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CHARLIE CHAPLIN AND HARPO MARX AS MASKS OF THE COMMEDIA DELL'ARTE: THEORY AND PRACTICE by DAVID JAMES LeMASTER, B.A., M.A. A DISSERTATION IN FINE ARTS Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Approved <Jhair^rson of^the Committee Accepted Dean of the Graduate School May, 1995 u ^^a- )^ O ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the members of my committee for their help, support, and friendship. I extend a most grateful thanks to Dr. George Sorensen, whose committement to excellence reaches far beyond the classroom. Dr. Sorensen sacrificed of himself as both a reader and a teacher. Thank to Dr. Richard Weaver and Dr. Jim Gregory, for help in preparing my presentation. Thanks to Dr. Mike Schoenecke for his outstanding teaching skills and for giving me confidence as a writer, and thanks to Dr. Leon Higdon for his support and encouragement. I am eternally grateful to Dr. Janet Cooper for all of her help as a director, playwrighting teacher, and mentor. Special thanks also goes to Dr. Constance Kuriyama for her careful attention to detail and her continued help in preparing this document for the future. Special thanks to Jean Ann Cantore and all of my friends in the Texas Tech School of Engineering for encouragement and friendship. This document would never have been possible without the training and support of my family. I want to thank my parents, and especially thank Dr. David R. LeMaster for setting an example and giving me a goal. Special thanks to my wonderful Heather, without whose support I would never have finished. 11 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iv CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION 1 II. LITERATURE REVIEW 10 III. ORIGINS: CHAPLIN HARPO, AND THE COMMEDIA HARLEQUIN 44 IV. ORIGINS: CHAPLIN, HARPO, AND THE PIERROT 82 V. THE MARX BROTHERS AND THE THEATRE OF CRUELTY: UNIQUE SURREALISM OR VAUDEVILLIAN STYLE 130 VI. THE ARTAUDIAN ELEMENTS AS DISPLAYED IN THE MARX BROTHERS AND CHAPLIN 166 VII. THE SEARCH FOR STYLE: CHAPLIN AND MEYERHOLD 207 VIII. MEYERHOLD AND THE COMMEDIA DELL'ARTE: A DISCUSSION OF LAZZI AND HOW THEY APPLY TO CHAPLIN HARPO 231 IX. CONCLUSION 288 X. SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 295 XI. APPENDIX 303 111 ABSTRACT Harpo Marx and Charlie Chaplin are cinematic representatives of the Commedia dell'Arte, the living theatre of the Renaissance. Their evolutionary developments may be traced by identifying their use of Commedia techniques at various points in their careers. Harpo used lazzi to strengthen the comedic value of his performance, while Chaplin used the lazzi as one technique to develop a three-dimensional character. Harpo remained a Harlequin throughout his career, relying on many of the same lazzi in his final films that he had created for his characters on stage. In contrast, although the early Chaplin possesses the Harlequin's traits, Chaplin continued exploring and sought a more fully developed character that did not rely on slapstick to convey emotion. The character known as "Pierrot" to twentieth century audiences is distinct from the Harlequin because he developed the characteristic of evoking sympathetic pity. Several conclusions may be drawn: First, the Pierrot is a natural product of the evolution of drama from comedy to tragedy to twentieth century tragicomedy. Charlie Chaplin is the link between comedy for the masses and tragicomedy for the common man. Second, Chaplin embodies Meyerholdian and Artaudian technique as both an actor and director, therefore achieving an artistic approach to iv comedy. Finally, Harpo and his brothers are a filmed link to vaudeville, which may, in turn, be traced to the original Commedia dell'Arte. CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION No previous study has focused on the similarities between Charlie Chaplin and Harpo Marx, the silent Marx Brother. Critics like Alexander Woollcott commented on their similar use of pantomime and childlike movement, but / there has been no detailed comparison of th^i£__origins or documentation of their comedic techniques. It is not enough to say that both Charlie Chaplin and Harpo Marx made use of pantomime and facial, hand, and bodily movement in their •^ clowning. Their comic characters had similar origins but took different paths to maturity. Harpo and Chaplin are cinematic representatives of the Commedia dell'Arte, the / living theatre of the Renaissance. Their evolutionary developments may be traced by identifying their use of Commedia techniques at various points in their careers. While Chaplin used the Commedia as a tool to progress to something else, Harpo and the Marx Brothers employed Commedia lazzi in order to strengthen the effect of their comedy. Harpo Marx and Charlie Chaplin were unconscious j representatives of the Commedia dell'Arte. Their backgrounds in vaudeville led to their adaptation of Commedia lazzi and characters, which they used to different ends. Harpo used lazzi to strengthen the comedic value of his performance, while Chaplin used the lazzi as one technique while developing a three-dimensional character. The study is divided into nine chapters, consisting of theoretical discussion, comparative analysis, and a comprehensive application of the theory to existing films of Chaplin and the Marx Brothers, followed by a concluding section. The first two chapters include the introduction and a review of the existing literature. This review reveals a lack of critical scholarship regarding Harpo Marx. Most of the works addressing the Marx Brothers consist of photographs or biographical studies without critical commentary; none of them compare Harpo's qualities with the characteristics of a Commedia dell'Arte character. Critical study of Charlie Chaplin ranges from biographies to less- than-academic attempts to equate him with the Commedia l/ Pierrot. These studies make sweeping generalizations about Chaplin and his Commedia counterpart. None of them make an effort to trace the historical development of Chaplin into the Pierrot's personality and style. ^ The introduction and literature review will establish an academic need for the research by showing that the existing body of literature does not address Harpo and Chaplin at the same time and that existing scholarship has not completely connected their traits to the Commedia dell'Arte. This study will demonstrate that Charlie Chaplin was not the only star of vaudeville and film to be influenced by the Commedia dell'Arte, as evidenced by Harpo's use of Commedia technique without attempting to progress beyond the slapstixik routines and lazzi most often associated with it. Proving that both Chaplin and Harpo are linked to the Commedia dell'Arte strengthens the validity of their work because it connects them with a classical tradition in theatre. Harpo was an outstanding comic who concentrated on comedic technique and discovered "bits of business" or lazzi to evoke laughter; Chaplin was a skilled dramatist who fused comedy with tragedy to establish pathos, or sympathetic identification with his character. He was also willing to experiment, abandoning the "Little Tramp" character, his makeup, and even his place in front of the camera in order to progress and develop his art. Chaplin evolved from farce to tragicomedy, while Harpo perfected one style of comedy and remained there. The third and fourth chapters will address the origins of Chaplin and Harlequin and tie them to the Commedia dell'Arte. Chapter III lists recognizable traits of the Commedia Harlequin and then compares them with the characteristics of Chaplin and Harpo, showing that both men were Harlequinesque characters at one point in their careers. The evidence suggests that Harpo remained a Harlequin throughout his career, relying on many of the same lazzi in his final films that he had created in vaudeville and on Broadway. Harpo developed a comedic mask and retained it, failing to explore the regions outside of that mask. In contrast, although the early "Tramp" possesses the Harlequin's traits, Chaplin continued exploring and sought a more fully developed character that did not rely on slapstick in order to convey emotion. Chapter IV reveals the character into which Chaplin evolved. It includes a brief history of the Pierrot and a list of his dominant traits, noting that the Pierrot and the Harlequin come from the same roots since they are variations on the "zanni" character. The character known as "Pierrot" to twentieth-century audiences is distinct from the Harlequin because he .evelope. the characteristic of^^. sympathetic pity. Chaplin attained this quality from the Pierrot, evolving, like the original character, from the trickster qualities of the Harlequin into a comedic figure plagued by tragedy. The Pierrot's characteristics will be applied to Harpo and Chaplin's stage characters, and it will be demonstrated that Chaplin's later "Tramp" was a fully developed Pierrot. Harpo stopped at an early point on the evolutionary ladder, assuming the identity of the symbolic Harlequin; Chaplin continued to explore and progress throughout his career, assuming the identity of the symbolic Pierrot. Chapter V is a comparative analysis of the Marx Brothers and Chaplin. The Marx Brothers' work is often equated with the Theatre of Cruelty described by Antonin Artaud. This association is erroneous; the Marx Brothers were not unique in their attack on society, and their comedy has been mislabeled. The Marx Brothers' work is a combination of Commedia dell'Arte routines and lazzi, and critics should not seek a deeper meaning. This chapter considers Irving Thalberg's attempt to transform Harpo into a sympathetic character and the resultant destruction of the team's sense of the Surreal. Harpo did not progress beyond the Commedia dell'Arte Harlequin; beneath their academic jargon, the "Artaudian" and "Thalbergian" critics recognize an attempt and failure on the part of the Marx Brothers to reach beyond the use of the comic lazzi for the development of pathos.