Too Many Kisses

"Too Many Kisses" has attracted a lot of attention in recent years because Harpo Marx appears in this silent comedy. I attended a rare screening of "Too Many Kisses" in the same building where it had been filmed 70 years earlier (originally the Paramount studio in Astoria, New York, now the American Museum of the Moving Image), and a lot of Marx Brothers fans had come to AMMI from as far away as California for this brief glimpse of Harpo.

This film is quite funny. "Too Many Kisses" stars Richard Dix as the playboy son of a New York industrialist. Dix's father (Frank Currier) wants Dix to get away from his many girlfriends and buckle down to work, so Currier sends Dix to an obscure village in Spain to find samples of a rare mineral. (I'll call this mineral McGuffinite, because it's in the movie only as a plot device.) When Dix gets to Spain, he runs afoul of the local police chief, played by William Powell in an excellent performance. Powell is remembered for the suave leading roles he played in the sound era, but in silent films he was typecast as a villain. In "Too Many Kisses", Powell has a secret which he tries to keep Dix from discovering. (You'll find it out a lot sooner than Dix does.)

Harpo Marx has a VERY small role as the village idiot in this Spanish burg, who gets beatings from the local bully. Harpo makes his first appearance (in one brief close-up) about 25 minutes into the film, then he isn't seen again until much later. Harpo's physical appearance and behaviour in this silent movie are very similar to his later starring roles, except that in "Too Many Kisses" he just occasionally speaks. Harpo has TWO lines of dialogue in this film, and it's slightly jarring to see Harpo Marx talk on screen. Of course, we don't hear his voice: we see his dialogue in the silent-film intertitles. He does some unfunny comedy bits, such as trying to pour wine into his mouth while holding the flask at arm's length. Harpo *IS* funny in a later scene, when he gets revenge against the bully.

The German actor Paul Panzer, who plays Pedro in this film, had a long career as a silent-screen baddie: he played the main villain in the famous silent-film serial "The Perils of Pauline".

The funniest sequence in "Too Many Kisses" is the balcony scene, in which Dix and Powell try to woo the same señorita (with neither man aware of the other's presence). Also funny is a fight scene at the end of the film, when Dix's father shows up to find out why Dix hasn't found any McGuffinite yet. Harpo isn't in these scenes. I'm a Marx Brothers fan, but ... really, Harpo has almost nothing to do in this film. I'll score "Too Many Kisses" 7 out of 10. Think of Harpo's presence as a bonus in a film which is an excellent vehicle for its star Richard Dix.

"Too Many Kisses" (1925) stars Richard Dix and Frances Howard, though many will want to watch this to see a speaking (silent, of course(!), but nevertheless speaking) Harpo Marx. His character plays almost as it would in the future talkies he made, but he lacks a top hat - substitute a beret - and he's not quite as off-the-wall; well, almost not quite as... Others in this romantic comedy are William Powell - who easily gives the best performance as the nasty - Frank Currier, Joseph Burke, and Albert Tavernier, plus the henchmen and several others who fill out scenes. In a story that could only happen in the mind of film scenarists, this is about a man who can't avoid falling for women, making promises to them - such as a firm marriage - then being constantly sued for breach of promise, costing his father a fortune. His father is extremely wealthy, but the costs to pay off his son's suiters are beginning to take a toll, if not on his wealth necessarily, on his anxiety and health. SO - he sends his son off to the Basque country in the Pyrenees between France and Spain where the women only marry other Basque men...only other Basque men... Here, Dix meets Frances Howard, but he also meets her suiter, Powell, the chief of police, the capo di tuti capi, and an expert knife thrower, should the need - or the wish - arise. You can already see where this is going. It's pleasant going, beginning with a very mildly comedic engine rev-up. But the film progresses very incrementally, building and building quite well, with a mixture of comedy, drama, romance, and a good dollop of comedy/drama - with Harpo Marx served up as well. Dix is an actor who has a fine range, though narrow individual style of presenting that range. Known mostly as a tough character in sagas, nevertheless he began in a host of different types of films, from "The Ten Commandments" (1923) to rough-house comedies like "The Shock Punch" (1925), and originally served in a new takeover position after Wallace Reid died as a follow-up actor in Reid's type of film in things like "The Lucky Devil" (1925). He's best remembered now, perhaps, as the star in the series of films where he played "The Whistler" (1944-47).

This is on a new Blu-Ray from the Film Preservation Society, highly toned, with a few titles tinted, and a lovely musical score by Bill Marx, Harpo's son.

Just as a side note, I find it curious that I have five DVDs or Blu-Rays of Dix movies from 1925. Why so many from that year are available when he made so many films from as far back as 1917 seems odd to me. He's not an actor too many people remember anymore, though he certainly deserves to be better known. His output, though perhaps not in the "classic" category, with perhaps the exceptions of "The Ten Commandments" (1923) and the lesser "Cimarron" (1931), still are good watching today. Dix becomes a tad ripe after his silent days, but gets back into the swing of things with the really good "Whistler" series.

The comedic team, the Marx Brothers, were the talk of Broadway during the mid-1920s. Their "I'll Say She Is' show consisted of sharp verbal humor mixed with song numbers and improvisational comedy. It was the highlight of the 1924-1925 New York City theater season. Evolving their act from the many years on the vaudeville circuit, the Marx Brothers, besides a lost quickie 1921 short 'Humor Risk,' never appeared, solo or as a group, in film until January 1925's "Too Many Kisses." Harpo Marx was the first brother to make an appearance in cinema, albeit brief but memorable, signifying his great potential in future on-screen endeavors.

Harpo, born Adolph, later changed to Arthur, was the second oldest of the Marx brothers. His self-taught skill playing the harp morphed into his known name, Harpo, during his vaudeville days. His stage and movie career is known for his lack of speaking. Several versions handed down give a reason behind his muteness. One account is a theater critic in 1914 wrote Harpo was brilliant on stage until he opened his mouth. Groucho claimed it was after a Winnipeg, Manitoba, act when the theater's owner paid them in pennies. As they left, Harpo yelled he wished the theater would burn down. It came true: that night a fire did destroy the venue. He learned to shut his mouth after that.

In "Too Many Kisses," Harpo does speak. It's the only time, with the exception in a group song in 1931's 'Monkey Business' and in a brief microphone appearance in 1936's 'The Great Ziegfeld,' he says something on film. As The Village Peter Pan, Harpo exclaims according to the title card "You sure you can't move?" Since this is a silent film, Harpo's lips are seen moving as he asks the question to a belligerent all tied up. The only other Marx Brothers who made a film appearance before their 1929 'The Cocoanuts' was Zeppo in 1925's 'A Kiss In The Dark.' "Too Many Kisses" is also a rare Richard Dix comedy. He plays a rich businessman's son whose paramour exploits forces his father to send him on a long trip to the Basque region of France. There he falls in love with a local beauty (Frances Howard), who is also pursued by Julio (William Powell), a local soldier. Dix, previously appearing in a number of Westerns, applies a light-hearted touch in his rivalry with Powell. Actress Francis Howard, recently signed to a five-year contract with Paramount Pictures, married producer Samuel Goldwyn, 20 years her senior, on April 23, 1925, soon after completing "Too Many Kisses." She was able to cancel her contract to devote time to her new family.

"Too Many Kisses" also has the distinction of being one of the first movies to be part of a double bill. The film 'French Pastry' front-ended the Harpo movie. The idea of showing two movies back-to-back became especially popular during the Depression when theater owners were vying for customers by offering a two-for-one evening of entertainment.

Unless a print turns up of the 1921 Humor Risk, this film is the earliest one to feature any of the Four Marx Brothers, in this case, Harpo. He's only in a few scenes and he's pretty amusing in them. The star of this one is Richard Dix who plays a playboy son of a millionaire boss who wants to take his son away from all the women he fooled around with and also to get him to look for some valuable minerals in another country. Since the women in this other country supposedly wouldn't marry anyone outside of their region, Dix would have no chance there to woo anyone but then that wouldn't be very exciting, would it? Anyway, his rival there is played by William Powell who played quite a bit of villainous roles during this period. He has a great presence that would serve him well in the future in the talkies when he switches sides. In summary, Too Many Kisses is a worthy comedy/drama for anyone interested in these early silent films. P. S. The version I watched was a restored one from 2020 that had a score composed and performed by Bill Marx, Harpo's son.

Frank Currier is a mining engineer who has a huge worldwide operation. He spends his profits buying off women whom his son, Richard Dix, has captivated. To save some of the money, he ships Dix off to Basque country under the supervision of Joseph Burke. The Basque women, Burke informs him, never have anything to do with non-Basque men. Unfortunately, no one has told Basque beauty Frances Howard, and the two are soon canoodling. This upsets policeman/bandit William Powell, who arranges for his death..... futilely as it turns out, because Dix is the star of this movie, and how deadly do you expect your thugs to be when one of them is Harpo Marx in a biretta instead of a battered top hat?

This movie has been sought for many years because of Harpo's appearance. It was listed confidently as 'lost' until it turned up in a 16mm. Print in Irvin Willat's estate. The copy that played last night on Turner Classic Movies was in beautiful condition. Alas, while the romantic parts are good, the comedy bits aren't that funny. Well, it's one to check off the list.