The Wet Parade (1932)

A young man (Robert Young) and a young woman (Dorothy Jordan) fall in love. They have something in common. They are both the children of alcoholic fathers. One father (Lewis Stone) dies of chronic alcoholism and the other father (Walter Huston) kills his wife (Clara Blandick) in a fit of alcoholic rage. As prohibition looms in the foreseeable future, they are both determined to see it succeed. Based on the novel by Upton Sinclair (THE JUNGLE) and directed by Victor Fleming (THE WIZARD OF OZ). Although an MGM movie, the film has more in common with the tougher social conscience films coming out of Warners. The film shows both sides of the prohibition argument. The destruction alcohol has on families and the right of a free society to make its own choices. As the film ends, it doesn't offer a solution, only the hope that an eventual solution will be found. Considering its subject, the film isn't preachy but fairly balanced. The movie includes a fascinating montage of how bootleg liquor (often containing dangerous substances) is created, bottled and packed to look legitimate. Somewhat overlong as pre code films are usually less than 90 minutes this one runs two hours. With Myrna Loy, Jimmy Durante, Neil Hamilton, Wallace Ford, Emma Dunn and Gertrude Howard.