Unlike The Patriot (1928), The White Parade isn’t exactly a lost film. However, it is not readily available for the average person to watch. It exists on no streaming services, no physical media, and can only be seen by those with the means to travel to southern California and go to the UCLA archives by appointment. Unfortunately, I live on the opposite side of the United States and do not at present have the means to make that travel just to see this film. I do plan on doing it someday when I’m going to be down there for other reasons.
Just like The Patriot, I won’t review a film I have not seen. This brief page will serve as a placeholder until such times when I can see it and give it a proper review.
The film was directed by Irving Cummings, who got his start in the silent era as an actor in Uncle Tom’s Cabin. He turned to directing in 1922 and stayed in that until the 1950s. The White Parade wasn’t his first film nominated for Outstanding Production; that would be the innovative western In Old Arizona, a film that primarily got the recognition of the Academy because of its pioneering film techniques allowing sound films to finally be made outside the studio walls.
The White Parade is about June Arden (Loretta Young), a nurse in training facing the difficulties of school and her personal life. It follows her from her classroom and into practical work at a local hospital. It culminates in her fiancée insisting on her abandoning her career upon marriage. She ultimately breaks off the engagement with him over it.
While this film is largely considered to be slow and obvious—hence the disinterest in it ever getting an official release of any kind—it’s hard to say if that is truly the case without ever seeing it. Until I can do so…
Academy Award Nominations:
Outstanding Production: Jesse L. Lasky
Best Sound Recording: Edmund H. Hansen
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Release Date: November 16, 1934
Running Time: 80 Minutes
Not Rated
Starring: Loretta Young and John Boles
Directed by: Irving Cummings
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