Cavalcade (1933)

Directed by Frank Lloyd

Starring Diana Wynyard, Clive Brook, Una O'Connor, Herbert Mundin, Beryl Mercer, Irene Browne, Tempe Piggott, Merle Tottenham, Frank Lawton, Ursula Jeans, Margaret Lindsay, John Warburton, Billy Bevan, Desmond Roberts, Dickie Henderson, Douglas Scott, Sheila McGill, and Bonita Granville

A totally forgettable entry on the Best Picture list, Cavalcade, based on a play by the great Noel Coward, follows an English family through the events of the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth Centuries. It's really just a statement about how many worldwide events affected the English in that relatively short period of time, with no big stars and no particularly memorable moments. 42nd Street and I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang have proven to be much more lasting that this film, so it's a shame neither of them won the award. The public's lack of interest in this early Best Picture is evidenced by the fact it is still not available on DVD.

Other nominees: 42nd Street (Lloyd Bacon), A Farewell to Arms (Frank Borzage), I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (Mervyn LeRoy), Lady for a Day (Frank Capra), Little Women (George Cukor), The Private Life of Henry VIII (Alexander Korda), She Done Him Wrong (Lowell Sherman), Smilin' Through (Sidney Franklin), and State Fair (Henry King)