Probably Upton Sinclair's novel was ambiguous so the MGM film version had to be
equally so. But The Wet Parade was made and released before the public's verdict on Prohibition was in. At the end of 1933 the 21st amendment to our
Constitution was passed repealing the 18th amendment banning liquor. The cure
was worse than the disease.
The Wet Parade deals with two families headed by Lewis Stone and Walter Huston. Stone is a southern colonel who likes his branchwater and bourbon
and Huston a New York hotelier who also is a drinker. The culture of drink
is inculcated in both families.
Two who missed it are Stone's daughter Dorothy Jordan and Huston's son Robert Young. Alcohol claims family and friend all around them. And Prohibition just seemed to make it worse.
Among the rest of the cast look for outstanding performances from Neil Hamilton as Jordan's brother, Jimmy Durante as a Prohibition agent , and
Myrna Loy as a flapper who abandons Hamilton in a crisis. In the case of
Hamilton he did in real life develop a serious drinking problem.
A good film that was made before it's time.
