahl was a fan of the film, and wrote a letter to his commanding officers to support the film's success in local theaters in any way they could. In Los Angeles, a military-themed parade with star William Boyd led to a showing for 200 troops, and in Providence, Rhode Island, an army band played in the lobby of a theater.

References

External links

* * * * *
Still of Bessie Love and Hugh Allen
(incorrectly labeled as William Boyde) 1927 romantic drama films 1927 films American black-and-white films American romantic drama films American silent feature films Films directed by Donald Crisp Films set in the United States Military Academy Pathé Exchange films Surviving American silent films 1920s American films Silent romantic drama films Silent American drama films {{silent-romantic-drama-film-stub