The Threepenny Opera (1931)

 G.W. Pabst's "The Threepenny Opera"

By 1931, sound pictures had taken complete control over the film industry. With the introduction of sound came one of the most stylistic uses of sound, the musical. With the ease of recording sound with visual imagery, Hollywood flooded the market with lavish, expensive musicals, like Ernst Lubitsch's "The Love Parade," Harry Beaumont's "The Broadway Melody," and Roy Del Ruth's "The Gold Diggers of Broadway." These visually stunning, flashy, and lavish musicals were a means of escapism during an economically traumatic time. After the stock market crash of 1929, global economies began to collapse. The middle and lower classes were in a state of panic and turmoil while the upper classes were clinging to any advantage they could get. This is why they poured money into films that distracted consumers with frivolity and gaiety. G.W. Pabst, on the other hand, had other ideas. He decided to adapt the 1928 stage play, "The Threepenny Opera" into a film. The play and film both deal with characters living in economic destitution.

The film centers on the character Mack the Knife in 19th century London. Mack is a crime lord who ends up falling for and marrying Polly Peachum. Mr. Peachum, Polly's father, runs a protection racket for the city's beggars. When he hears about Mack marrying his daughter, he has him arrested, despite Mack having a professional relationship with a dirty police chief named Tiger. While Mack is in prison, Polly upgrades the criminal operations by taking ownership of a bank. During a coronation ceremony for the queen, Mr. Peachum instructs all his beggars to storm the ceremony. During the commotion, Mack breaks out of prison and reunites with Polly at the bank. Because of the lack of security at the coronation, Tiger is fired from his duties as police chief. He then joins up with Mack as a bank director. Mr. Peachum also teams up with Mack, saying his experience in manipulating the poor can come in handy.

Taking place in the 19th century, the film adequately satires the transition from monarchical power to capitalist power. Because of the monarchical power by the queen, there are many poor people not benefiting in the riches of the kingdom. As we see in the film, Mack must resort to leading an organized crime ring so as to keep himself and his posse above the financial ruin. Mr. Peachum too must resort to criminalizing beggars to keep wealth in the hands of the lower class. What is demonstrated throughout the film is how these citizens transition to a state of greater power. This is through the acquisition of the bank. Once they gain possession of the bank, they begin to gain more wealth and power. They are able to transition their power from a localized group of lower-class destitute to middle-class money holders. That being said, they still are able to exert their power over the lower class. This is shown through Mr. Peachum sending his criminalized beggars to ruin the queen's coronation ceremony. By manipulating the poor to bombard the wealthy elite, the film demonstrates how the mechanism of criminalized capitalism surpasses the power held by the aristocracy. By 1931 (the year of the film's release), the titans of capitalism's power had become so over-bloated that it collapsed the economy. In this way, the film does not offer any praise for its protagonists. In fact, the film offers praise to no single character. This is one of the many ways in which the film differs from the stage play. Not only are many songs excluded from the film, but the film displays the whole of society as being corrupt in one form or another. 

This dramatic difference between the film and stage play also showcases a dramatic difference between the film and other musicals at the time. "The Threepenny Opera," in fact, is lacking in musical numbers. There are only sung sparingly, as most the film's runtime centers on the plot at hand. This is not the only way the film differs. Most musicals of the late 1920s and early 1930s were visually stunning and astonishing to look at. It contained bright lighting, well-dressed characters, lavish onscreen lifestyles, and flashy, choreographed arrangements. The same cannot be said for "The Threepenny Opera." Pabst filmed the film more in line with his realist films. The colors of the film are pale and grey. The characters are either poorly dressed, or their high-end business suits are crooked and eschew. The musical numbers are not choreographed or dramatic in the slighted. Rather, the characters stand still, singing almost as if they were street beggars singing for a penny. The film's visual dirtiness conveys the themes of poverty and corruption. The film was a stark visual and thematic shift from most musicals at the time.

Because of its concentration on the corruption of society, the manipulation of the poor, and criticisms of capitalism, the film was banned by the Nazis in August of 1933. The negatives of all prints that were located were destroyed. It wasn't until 1960 that the film was reconstructed by Thomas Brandon and the Museum of Modern Art. After its reconstruction, film historians have hailed the film as a unique and visionary film of Germany's Weimar Republic.