Dress Parade

Vic Donovan is a star athlete, champion boxer and all-American boy. When he lays eyes on alluring Janet Wallace, he's instantly smitten - much to the consternation of her boyfriend Stuart, a cadet at West Point. To impress Janet, Vic also enrolls at the military academy. His cocky attitude enrages Stuart. When a training exercise with live ammo goes wrong, Vic has a chance to demonstrate his true courage and valor.

William Boyd (1895-1972) will forever be remembered as the heroic cowboy Hopalong Cassidy, a role he played in more than 60 films, producing several himself. In 1960 he was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Leading lady Bessie Love (1898-1986) starred in the silent version of The Lost World (1925) and earned an Oscar nomination as Best Actress for The Broadway Melody (1929). Her successful career continued almost to the end of her life. She too has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Director Donald Crisp (1882-1974) enjoyed a prolific career that began in the early days of cinema. Best known as an esteemed character actor in such films as The Sea Hawk (1940), National Velvet (1944), The Last Hurrah (1958) and John Ford's How Green Was My Valley (1941), for which he won an Oscar, he also directed more than 70 films. Dress Parade was one of his last before concentrating solely on acting.

BONUS: Also includes For Old Times' Sake, an "organlogue" hosted by Singing Sam featuring musical accompaniment by Don Wallace, in which the emotions of romantic songs are conveyed by vintage dolls.

Despite his accomplishments as an actor, Donald Crisp's talents as a director were slight at best. What makes Crisp's DRESS PARADE work are the engaging star performances of William Boyd and Bessie Love. Filmed on location at West Point, the story concerns a brash young cadet (Boyd) who is humanized via his love of the commanding officer's daughter (Love). Naturally, our hero has to be thoroughly disgraced at one point in the proceedings, the better to set the stage for a spectacular redemption. Cliched though it may be, DRESS PARADE had the advantage of a surface authenticity; besides, Bessie Love is so gosh-darned cute.