''Hollywood Cavalcade'' is a 1939 American film featuring

Alice Faye Alice Faye (born Alice Jeanne Leppert; May 5, 1915 – May 9, 1998) was an American actress and singer. A musical star of 20th Century-Fox in the 1930s and 1940s, Faye starred in such films as ''On the Avenue'' (1937) and ''Alexander's Ragtime B ...

as a young performer making her way in the early days of Hollywood, from slapstick silent pictures through the transition from silent to sound.

Production

In the wake of Alice Faye's 1938 success '' Alexander's Ragtime Band'', which took a nostalgic look at the musical scene of the 1910s, screenwriter

Lou Breslow Lou Breslow (born Lewis Breslow; July 18, 1900 – November 10, 1987) was an American screenwriter and film director. He wrote for 70 films between 1928 and 1955. He also directed seven films between 1932 and 1951 and wrote scripts for both ...

approached studio chief Darryl F. Zanuck with an idea to do another period piece, this time in

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

, concerning the early days of silent movies. Scott MacGillivray, ''Laurel & Hardy: From the Forties Forward, Second Edition'', iUniverse, 2009, p. 13. ISBN 978-1440172373. The film was directed by

Irving Cummings Irving Caminsky (October 9, 1888 – April 18, 1959) was an American movie actor and director. Career Born in New York City, Cummings started his acting career at age 16 in ''Diplomacy''. His Broadway, performances included ''In the Long ...

, with comedy sequences directed by Mal St. Clair. St. Clair's old crony

Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent film work, in which his trademark was physical comedy accompanied by a stoic, deadpan expression ...

staged some of the gags, and a host of silent-era comedians re-created

slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such ...

sight gags. The romance in the storyline was based on the real-life relationship between pioneer producer

Mack Sennett Mack Sennett (born Michael Sinnott; January 17, 1880 – November 5, 1960) was a Canadian-American film actor, director, and producer, and studio head, known as the 'King of Comedy'. Born in Danville, Quebec, in 1880, he started in films in the ...

and his first star,

Mabel Normand Amabel Ethelreid Normand (November 9, 1893 – February 23, 1930), better known as Mabel Normand, was an American silent film actress, screenwriter, director, and producer. She was a popular star and collaborator of Mack Sennett in their ...

. Atypical for Faye's 20th Century-Fox output, ''Hollywood Cavalcade'' has no musical numbers, and the tone is more dramatic than comic. (The working title was ''Falling Stars''.) The film presents a fictionalized look at silent-era performers and their productions, and ends just after the silent-film industry converts to sound films.

Plot

In 1913, movie director Michael Linnett Connors (

Don Ameche Don Ameche (; born Dominic Felix Amici; May 31, 1908 – December 6, 1993) was an American actor, comedian and vaudevillian. After playing in college shows, stock, and vaudeville, he became a major radio star in the early 1930s, which ...

), chooses Broadway ingenue Molly Adair (

) to be in his next film. He makes her a major star in slapstick comedies. Although she is in love with him, she can't understand his preoccupation with the picture business, and wrongly thinks that Connors regards her only in terms of movies. When she marries her co-star Nicky Hayden ( Alan Curtis), Connors misunderstands her and fires her. The disillusioned director's career quickly declines, but his ice-cold demeanor changes when he sees the first talking feature film. Inspired, he approaches Molly and eagerly plans her first sound film.

Cast

as Molly Adair Hayden *

as Mike Connors *

J. Edward Bromberg Joseph Edward Bromberg (born Josef Bromberger, December 25, 1903 – December 6, 1951) was a Hungarian-born American character actor in motion picture and stage productions dating mostly from the 1930s and 1940s. Knowledge of his past as a membe ...

as Dave Spingold * Alan Curtis as Nicky Hayden *

Stuart Erwin Stuart Erwin (February 14, 1903 – December 21, 1967) was an American actor of stage, film, and television. Early years Erwin was born in Squaw Valley, Fresno County, California. He attended Porterville High School and the University o ...

as Pete Tinney, Mike's cameraman * Jed Prouty as Keystone Cop Police Chief *

as himself *

Donald Meek Thomas Donald Meek (14 July 1878 – 18 November 1946) was a Scottish-American actor. He first performed publicly at the age of eight and began appearing on Broadway in 1903. Meek is perhaps best known for his roles in the films '' You Can't ...

as Lyle P. Stout, producer * George Givot as Claude, Molly's suitor opposite Keaton *

Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Eizer Yoelson; June 9, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-American Jewish singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. He was one of the United States' most famous and highest-paid stars of the 1920s, and was self-billed ...

as himself *

Eddie Collins Edward Trowbridge Collins Sr. (May 2, 1887 – March 25, 1951), nicknamed "Cocky", was an American professional baseball player, manager and executive. He played as a second baseman in Major League Baseball from to for the Philadelphia Athlet ...

as Keystone Cop *

Russell Hicks Edward Russell Hicks (June 4, 1895 – June 1, 1957) was an American film character actor. Hicks was born in 1895 in Baltimore, Maryland. During World War I, he served in the U.S. Army in France. He later became a lieutenant Colonel in the Cali ...

as Roberts, film executive *

Hank Mann Hank Mann (born David William Lieberman, May 28, 1887 – November 25, 1971) was a Russian Empire-born and American comedian and silent screen star who was a member of the Keystone Cops. According to fellow actor and original member of the ...

as Keystone Cop * Heinie Conklin as Keystone Cop * James Finlayson as Keystone Cop *

Chick Chandler Fehmer Christy "Chick" Chandler (January 18, 1905 – September 30, 1988) was an American film character actor who appeared in more than 130 films from 1925 through the mid-1950s. Chandler was known for his starring role as Toubo Smith in ...

as Chick, Mike's assistant director *

Snub Pollard Harold Fraser (9 November 1889 – 19 January 1962), known professionally as Snub Pollard, was an Australian-born vaudevillian, who became a silent film comedian in Hollywood, popular in the 1920s. Career Born in Melbourne, Australia, on 9 No ...

as Keystone Cop * Robert Lowery as Henry Potter *

Ben Welden Ben Welden (born Benjamin Weinblatt; June 12, 1901 – October 17, 1997) was an American character actor who played a wide variety of Damon Runyon-type gangsters in various movies and television shows. Early years Welden was born in Toledo, Oh ...

as Agent *

Willie Fung Willie Fung (3 March 1896 – 16 April 1945) was a Chinese-American film actor who played supporting roles in 125 American films between 1922 and 1944. Like many Chinese actors working in Hollywood during the era, he often played Japanese charac ...

as Willie * Paul Stanton as Filson *

Mary Forbes Mary Forbes (born Ethel Louise Young; 1 January 1883 – 22 July 1974) was a British-American film actress, based in the United States in her latter years, where she died. She appeared in more than 130 films between 1919 and 1958.

as Mrs. Gaynes *

Joseph Crehan Joseph A. Creaghan (July 15, 1883 – April 15, 1966) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 300 films between 1916 and 1965, and notably played Ulysses S. Grant nine times between 1939 and 1958, most memorably in ''Union Paci ...

as Attorney *

Irving Bacon Irving Bacon (born Irving Von Peters; September 6, 1893 – February 5, 1965) was an American character actor who appeared in almost 500 films. Early years Bacon was the son of entertainers Millar Bacon and Myrtle Vane. He was born in St. Jos ...

as Clerk *

Ben Turpin Bernard "Ben" Turpin (September 19, 1869 – July 1, 1940) was an American comedian and actor, best remembered for his work in silent films. His trademarks were his cross-eyed appearance and adeptness at vigorous physical comedy. Turpin wo ...

as Bartender in Western *

Chester Conklin Chester Cooper Conklin (January 11, 1886 – October 11, 1971) was an early American film comedian who started at Keystone Studios as one of Mack Sennett’s Keystone Cops, often paired with Mack Swain. He appeared in a series of films with Ma ...

as Sheriff in Western *

Marjorie Beebe Marjorie Eileen Beebe (October 9, 1908 – May 9, 1983) was an American film actress. Early years Beebe was born on October 9, 1909. She graduated from Hollywood High School. Career Beebe tired of working as an assistant in a magician's show, ...

as Telephone Operator * Frederick Burton as Thomas * Lee Duncan as Lee Duncan, the Dog Trainer * Rin Tin Tin Jr. as Rin-Tin-Tin *

as himself

References

External links

* *
Turner Classic Movies page
1939 films Films about Hollywood, Los Angeles 1930s color films Films directed by Irving Cummings 20th Century Fox films Films directed by Malcolm St. Clair Films produced by Darryl F. Zanuck American comedy-drama films 1939 comedy-drama films Rin Tin Tin 1930s English-language films 1930s American films Films set in the 1910s Films set in the 1920s {{1930s-comedy-drama-film-stub