The Wet Parade is a 1932 American pre-Code drama film directed by Victor Fleming and starring Robert Young, Myrna Loy, Walter Huston, Lewis Stone and Jimmy Durante. It is based on the 1931 novel by Upton Sinclair. The film shows how two families are devastated by the effects of alcohol consumption and Prohibition. In addition to the main story, many small vignettes illustrate the theme, such as a three-minute segment that documents the many steps in the creation of counterfeit imported liquor. When the film was released in March 1932, Prohibition had been law for almost 13 years and would not end until December 5, 1933 with the passage of the 21st Amendment.
The Wet Parade
1932 ad
Victor Lonzo Fleming was an American film director, cinematographer, and producer. His most popular films were Gone with the Wind, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Director, and The Wizard of Oz. Fleming has those same two films listed in the top 10 of the American Film Institute's 2007 AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies list.
Fleming in 1927
On set of Gone with the Wind (1939). Left to right: Director Victor Fleming, Olivia de Havilland, and Louis Jean Heydt