Page 57 - Shakespeare in the Movie From the Silent Era to Shakespeare in Love

46 / Shakespeare in the Movies

ters, who later enter the melee. This allowed Will to immediately
involve those groundlings crowded close in front of his stage. The
film, however, presents formal pageantry first, regal lords of both
households parading with full pomp into the marketplace, bumping
into one another by mistake. Only after Lords Capulet and Mon-
tague exchange unpleasant glances do servants pick up the cue,
exchanging insults leading to civil unrest. In the minds of Cukor
and Thalberg, there would be no groundlings in their moviegoing
audience. They were right; the general public stayed away in droves.
Another alteration reassigned dialogue originally spoken by Samp-
son and Gregory, Capulet household servants not seen again, to
Peter, the Nurse's companion. By having him instigate the fight,
Cukor changed the nature of a character who later must appear lov-
ably harmless. Peter dominates entire scenes here as he doesn't in
other productions; during the fighting, it is Peter rather than key
participants who remains central in the frame, comically attempting
to draw his sword, stuck in its scabbard, an added bit of lighthearted
business.
If Peter and the Nurse (less batty here than meddling and imperi-
ous, though still funny) are enlarged, Friar Laurence was all but elim-
inated by screen adapter Talbot Jennings. His first appearance,
following the balcony scene, is gone, along with his basket of herbs,
important in establishing him as a closet alchemist, justifying his
later possession of a sleeping potion. We don't see Laurence until
after the Nurse's suggestion that Juliet retire to Laurence's cell for a
secret marriage. Only then does Romeo ask Laurence to marry them,
which makes no sense; what if he said no? There's little feel for an
ongoing friendship between Romeo and the Friar, essential to other
productions. Laurence's admonition about falling out of love with
Rosaline is truncated, as is his reason for agreeing to marry Romeo
and Juliet, which is a desire to end their parents' strife. He's humor-
less rather than the traditional scene stealer.
The emphasis on spectacle is everywhere evident. The Capulets'
ball, where Romeo confronts Rosaline for a brief moment before
meeting Juliet, is staged in such a grand manner that one under-
stands why M-G-M would shortly achieve fame as the primary
studio for dance musicals. Even the first words of love between
Romeo and Juliet are spoken as they dance.
Cukor visually introduces key characters. Juliet is initially seen
petting a baby deer, symbolically suggesting her personality. She
then picks up a bow and arrow, suggesting the presence of Cupid as