D'Oyly Carte Opera Company create new operas for the company upon six months' notice. Sullivan had not intended immediately to write a new work with Gilbert, but he suffered a serious financial loss when his broker went bankrupt in November 1882 and must have felt the long-term contract necessary for his security. But he soon felt trapped. Gilbert scholar Andrew Crowther comments, regarding the agreement: "Effectively, it made [Gilbert and Sullivan] Carte's employees – a situation which created its own resentments." The partnership's next opera, "Princess Ida", opened in January 1884. Carte soon saw that "Ida" was running weakly at the box office and
Cultural influence of Gilbert and Sullivan "Topsy-Turvy" (1999) is an award-winning film depiction of the team and the creation of their most popular opera, "The Mikado". Another G&S film is the 1953 "The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan" (or "The Great Gilbert and Sullivan" in the U.S.), starring Robert Morley as Gilbert and Maurice Evans as Sullivan, with Martyn Green as George Grossmith. In a short 1950 film called "The Return of Gilbert and Sullivan", Gilbert and Sullivan return to Earth to protest the jazz treatment of their work. In the 1951 film "The Magic Box" Sir Arthur Sullivan, played by the film conductor, Muir Mathieson,