Duck Soup

As I grew up, my dad introduced me to three main comedy acts from the past: The Three Stooges, Benny Hill and The Marx Brothers.  The Stooges had me nyuck-nyucking and blocking shots at my eyes in record time.  Benny Hill became a natural stepping stone to Monty Python.  Somehow, I didn’t warm up to The Marx Brothers right away, but seem to have grown into them.

Leo McCarey’s Duck Soup was the first encounter with The Marx Brothers that I remember; I couldn’t have been more than seven.  I’m sure I had seen Groucho impressions, complete with fake mustaches and imaginary cigars many times before this, as  there was an immediate recognition with the character.  But there was another level of recognition missing unless high energy antics were on screen, this idea of Freedonia was lost on me.

In Duck Soup, Freedonia is a bankrupt country, so the lovely Mrs. Teasdale (Margaret Dumont) appoints Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho Marx) as their new president.  His entrance is perfectly silly, with a song and dance number about how he will run the country to match.  Neighboring Sylvania sends spies Chicolinki (Chico Marx) and Pinky (Harpo Marx) follow Firefly.  Between Fireflies antics attempting to win Teasdale’s love, and continually insulting Trentino (Louis Calhern) of Sylvania, he is far from an involved president.  Soon war between Freedonia and Sylvania erupts, but hilarity still ensues.

With all the satire laced through Duck Soup, it grows on me more with each viewing.  The fact that The Marx Brothers made a film filled with such silly cynicism toward government and war during the era of both the great depression and Hitler’s rise was very bold.  There are scenes poking fun at smaller government leaders and how government and diplomacy can be handled so absurdly.  Chico’s trial scene depicts a broken legal system.  And the fact the war is started over an insult, Trentino calling Firefly an “upstart,” illustrates how petty and meaningless war can be.

If you’re worried about being bogged down in political satire, do not worry, it is all very light and there is plenty more simple fun with no hidden agenda.  In fact, this is where some of my favorite scenes that keep me laughing the most come from.  Harpo’s goofy fight with the man selling lemonade makes me lose control by the end.  And the mirror scene, even though it is completely silent, always captivates and throws me into a fit of happy giggles.

I would recommend Duck Soup for all ages.  Kids will get a kick out of Chico’s fast talking, Harpo’s silent mischief and the plethora of physical comedy.  The older kids may even catch themselves catching onto some of Groucho’s quick and zany lines.  And adults will find more hidden meaning in the history and themes of the film, while still cracking up at the same jokes kids will.

“I could dance with you until the cows come home.  On second thought, I’d rather dance with the cows till you come home.”

Love Affair

People get married for a variety of reasons, the most noble and happy of them is love.  But there are also the financial benefits of getting hitched.  That whole what’s-yours-is-mine line can often be one sided, but a pretty face can help that balance.  In Leo McCarey’s Love Affair, we have Terry (Irene Dunne) and Michel (Charles Boyer) who meet and fall in love on a ship sailing from Europe to New York.  The catch is that they are both engaged, and their current engagements are just ways to keep them financially safe.  Michel, once a budding painter, is on his way to marry a rich heiress and Terry was once a lounge singer who now has a supportive fiance.

The setup just described could have easily become another farce of the thirties, I was partially expecting it when reading the Netflix envelope.  While the film is entertaining and even has some moments that border on cute, it never ventures into anything remotely in the realm of a farce.  Wonderfully enough, it just doesn’t need that extra element to keep us engaged.

You see, Terry and Michel keep well aware of their situation and keep it serious.  When they first meet, there doesn’t seem to be much to worry about.  Just two adults, traveling alone to meet their respected partners on the next shore, why not enjoy a little company and conversation along the way?  And they don’t keep their relationship statuses secret, in fact they’re upfront about it, nothing juvenile there.  But then they realize the hot water they’ve stepped in, a mutual attraction is growing.  They’re smart about this too, and casually agree not to sit together at dinner anymore.  Ah, but the fates seem to keep them together and seeing them seated at separate tables but right next to each other is perfectly wonderful.

The final night of the voyage, they decide to meet up in six months if they still want to be together.  That seems like a reasonable time length to see if their current engagements match up or if their fire was just a fling.  But a tragic twist of fate can jeopardize their happiness, if you don’t want that spoiled for you, don’t read the entire Netflix envelope.

Love Affair is a film that visually doesn’t have anything more special than the lead actors and a lightning effect, but holds all its merit in the engaging story.  At first, I was put off at how grainy the film quality was, it’s hard to believe this is the same year as The Wizard of Oz, but as I became more engaged by the characters, the visual quality was not of my concern.  For a smart love story that doesn’t turn to mush or silliness, check out Love Affair, but be aware of the film’s low quality.

“Right or wrong though, people like to talk.”

Ruggles of Red Gap

While visiting Paris in 1908, an American couple wins an English butler, Ruggles (Charles Laughton), in a game of poker. The wife, Effie Floud (Mary Boland), hopes that giving her husband, Egbert Floud (Charles Ruggles), a personal manservant will help him rise into a more sophisticated lifestyle that she is trying to achieve by throwing snooty parties.  They take Ruggles back to their small, but growing town in Washington, Red Gap, where Ruggles tries to keep Egbert in line.  Instead of running a small errand to the newspaper, Egbert stops in at a local beer bust and Ruggles reluctantly has to follow.  There, he meets Mrs. Judson (Zasu Pitts), a widow serving food at the party.  As the two dance, Egbert drunkenly refers to Ruggles as “the Colonel” sparking rumors that peg Ruggles as a war hero.

After the whole town thinks Ruggles is a prestigious guest at the Floud’s house, he enjoys the taste of being somebody rather than somebody’s servant.  He realizes that now that he is in America, he can aspire to be his own person with his own set of American dreams.  With his culinary skills, Ruggles decides to open up a restaurant, but Effie needs him to serve at another of her pompous social parties.  He becomes conflicted on whether to take a big chance on the restaurant or stay in his safe, respectable line of servitude.

Egbert and Ruggles are polar opposite characters, which makes their friendship all the more fun and meaningful.  Egbert is a wonderfully nice hick who enjoys his ridiculous looking full checked suits and would rather get loud and drunk in a Paris cafe than step foot in any of their art museums.  He is a regular cowboy and Effie is desperately trying to mold him into a gentleman.  Ruggles has come from a family of servants and finds that a fine lot in life.  He’s quiet, disciplined and doesn’t look like he knows how to have a good time for himself.  When Egbert treats Ruggles as more of a friend than a servant, it baffles Ruggles at first.  He has been taught his place is below his employer, but it seems Egbert doesn’t see it that way saying they are equal.

At one point in the film, Ruggles and Egbert are in the local saloon, trying to convince Ruggles to strike out on his own.  Egbert tries to remember what Lincoln said at Gettysburg, but can’t.  The questions is passed to all the cowboys around the saloon, but no one can remember what it was that Lincoln said.  Finally, Ruggles stands up and recites the entire Gettysburg Address, an inspiring speech that all these free, rabble-rousing cowboys seem to take for granted.  It’s ironic how Ruggles, the foreigner who has led a life of servitude, knows this by heart while the men settling the west less than fifty years past the time of Lincoln can’t remember one word, yet they use the line “all men are created equal” whenever they see fit.

All in all, Leo McCarey’s Ruggles of Red Gap is a cute film full of many fun moments.  It’s so nice to see Charles Laughton as such a lovable good guy in the same year that he plays two notorious villains.  Once an honest smile crosses that round face, I could not picture him as either of the dastardly characters he can also be.  If you’re not sure if you’ll care for Ruggles of Red Gap, there’s no risk of waisting a precious spot on your Netflix cue, since it isn’t available there.  The movie can be found on YouTube.

“When people think you are someone, you begin to think you are.”

The Bells of St. Mary’s

There’s always been a soft spot in my heart for nuns and Catholic schools.  All those stereotypes about nuns being the strictest teachers armed with rulers was just a myth in my experience.  And though my Catholic school of the early ‘90s had no air conditioning at the time, which my mother fretted over, I never felt the environment stifling.  We worked, played and expressed ideas more freely than I felt I could later in public schools.  Though our priest was no Bing Crosby, I couldn’t help but flash back on my own happy times in a Catholic school and appreciate all the good fortune my old parish has had.

In the film directed by the legendary Leo McCarey, Father O’Malley (Crosby reprising his role from Going My Way) has just arrived at St. Mary’s, a run-down inner city school nearly condemned.  He and the principal, Sister Mary Benedict (Ingrid Bergman), don’t always see eye-to-eye and begin a little rivalry.  O’Malley realizes how badly the school is falling apart and thinks that the best thing to do is send the students to St. Victor’s school where they have more modern facilities.  But Sister Benedict loves being with the children and has worked so hard at keeping St. Mary’s open.  She has her eye on the new building being constructed next door and prays that the owner, Horace P. Bogardus (Henry Travers), will simply donate the building to St. Mary’s.

Along the way, we also meet a troubled 8th grade girl, Patsy (Joan Carroll).  Her mother seeks confidence in Father O’Malley, sharing the sad story about how Patsy has never met her father and is starting to look down upon her mother.  Patsy is trying to grow up too fast, just before she is admitted into St. Mary’s she’s wearing quite a lot of makeup and was out trying to find a job.  O’Malley is understanding, takes special interest in their situation and helps stay Patsy in school.

The film also brings up the idea that boys educated by nuns may become less masculine.  After Tommy and Eddie have a little schoolyard fight, Father O’Malley nearly encourages Tommy, who won the fight, and tells disapproving Sister Benedict “I like to see a man who can take care of himself.”  Realizing that Eddie lost the fight by listening to her, Sister Benedict teaches him to box.  A nun teaching a young boy to box seems odd at first, but it becomes one of the best scenes in the film and later, we understand Sister Benedict’s good intentions.

Since we’re closing in on the holidays, I’d love to discuss the 1st grade Christmas play scene.  Sister Benedict lets the children hold the reigns on the production and they boil it down the the simplest details: “I’m Joseph and this is Mary and we need a place to stay.”  In their ending manger scene, the boy playing Joseph calls the Wise Men “neighbors” and they sing Happy Birthday to Jesus.  There’s no recitation of big words or religious concepts that these children don’t really comprehend yet, just the simple story as they understand it.  O’Malley describes it best: “Their simplicity is beautiful.”

I really loved The Bells of St. Mary’s, but I realize that I’m especially drawn and moved by these kinds of films by my own personal experiences.  If you have a fondness for nuns, want to remember your own Catholic school days or just love Bing Crosby or Ingrid Bergman this is a must see.  Crosby does find ways to sneak a few songs into the film, but I don’t know anyone who would mind hearing more of his beautiful voice.

“I can see you don’t know what it means to be up to your neck in nuns.”