Dress Parade

The story of the brash, egotistical and selfish young student/cadet/draftee/military man who goes to college/military school/or is drafted into the service, earns the animosity of his classmates and nearly loses the girl he loves (usually the commandant's daughter or his roommate's sister) until he redeems himself by unselfishly risking his own life to save a buddy in a climatic action sequence, was already a cliché in 1927. As early as 1911 Edgar G. Wynn starred in the first version of BROWN OF HARVARD. A re-make with Tom Moore as Tom Brown was made in 1918 and in 1926 the year before this film, William Haines had done it twice (with variations of course) in another remake of BROWN OF HARVARD and in TELL IT TO THE MARINES opposite the great Lon Chaney. Robert Taylor did it in 1938 as A YANK AT OXFORD, it's the sub-plot of Abbott and Costello's BUCK PRIVATES (1941) with Lee Bowman as the cocky hero and Rob Lowe took his turn (to the point of almost being obnoxious) in OXFORD BLUES (1984). "TOP GUN" (1986) with Tom Cruise was a high tech revision. And there were countless B-movie versions.

DRESS PARADE is little more than an uncredited re-make. Here we have the very likable William Boyd as the not so likable hero, eight years before his long run starring as Clarence Mulford's Hopalong Cassidy, giving a surprisingly good account of himself in what is basically a comedy role. The girl is adorable Bessie Love who has little to do except look pert and pretty and adorable, all of which she does very well. Hugh Allan is so very effective and shows such promise as Boyd's rival that you wonder why his screen career was negligible.

Donald Crisp learned both film acting and directing under the tutelage of D. W. Griffith but his skill as a director was minimal compared to his acting. His best work was as Buster Keaton's co-director for THE NAVIGATOR (1924), but Keaton undoubtedly deserves the major share of the credit for that magnificent comedy. Crisp does only a fair job directing this minor entertainment.

Much too formulaic to be anything more than a mild diversion except for fans of William Boyd who will be pleasantly surprised.

I'm sure the story of a young man who goes to college for the wrong reasons -- here, William 'Hopalong Cassidy' Boyd gets into West Point to impress the always wonderful Bessie Love -- and gradually discovers a sense of dedication -- was not original with this, but it's the oldest variation on it I can think of. They're still doing it, of course, because it's a good story.

The result, here, alas, is good -- exteriors were shot at West Point for authenticity -- but not great. Donald Crisp, who had a long career as an actor, from D.W. Griffith's stock company through the 1960s , directed quite a few movies in the 'teens and twenties, but except for co-directing Keaton's THE NAVIGATOR, he never did anything noteworthy: a fine actor, but no real visual flair I would opine. The result is a competent programmer, but not much more.

It seems that everyone loves to denigrate the films directed by Donald Crisp. Even people who haven't actually seen them are often quick to join in the chorus of dismissal. Yet, on the evidence of "Dress Parade", Crisp emerges not only as a very competent director of acting, but one with a keen visual sense as well, who knows how to take full advantage of his location scenes at West Point with neat framing (love that shot of Boyd in silhouette disconsolately observing the parade), pans across the chapel and even elaborate tracking shots gliding most effectively with Boyd's touring car.

True, the story is now a mighty familiar one, but my major quarrel is not with the directing or the acting or the film's excellent production values, but with the way Bessie Love is most unflatteringly photographed by J. Peverell Marley, who presents her as such a plain Jane (even in Adrian costumes) that one wonders what the handsome, personable, cocky yet ingratiating Boyd sees in such a hopelessly gawky lass.