----I'll give you a clue: it's the name of a fish.
----Is it Mary?
----That's no...
----I'll give you a clue: it's the name of a fish.
----Is it Mary?
----That's no fish.
----She isn't? Well she drinks like one.
Member since:16.09.2004
Reviews:10
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The Marx Brothers were the original punks. The anti-heros. The rebels. My Heroes. Nobody can deliver a line with as much wit as Groucho. Nobody can act so dumb yet be so streetwise as Chico, and nobody can cause as much havoc as Harpo.
I remember back to primary school, when i was aged 10. We were told to name our heroes. My friend lifted his hand and called out Bart Simpson. Some other kid said the Thundercats, and someone else said Jesus. A bit shy, I didn't call out anything. But in my head, I was thinking of only one, the master, Groucho Marx.
I was introduced at a young age to the Marx Brothers through films such as Love Happy, Monkey Business, Day At The Races and Horse Feathers. I've never been quite able to shrug off their influence on me. They were the outsiders, they were the underdogs. I know I can be who I want to be, because being different is better.
Harpo, Chico, Zeppo and Groucho were the Marx Brothers (Gummo, a fifth brother, pulled out early
on). Of the four, Zeppo was always the straight man, and ultimately fell into the shadows, finally leaving the act. So we are left with three.
The Marx Brothers started life poor. They were the sons of Jewish immigrants, growing up on the bustling streets of Manhatten, trying their hand at anything for a bit of cash. Their mother, Minnie Marx, urged each of them onto the vaudeville stage when they were still young, and gradually, after a variation of stints and solo performances, the brothers joined together...and the rest is history...albiet one of complete chaos, tomfoolary and wisecracks.
A Night At The Opera (1935) was the first film made after Zeppo left the act. It doesn't suffer, in fact it is one of the funniest films they made! What I like about it is the way, as in all of their films, the brothers go to all costs to defy authority and rules, they just don't care who they offend, or what order they disturb. They were rebels with a cause - to entertain a generation of immigrants who, like the brothers themselves, were struggling to adjust to the strange New World they had found themselves in. The Marx Brothers were a beacon of hope to those people, as were the generation of comedians that grew up with them - the likes of Jack Benny, Sid Caesar and Milton Berle. In their films, as in real life, they were reacting against the new set of rules they were presented with.
All three brothers are at their very best in this film. Groucho, such an inspiration to me, plays the part of Otis B. Driftwood, the businessman with an eye for a quick scheme to make some money. Harpo and Chico are two stowaways who sneak wannabee singer Riccardo (played by Allan Jones) onto a ship bound for New York, trying to reunite him with his sweetheart and make him a star at the Opera company they are (or had been) working for. Scheming as ever, Chico convinces Groucho to take Riccardo on as his client, saying he is the best singer in the world. As usual, the three find themselves together and in a bit of a pickle at every turn. As they get to New York their mission is to upstage the opening night of the opera, and to convince everyone of Riccardo's star quality.
Margaret Dumont (Mrs. Claypool) is as much a part of Marx Brothers film history as Chico's italian accent. Yet again she plays Groucho's love interest and yet again she plays a rich widow, and is (yet again) the butt of Groucho's endless supply of wisecracks.
Admittedly, Night At The Opera is not as familiar to me as some of their other films. I would say that a good introdution to the Marx Brothers would be Monkey Business (1929). But I can't deny that A Night At the Opera is probably the Marx Brothers at their best.
Groucho Marx - Otis B. Driftwood Chico Marx - Fiorello Harpo Marx - Tomasso Kitty Carlisle - Rosa Castaldi Allan Jones - Ricardo Baroni Walter Woolf King - Rodolfo Lassparri Sig Ruman - Herman Gottlieb Margaret Dumont - Mrs. Claypool
Producer - Irving Thalberg Directer - Sam Wood
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
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Funnily enough, when I was in the US at university I did a course on '20th Century US Popular Culture' and we watched a lot of Marx Brothers stuff. Very funny.
sallysmith1973 09.04.2005 17:43
Fab review, love the Marx Brothers. They remind me of when I was off sick from school with Chickenpox and I watched the old re-runs on BBC2!!! Groucho definately the best - thanks for the review! Sal x
Dizzy_Lizzy 10.10.2004 02:00
This is a great movie. I like the scene where the huge group of people are all crowding into that small room. Very funny. Nice review, I'll have to watch this film again. ~Liz
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