(1934) 3.5 Nathan Southern This door-slamming bedroom farce of high comedy lacks substance but is so light, breezy, and gentle -- and is performed with such gusto and bravura by its four leads -- that one hardly notices; watching it is like feasting on a perfect soufflé. There exists a great delicacy in the patter between the resplendent Constance Bennett (as the Duchess of Florence) and Frank Morgan, who plays her husband, Alessandro "Bumpy" de Medici, the Duke of Florence. Morgan reads the character as a doddering and witless old fool; his stuttering and stammering, philandering, and tactless observations provide many of the film's biggest laughs. In fact, Morgan justifiably received a Best Actor Oscar nomination for this role, and even outshines the usually peerless Fredric March (who plays the eponymous title character) -- surely a first in Hollywood history. Kudos to director Gregory La Cava (My Man Godfrey), scripter Bess Meredyth, and March for rethinking the "homicidal rakishness" of Benvenuto Cellini and turning him into a nice guy; Cellini never once comes across as a less than sympathetic protagonist -- merely a hot-blooded fighter and romantic who adores braggadocio and self-promotion. In fact, tonally, La Cava has his finger on the audience's pulse when it comes to the entire ensemble. The picture wraps with a perfect concluding fate for every character; we laud the snaky guard Ottaviano's (Louis Calhern) poisoning and feel delighted to see Cellini and the duchess parade off to the "winter palace" together, where they will begin a steamy entanglement. Much of this picture's humor is surprisingly off-beat -- as in the first few minutes, when Alessandro doles out a punishment by declaring, "We can't hang a Borgia...So put hot eggs under his armpits, then soak his feet in saltwater and allow the goats to lick them; after that, his ears must be severed." (Or later in the same scene, when a lady-in-waiting informs her father with an anachronistic bit of slang, "I can do as I like, so boo!") The picture suffers just a hair or two under the weight of early Hays Code censorship restrictions; it might have benefited from a more explicit depiction of the two extramarital affairs. But, again: the film's comic edge glimmers so brightly that it scarcely matters.

The Affairs of Cellini on AllMovie

The Affairs of Cellini (1934)

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Questionable for Children

genres

sub-genres

category

Feature

directed by

Gregory La Cava

countries

USA

released

1934

run time

80 min.

produced by

20th Century Fox, United Artists

released by

United Artists

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by Hal Erickson synopsis

The Affairs of Cellini is based on Edwin Justus Mayer's popular stage play The Firebrand, which in turn was based on the life and times of Renaissance artist/political reactionary Benvenuto Cellini. Fredric March plays the tempestuous, amorous Cellini, who spends as much time in swordplay with jealous husbands as he does in his artist's loft. When the duke of Florence (Frank Morgan) falls for Cellini's beautiful model (Fay Wray), Cellini is presented in court, whereupon he revives an ongoing affair with the duchess of Florence (Constance Bennett). Though a bumbling buffoon, the duke nonetheless holds the power of life and death over everyone in his domain, including Cellini. Thanks to his political activities and his overactive libido, Cellini is nearly executed, but a series of farce-like complications allows the plotline to turn out to the artist's advantage. Though hardly reliable as history, The Affairs of Cellini scores on its comic content, including the hilarious performances of Frank Morgan as the cuckolded duke and Fay Wray as the monumentally stupid artist's model.

characteristics

- Activism

- Political

- Activist

- Politician

- Infidelity

- Extramarital-affair

- Escape

- Enemy

- Libido

- Model

- Torture

- Renaissance

- Prince

- Duel

- Love