The Lemonade Vendor
The poor lemonade vendor has nothing to do with Freedonia going to war, yet he suffers the brunt of the arrival of two spies from Sylvania more than anyone. His pants are destroyed by a pair of scissors, he is forced to hold up Pinky’s leg, his hat is tortured, he loses customers and to top everything off, Pinky actually sloshes around in the man’s lemonade with feet. This seems to be nothing but a gag; some comic business for Chico and Harpo and, indeed, it is, but within the context of the film, these two spies from another country are interfering with a common man to an extent that he should by all rights not be subjected to. The imagery points to the way that war or even the threat of war or just espionage keeping countries from going to war can impact the man on the street.
The Sidecar
Remember, now, that the only reason Firefly is leader of Freedonia in the first place is because it is bankrupt and needs Mrs. Teasdale’s fortune to prop it up. A great fanfare is played announcing the arrival of “His Excellency’s Car.” Which turns out to be a motorcycle with a sidecar. Which turns out to leave His Excellency sitting absurdly alone when Pinky takes off on the cycle on his own. The imagery here serves to underscore that Firefly is not a legitimate leader and his being made leader is the centerpiece of the absurd world into which the viewer is invited.
Mrs. Teasdale
Mrs. Teasdale is the central figure of the play’s actual plot. It is her wealth which gives her so much power over Freedonia’s politics. And it is that power that brings Rufus T. Firefly to prominence despite his lacking any apparent qualification. Throughout the film Firefly continually insults her, makes unsavory comments and spins dazzling puns seemingly off the top of his head. None of which Teasdale seems to notice and all of which seems to sail right over her head. The imagery created through this repetition is one of the film’s most incisively satirical: not only is Firefly unfit for office, but Teasdale is unfit to wield the influence which brought him there. This is quite a harsh indictment of the influence of the wealthy on politics, essentially suggesting many—if not most—are far too stupid to be allowed any say at all.
Alternative Fireflys
The justly famous mirror pantomime in which Pinky is in disguise as Firefly and perfectly mirrors his movements in a way that makes Firefly question whether he’s looking at his own reflection or not also seems like a gag that is inserted into the plot just for the sake of getting laughs. That would be so were it not for one quite specific exchange between the other two characters of importance in this entire sequence. Chicolini is also disguised as Firefly and has just been speaking with Teasdale in an effort to convince her he is Firefly despite speaking in his distinctive accent. For reasons too complicate to explain, shortly after Pinky shows up, Chicolini hides under the bed and despite not talking Pinky also convinces her he is Firefly. Pinky exits through the door as Chicolini climbs out from the under the bed just as Teasdale turns back around and spots him, saying she thought he’d just left. And that is when the exchange takes place:
Chicolini: Oh, no. I no leave.
Teasdale: But I saw you with my own eyes!
Chicolini : Well, who you gonna believe? Me or your own eyes?
The sum total of the mirror scene and this scene in the bedroom capped with Chicolini’s explanation for why Teasdale is confused is imagery that is pretty much self-explanatory in the post-truth age of the 21st century.
