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Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Purely Joyful Movie!

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Didn't like "Hollywood Cavalcade" because it was a disappointment. Don't be deceived by the glitzy picture of happy faces on the title page, this is a somber drama which starts out happy, but quickly descends into discord and bitterness. The question is why Ameche and Faye? I guess because they were two of Fox's brightest stars and money was hopefully to be made. Ameche played a scold who wallowed in self-pity and Faye was his verbal punching bag. Talk about casting against type.Not one song. This picture didn't need technicolor, or either of the stars, it needed black-and-white and a twosome like John Garfield and Claire Trevor, and a heavier hand on the script, if Fox was going for strife and pathos. I got this picture in a Fox Musical DVD set and it doesn't fit in.Its only redeeming quality is a look into silent-movie Hollywood, with some of its stars in small parts. I think movies like this - "Singing In The Rain" is another - fill in the blanks for those of us who were too young when silents gave way to talking pictures. Otherwise, "Hollywood Cavalcade" was a chore to watch.

In 1913 New York City a prop man from Hollywood named Michael Connors (Don Ameche) convinces talented stage actress Molly Adair (Alice Faye) to come to Hollywood to become a star. She does and hits it big in silent comedies with Buster Keaton and the Keystone Cops (all appearing as themselves). She also falls in love with ridiculously handsome Nicky Hayden (Alan Curtis). Connors loves her too...but can't say it.Faye's first color film and she gives a good performance and looks great. Also there are black & white sequences of her doing comedy with Keaton and the cops--and they're actually pretty funny! Who knew Faye could do slapstick? The story is unbelievable from the start but it's breezy and cheerful with Faye, incredibly handsome Curtis and suave Ameche giving their all. There are also quite a few in jokes for silent film fans (I love it when Ameche casually says "Hi Roscoe"). SPOILER!!! Unfortunately it takes a sharp detour at the end where if becomes VERY melodramatic and somber including having a main character die (I have to admit I didn't see that coming). Still it's fun through most of its running time.I never even HEARD of this film until FOX played it recently. It's good that they're showing good old unknown films. BTW--this needs serious restoration. The b&w sequences look great but the color is badly faded (Faye's face looks pure white a few times!) and needs to be fixed.

The plot: Michael Linnett Connors has done everything in films but direct, and is looking for his 1st big chance. He discovers Molly in a play and at once knows she will be a big film star. He signs her to a contract with the stipulation that he must direct. The producer agrees and their big time careers are under way. What follows is a recreation of the silent film era and early sound movies with great emphasis on comedy. And, oh yes, there's romance, and a little sadness too. The performances by Don Ameche and Alice Fay are top notch. The music is a real plus too with some old familiar tunes heard. Lots of DVD extras as well in this restored version released in 2008. It must be emphasized that this movie is a story 1st, not just a tribute to silent films. Later years would bring similar films such as, Singin' in the Rain(1952) & Dick Van Dyke-Carl Reiner's, The Comic(1969). What is special about this film, though, is recreating silent movies in 1939. We see portions of them as the cinema audience would in that bygone era(although some sound effects are included)in glorious b&w, while the rest of the movie is in pristine color. One of the greatest in the silent era, Buster Keaton, who at this point was on an uphill climb, is used superbly in 2 silent film recreated scenes and he is on the top of his game! It is said that he had some input on his scenes as well. But the real reason to watch the movie, if your a motion picture history fan, is that beyond everything else, Hollywood Cavalcade is Mack Sennett's film legacy. It doesn't take a genius to realize this movie is a "positive" reworking of Mack Sennett's and Mabel Normand's life. The character Michael "Linnett" Connors is Mack Sennett, whose real name was Michael Sinnott. And Molly, of course is Mabel. Sennett had the pie throwings, the bathing beauties and Keystone Cops. He worked with Buster Keaton, Ben Turpin(cameo), Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle(body double) and fell in love with his leading lady. Not only all that, but Sennett was technical adviser for this film and appears in it as well. As most film viewers today prefer sound features, those who were associated with short subjects and silents are left out to pasture. As Mack Sennett fell into that category, it is fortunate that there is Hollywood Cavalcade! Sennett was of course very instrumental in the evolution of comedy in movies. His career started in 1908 as an actor, then writer, director & producer. He semi retired in 1935 with about 500 films to his credit. He had worked with the best, such as Charlie Chaplin, Gloria Swanson, Bing Crosby, W.C. Fields, Keaton, Harry Langdon, Arbuckle, and even Roy Rogers(in Way Up Thar).As film comedy is an extremely difficult path to continue for an entire career, Mack played it wise & did only selective work for the next 25 years. In 1931 he had received an academy award in the short subject category, and another in 1937 for a lifetime of work. In the 1940's his presence was still felt, e.g. Here Come the Co-Eds(1945)where a recreation of the oyster soup scene used in Mack's Wandering Willies(1926)is done. In 1947, The Road to Hollywood, used some of Sennett's Crosby films. 2 years later brought some nostalgia with the film Down Memory Lane in which he participated. With his knack of always associating with the right people, a guest role with the eternally popular Lawrence Welk & his radio show came about later in the year. 1950 brought a re-release of his greatest triumph, Tillie's Punctured Romance(1914) with sound. In 1952 he was honored on TV's, This Is Your Life, then his autobiography, The King of Comedy(1954), which is a great companion piece to Hollywood Cavalcade, was published. 1955 brought a more concrete association with Abbott & Costello, as he had a cameo in A&C Meet the Keystone Kops. Finally in 1957, another tribute with the compilation film, The Golden Age of Comedy. So when you watch Hollywood Cavalcade it is the legacy of a motion picture pioneer. In the film at the banquet scene the camera pans over the guests at a long table. As we get to the silver haired Mack, he alone turns his head to the camera as if to say, "here I am!". When he rises to give a speech a short while later, he is at his most subdued, underplaying the words given him as if to mentally convey, "I know my influence on comedy will never end, but will people forget Mack Sennett the individual. Maybe this movie will help."

What makes this one better than most "movie movies" is that it doesn't feel phony. The film the story of the hot-headed director and his rise and fall and rise, by using real recognizable names and events during the silent and early sound eras. Instead of the generic "sound will put us out of business" business, they actually SHOW Jolson and "The Jazz Singer". The acting is really quite good, with believeable performances from Don Ameche, Alice Faye and J. Edward Bromberg in particular.