Initially this was going to be a high class Paramount production with Dorothy Arzner directing and stars Jean Arthur, Fay Wray and Ruth Chatterton. But it was abandoned half way through, maybe because of Chatterton's defection to Warners and when it was resumed it was under the more workman like direction of William Beaudine. Even though the stars were from Paramount's B unit they were second to none - Lilyan Tashman (Lil), Fritzi Ridgeway (Snoop), June Clyde (Jan), Marceline Day (Dorothy), Irene Rich (Mrs. Schuyler), Evelyn Brent (Monica the Duchess) and Louise Fazenda (Fanny) are among a group of women who man the AVIS canteen.The movie contains one of Brent's most stellar performances, she plays Monica, a woman who has been on the front line so long she lives only for today. Her latest escapade threatens to send her back to the States. Brent has a few good scenes, especially one where she explains to a sympathetic Mrs. Schuyler (the warm yet regal Irene Rich) exactly why she must stay on the front line. Most of the action takes place in a deserted dugout where the girls seek shelter when their truck is bombed. Poor Dorothy is left for dead by the cowardly Snoop who, when everyone is settled starts spouting all the gossip, including the bits about Monica's affair with Jan's fiancée. So the scene is set for another showdown and this time June Clyde is given one of her few chances in films for a dramatic turn and she lets Monica have it!! All through the movie Lil Tashman wends her way, slinging around her choice barbs as only she can, as well as keeping up the group's morale - from what she stores in her trusty hot water bottle!!It does have elements of "The Women", in that the men ("Tony") are only talked about and at the very end a soldier is heard to say "Boy, that dame had plenty of guts"!! Sure there is a lot of battle talk and private lives are paramount but the seven strong female stars give performances that they can be proud of!!Very Recommended.

MGM's war drama 'The Big Parade' was the single biggest money-maker of Hollywood's silent-film period. (Actually, 'The Birth of a Nation' made more money, but the profits were divided among several different distributors.) Consequently, there were several unrelated movies -- such as 'The Wet Parade' -- with titles evoking that box-office bonanza. 'The Mad Parade' was one of them, and (unlike 'The Wet Parade') it resembles 'The Big Parade' to the extent that it's also about the Great War ... but this time from a female viewpoint.The film which 'The Mad Parade' most nearly resembles is 'The Women', in which an all-female cast spent most of their time obsessing over men who remained just offscreen. But that movie took place in a female universe of salons and boutiques. 'The Mad Parade' sets a bigger challenge: it's a war movie (traditionally male territory) with an all-female cast. It would be very contrived to keep men entirely absent from this setting, so (unlike in 'The Women') we do hear men's offscreen voices, occasionally seeing a man's shadow outlined on the wall, or glimpsing a man's shoulder at the edge of the frame.The setting is a military canteen during the Great War, staffed by women so that men will be available for combat duty. The commander is Schuyler, played by the underrated character actress Irene Rich. Each of the young women on her staff has a distinctly different personality, and much of the drama (with some comedy relief) comes from the clash of these personalities under the pressure of war.Monica Dale is nicknamed 'the Duchess' for her reserved manner. She's romantically involved with Tony, a handsome young aviator. One drawback of this film's all-female conceit is that we know we're never going to see Tony even though we keep hearing about him. Monica's co-worker Janice is jealous and wants Tony for herself. Lilyan Tashman (whom I've never liked) supplies some bad comedy relief; Louise Fazenda's comic playing is more welcome. Fazenda's character is cried Fanny Smithers, a name which would provoke unintended laughter in British cinemas.The film takes pains to establish that these women are in physical danger, just like the men they cater for. A German bombing raid hits the canteen. Monica finds a dud German grenade, and chucks it at a rat ... but the grenade explodes and kills her co-worker Prudence.One thing I found immensely annoying about this movie is that most of the women are constantly obsessing about romantic entanglements with men, even though they've got far more pressing matters. In fairness, I'm sure that plenty of men in combat zones were thinking about women during lulls in the battle ... but I'm also sure they put aside those thoughts and got to work when the shooting started. Most of the characters in 'The Mad Parade' live utterly for male attention. Marceline Day's dialogue reveals her bizarre enunciation. Bill Beaudine's directorial efforts are -- as usual for him -- workmanlike and unimaginative. The editing is poor. But there aren't many films with an all-woman cast, and still fewer of those are war movies. This film's unusual setting and casting go far to raise it above the mundane. Despite its flaws and its derivative title, I'll rate 'The Mad Parade' 8 points out of 10.

I saw the 1936 re-release (Forgotten Women) at the Library of Congress Mary Pickford Theater. Pre-Code film always amazes me with the sex, sass and overall message, but this one really got me. Most war films have a good side, a bad side, and in the end the good side wins. FW shows no particular side, but focuses on the individuality of war, specifically the uniqueness of the female experience. The opening screen of the '36 version has a written thank you to the women who served in WWI, but after seeing the film, the thank seems almost absurd. You don't just say thank you for permananent psychological damage, alcoholism, love and utter loss in 45 seconds. FW is a beautiful testament to the reality of war, especially for women, and especially at the time it was made. My total approval.

Seven of my very favorite film actresses, and all in an unusual tale of WWI - as told through the experiences of the hard-working, dedicated, heroic women who served right in the thick of battle. Regal yet warm Captain Irene Rich issues a final warning to tough Sargent Evelyn Brent, a war and world-weary vet who cannot help living life in the fastest way, to the point of falling for the upright good girl's betrothed flyer! The first half is slice-o-life with the women going about their day; second half takes them by truck into the line of fire. Despite a performance that mainly illustrates Louise Brooks' assessment of Brent's acting "style," I believe today's audiences can at last appreciate her straightforward, contemporary aggressiveness. Before there was Sigourney, there had to have been Evelyn Brent. In the films at least, you didn't push Brent around or you got pushed back twice as hard, and there's plenty of that going on in THE MAD PARADE (aka FORGOTTEN WOMEN). There's nothing particularly notable about Wm. Beaudine's direction, but the interplay of the actresses elevates the script a notch or two above average. And what actresses! June Clyde makes a smartly modern upright good girl, proving nobody's fool. Delicate silent beauty Marceline Day suffers sweetly, absorbing more bad breaks than any character deserves. Sennett vet Louise Fazenda reigns in her mug to offer a surprisingly effective yet free-spirited performance. All are nicely balanced by "regal yet warm" Irene Rich (a mature beauty, a marvelous cross between a Gibson Girl and Margaret Dumont). Best of all is that underrated American original, Lilyan Tashman as the "best pal," and a robust, fearless turn by rarely seen Fritzi Ridgeway, both expertly spinning gold out of often straw dialogue, and providing the most entertaining and stirring moments in an unexpectedly interesting yarn.