Is Friday Feminist or Feebleminded?

Hildy Johnson is a confident career woman who can compete with men (and defeat them) in the dog-eat-dog world of journalism. She is even willing to divorce her man if he doesn't treat her right. Yet, at the same time, she seeks the domestic joys of children and caring for her man -- and in the end returns to the rascal whom she left in the first place. What is the role of women in this film? Does it tell us anything about "modern" women in 1940's America?

Marriage -- and Divorce -- His Girl Style

His Girl Friday charts the marriage and divorce and remarriage of Walter and Hildy and the engagement -- and near marriage -- of Hildy and Bruce. Hildy says she wants domestic bliss in suburban Albany but she chucks it to remarry Walter and relaunch her career. Can someone balance career and marriage? Who is the best kind of spouse?  Is happiness possible in marriage?   What is this film saying about that state of marriage in the modern world?

The Marquis' Mechanical Men

The one consistent passion of  Robert, the Marquis, throughout the film is his collection of mechanical figures, often with music.  From the mechanical "Negresse" and warbler he fiddles with in Paris, to the gigantic music box with figurines that he unveils in his county estate -- which he proclaims is "the culmination of my career as a collector" -- he is constantly playing or fixing or displaying these devices.  What is the symbolic significance of these music boxes and mechanical men?  Why is he constantly fiddling and fixing them?  Is there any special significance to the gigantic music box that plays a central role in the entertainment at La Coliniere? What about the fact that  the music grounds to a thudding sound as Shumacher chases Marceau through the chateau?  What is the point of the Marquis' mechanical men?

What Rules? What Game?

What is the meaning of the title of The Rules of the Game? What is the "game"? What are the "rules"? Who are the participants? How does one "win" the game? What are the penalties for breaking the rules?

The Hunt

Perhaps the most famous scene from The Rules of the Game involves the scene in which the Marquis' guests shoot rabbit and pheasant beaten from the forest by the gamekeeper. What is so distinctive and striking about the scene? Why does it pack such an emotional punch? What is the deeper significance or symbolism of this scene?

Mirror, Mirror

Watching Last Laugh this time around, I was struck by some imaginative uses of mirrors.  Let me describe two.  The first is about twelve minutes into the film during the morning of the doorman's niece's wedding.  He is brushing his hair, looking at himself in the mirror and in the background (in the mirror) we see his niece preparing the cake.  The second is the scene in the bathroom the morning after the wedding. He is cleaning the sinks and he looks into his image reflected on the gargantuan mirror which lines the bathroom wall.  Is there any symbolic meaning to the use of these mirrors in these scenes or other scenes in the movie?  How do they help tell the doorman's story?  Do they have a similar purpose in scenes in The Rules of the Game?

Shiny, Happy People

The concluding scene of The Last Laugh depicts the incredible gluttony and generosity of the unnamed, demoted doorman after he miraculously inherits a fortune from a dying American millionaire. He feasts on mounds of food, eating caviar as if it were candy and drinking champagne as if it were water. A tracking shot of the "spread" emphasizes the opulence and indulgence of our hero. What is the point of this ending? Is is a happy ending or a parody of a happy ending? Is this supposed to be objective reality or a fantasy? Is this a cynical commercial ploy or is there deeper significance to the ending?