Diana Wynyard and Clive Brook as Jane and Robert Marryot in Cavalcade.

At the sixth annual Academy Awards ceremony on March 16th, 1934 Cavalcade won Best Picture of 1932-33. Director Frank Lloyd also took home the gold. Based on the celebrated Noel Coward play, which ran for 405 performances in London’s West End, it tells the story of a wealthy British family and their servants from New Year’s Eve 1899 to midnight on January 1st, 1933.

This passing cavalcade of the first third of the 20th Century begins with the father and his man-servant going off to fight in the Boer War in South Africa. He leaves behind his adoring wife and two young sons. The servant has a wife and an infant daughter as well. This war ends quickly enough and the two men return in time for the funeral of the venerable Queen Victoria.

We quickly pass through the years, skipping ahead to 1908 and 1909 where the story focuses on the servants as they buy a pub and leave their life of servitude behind. This is followed by a quick stop in 1912 as the older son, now grown-up, heads off on his honeymoon. Next we visit 1914 and see the start of the First World War.

The acting is quite good. Una O’Connor, Irene Brown and Merle Tottenham recreated their roles from the stage, but Diana Wynyard steals the movie as the faithful wife and mother. She was Oscar nominated but lost to a newcomer named Katharine Hepburn in Morning Glory.

There is plenty of drama and nostalgia as we see the changing times parade by. Music, fashion and technology advance and the societal restrictions between the ruling and serving classes begin to blur. This epic story of one families’ saga manages to be both sweeping in scope and intimate in perspective.

The sentimental final scene will resonate for anyone getting older and feeling a bit out of step with the changing world. Cavalcade is one of the least remembered Best Picture Oscar winners in Hollywood history, which is a shame since it is a damn good movie.
 

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