From My Shelves - The Marx Brothers

The Marx Brothers - It was sometime in either very late high school or early college that I got into the Marx Brothers.  You'll find no less than 12 titles on my shelves (listed at the end).  If memory serves a friend in high school (who bore a more than passing resemblance to Groucho when he put his mind to it) first put them on my radar.  In birth order they are Leonard (Chico), Arthur (Harpo), Julius (Groucho), Milton (Gummo) and Herbert (Zeppo).  The brothers began as vaudeville performers then made the transition to Broadway.  Performing was a family business in more ways than one.  Their uncle was Al Shean of Gallagher and Shean, vaudeville and Broadway stars in their own right.  Shean helped the boys write some of their early material.

Their comedy is based on set characters and the natural abilities of the brothers themselves.  Groucho had a legendary ability to ad lib through anything.  His side comments and sly innuendo are still astounding all these years later.  Groucho is the godfather of snark.  The smartest and most talented of the group may have been Harpo who is supposed to have been able to play no less than 6 instruments. Including, of course, the harp.  The Marx Brothers were outrageous, unpredictable and bizarre.  At the same time they were brilliant, witty and sarcastic.  Nothing was safe from their mockery.

The early movies ("Cocoanuts" and "Animal Crackers") are film versions of their hit Broadway shows.  While the material is quite good it suffers from being very "stagy".  Neither the brothers nor their studio(Paramount) really knew how to bring that Marxian madness fully to the screen.  Things are a better fit to the movies as they move into "Monkey Business" and "Horse Feathers".  "Duck Soup" is generally acclaimed as the greatest Marx Brothers movie of them all.  It was not one of their more successful ones (the political overtones probably put people off) and I'll admit that while I admire the movie it isn't my favorite of them all. (Interesting local note on "Duck Soup" - the fictional country in the movie is "Freedonia" and the leadership of Fredonia, New York asked Paramount to take out the reference claiming it was hurting their town.  Groucho responded by asking them to change their name because it was hurting his movie)

For me the greatest Marx Brothers movies come when they move to MGM and begin working with Irving Thalberg.  "A Night at the Opera" and "A Day at the Races" are better plotted, more disciplined scripts that really show off the brothers to their best effect.  Thalberg was the "Boy Wonder" with a magic touch and it shows in these two movies.  The downside is that he also insisted on including musical numbers and a romantic story line that really doesn't help the overall movie.  They look especially dated now.  Nevertheless, I believe these two movies are the Marx Brothers at their peak (Groucho would agree in interviews later in his life).  Sadly Thalberg died before filming was complete on "Races" and the MGM brain trust had no idea what to do with the act (plus the brothers could be a bit, um, disruptive when they put their minds to it.  MGM liked order and the Marx Brothers are about anarchy).  The rest of their movies are lesser lights.  They would make "Room Service" at RKO, return to MGM for "At the Circus", "Go West" and "The Big Store".  At that point they announced their retirement from the movies.  To help Chico pay off gambling debts the brothers would reunite for "A Night in Casablanca" and "Love Happy".  By the end the brothers were showing their age.

After the movies were behind them the brothers dabbled in a variety of things.  Chico had his own band for a while (with Mel Torme as singer!), Groucho had some additional fame and success on television with "You Bet Your Life".  They made the occasional guest star appearances as well.  The two youngest brothers (who had only limited or no roles in the movies) Gummo and Zeppo actually founded a very successful talent agency.

Chico went first in 1961.  He was followed by Harpo in '64, Groucho and Gummo in '77 and Zeppo in '79.

Modern viewers may have a little trouble connecting with the rhythm of the comedy of the '20s and '30s that is the bread and butter for the Marxes, especially in their earlier movies.  I think that's one of the reasons that the two Thalberg films do so well.  If you can make that internal shift you will be amply rewarded.

The Marx Brothers are truly special and unique talents.  No one else has ever come close to the level of genius that they brought to the screen.  If a lot of their act seems familiar it's because they've had such a profound effect on so many performers that followed them.

On the shelf -

• The Cocoanuts
• Animal Crackers
• Monkey Business
• Horse Feathers
• Duck Soup
• A Day at the Races
• A Night at the Opera
• Go West
• The Big Store
• Room Service (featuring Lucille Ball)
• At the Circus
• A Night in Casablanca

(The only "major" title I'm missing is "Love Happy" which features a walk on by Marilyn Monroe)