LOVE PARADE, THE (1929) Cast & crew photo

The Love Parade. [Los Angeles: Paramount], 1929. Vintage original 8 x 10″ (20 x 25 cm) black-and-white glossy silver gelatin photo. Minor soiling to edges, crease at bottom right corner, 1929 holograph note on verso. Near fine.

Rare is this image of cast with crew (so many waiting to be identified), with many of the top artists at Paramount Studios. The film is notable for being both the debut of Jeanette MacDonald and the first talkie film made by Ernst Lubitsch. The picture was also released in a French-language version called Parade d’amour. Maurice Chevalier thought he would never be capable of acting as a royal courtier, and had to be persuaded by Lubitsch. This huge box-office hit appeared just after the Wall Street crash, and did much to save the fortunes of Paramount Studios.

The major players of this groundbreaking early sound musical are present in the front row, including Lupino Lane, Lubitsch, MacDonald, Chevalier and likely cinematographer Victor Milner at left behind Jeanette. He won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography. He and Lubitsch are mentioned in the handwritten note on verso. The notations also specifically indicate the filming dates of June, July and August 1929.