Big Screen Rome - Amazon Web Services
Big Screen Rome - Amazon Web Services
Big Screen Rome - Amazon Web Services
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The captain, Miles Gloriosus, a self-important military man, now arrives<br />
in great pomp and ceremony (“I am a parade!”) to claim his purchase<br />
from Lycus. Pseudolus, as Lycus, attempts to fend him off, but the captain<br />
installs himself and his contingent of soldiers in Senex’s house to wait for<br />
his girl, threatening Pseudolus with death if his contract is not met within<br />
the hour. In the meantime, Lycus discovers that Pseudolus tricked him,<br />
so he tries unsuccessfully to get to the captain to give him the girl. When<br />
Domina suddenly returns home, Pseudolus informs her only that the<br />
great captain is a guest, so his mistress praises him and, after accidentally<br />
drinking an aphrodisiac potion Hysterium had prepared for Senex, asks<br />
Pseudolus to send the captain up to her room for an erotic liaison.<br />
Pseudolus now devises his ultimate ruse: he tells the captain the virgin<br />
is dead, and displays Hysterium disguised in the girl’s clothing on a funeral<br />
bier. The captain insists on a proper funeral with ritual mourners<br />
and lengthy dirges, and as he tries to cut out the girl’s heart as a love<br />
souvenir, Hysterium jumps up and the hoax is discovered. But Hero,<br />
believing Philia to be dead, runs off and tries to kill himself in the gladiatorial<br />
training arena, and Philia, believing Hero is about to commit suicide,<br />
dedicates herself as a human sacrifice at the temple of Vesta. Pseudolus<br />
convinces Hero to save himself and Philia, and the young couple escapes<br />
in a chariot. Everyone sets off in pursuit, and when all the chariots crash<br />
together in a heap, the victorious captain pronounces: “Back to <strong>Rome</strong> for<br />
a quick wedding and some slow executions.” When Erronius bumps into<br />
the crowd of characters waiting on the captain’s pleasure, he discovers<br />
that the captain wears one of the gaggle of geese rings, and is thus reunited<br />
with his long-lost son. Then Philia declares that she, too, wears one of the<br />
rings, and is identified as the free-born daughter of Erronius, sister to the<br />
captain. The captain is about to punish Lycus for the crime of selling a<br />
citizen girl, but Pseudolus saves him after securing one of the courtesans<br />
as a wife with a substantial dowry. Hero and Philia are engaged, and as<br />
a reward for all his loyalty and hard work, Hero grants Pseudolus his<br />
freedom.<br />
Ancient Background<br />
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum differs from the other<br />
films considered in this volume, in that it is not based exclusively on<br />
Roman history; rather, the film takes its inspiration from a specific genre<br />
of Roman literature, namely comedy. Roman comedy reached its peak<br />
A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM (1966) 161