Each film is like a little stage show complete with comedy, romance, and a few musical numbers to keep the audience invested. Throughout all of these films, the Marx Brothers were impeccable showmen. It's even better when one of them grabs onto or interacts with an unassuming background player and watching that person try to contain their laughter is a real hoot. Granted, she may not have known what Groucho or any of the other brothers were going to say or do at the moment, but she plays a good sport and rolls with the punches.
I counter that by saying anyone who thinks that should just watch her face - she absolutely gets the jokes and she knows how to take the jabs. For Dumont's part, there have been a lot of stories that she was dim or just didn't get the jokes that were being slung her way. When you're not laughing too hard, just watch the actors who had to play off them - especially their frequent foil Margaret Dumont. What makes the Marx Brothers such a dynamic and hilarious comedic quartet was their incredible sense of timing. You're there to laugh your socks off - if you have any socks on at the time that is.
Whether the brothers are trying to sell a piece of swamp land in Florida, provide quality college educations, or save a free nation from the interests of an invading power - you're not there for the plot. You're there to watch Groucho sling some fast one-liners, Chico blast off a couple of goofy puns and tickle the piano keys, Harpo honk his horn and mug before settling into a beautiful harp solo, and Zeppo playing the amiable leading love interest. Hail! Hail! Freedonia! Only Groucho with the help of Zeppo, Chico, and Harp can save Freedonia from financial ruin and win the war with neighboring Sylvania and their shady ambassador.Īs any fan of the Marx Brothers' early films will tell you, the plot isn't the main feature of the film. The brothers will have to foil a kidnapping plot if they hope to sneak into the country without getting noticed!Īs the new president of Huxley College, Groucho will have to contend with his love-lorn son Zeppo falling for the college widow while recruiting Chico and Harpo as football players to carry the school team to gridiron glory! Groucho, Chico, Zeppo, and Harpo are stowaways who get caught in the middle of a war between two feuding gangsters on an ocean liner. Groucho, Chico, Harpo, and Zeppo will have to solve the mystery before their art-prodigy friend is hauled off to jail.
Everything is thrown into turmoil when a valuable neckless is stolen!įamed African explorer Captain Spalding's (Groucho) arrival is spoiled when a valuable painting goes missing. Groucho, Chico, Harpo, and Zeppo are stuck in the fledgling hotel industry in Florida hoping to make a buck or two off a land auction. Every time you re-watch one of their films, you're guaranteed to catch a joke you never heard before, or at the very least be spun into a fit of laughter by your favorite bits. With their penchant for quick-witted jokes and musical numbers, these early films of the Marx Brothers are virtually critic-proof as they are endlessly hilarious. Hollywood and motion pictures were merely the next step for the multi-talented brothers. At a time when talking pictures were becoming all the rage, the four Marx Brothers Groucho, Harpo, Chico, and Zeppo had nearly thirty years of show business experience dominating the vaudeville circuit and taking Broadway by storm. How does one review or critique four legendary members of comedy? It's a herculean task under normal circumstances, but when you're talking about the Marx Brothers, nothing is normal. "He want's his shirt! He wants his shirt! He won't be happy without his shirt!" "I want my shirt! I want my shirt! I can not be happy without my shirt! "