The Marx Brothers thread

[davidraphael]

I can never get enough of these guys.

Simon Louvish's biography is thoroughly recommended as are Harpo's autobiog, Harpo Speaks!, not to forget Groucho's books, such as Groucho and Me.

Here are a few reminders of just how great they were:


Groucho as Rufus T. Firefly:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dsw9jYU_rJI

The Mirror scene from Duck Soup:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nK8l2p1AYg

Chico plays piano:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kDHD4Bs_EI

Harpo plays 'Everyone says I love you':
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7oZXt_71CE

 

[davidraphael]

How do I embed youtube links ?

 

[Bugsy]

Does anyone, but me, know the musical Minnie's Boys about the start of the Marx Brothers?? I really like it. I wish someone would produce it again.

 

[Vintage lover]

How do I embed youtube links ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=[3nK8l2p1AYg]
Highlight the red bracketed text from the address and press the youtube symbol in the tools when making a post.

 

[Rats Riley]

I grew up watching those guys!!!

One of my favorite memories was watching them on Friday night when I started 1st grade...They would play classics and then have a serial like Flash Gordon or Rocketman after.

As a kid I would even wear my grandpa's pith helmet and tell people, "I shot an elephant in my pajamas...How it got there I'll never know."

 

[Brian Sheridan]

There are 2 great "You Bet Your Life" DVD sets that are well worth buying.

 

[John in Covina]

As I understand it, many of the Marx Brothers movies were originally done as live Plays / Musicals!

 

[Heather]

As I understand it, many of the Marx Brothers movies were originally done as live Plays / Musicals!

Yep, from their vaudeville days. In fact During the day, the Marx Brothers worked on "The Cocoanuts" movie and at night, they were starring in "Animal Crackers" on the stage.

 

[LizzieMaine]

They just weren't the same without Zeppo.

 

[dhermann1]

(I've told this story before, but what the hey.)

In the early 80's I took an acting for TV commercials course from Maxine Mark, daughter of Chico. She was very sweet and an excellent teacher. But she would often sit there with her chin resting on her hand, and then roll here eyes sideways. In that moment she would be totally channeling Groucho, without even realizing it. It was uncanny and hilarious.

 

[undertaker]

Monkey Business is my favorite. I love the scene in the cargo hold where they are sing Sweet Adaline in four part harmony. Just wonderful stuff......

Regards,
J.S.

 

[Heather]

Monkey Business is my favorite. I love the scene in the cargo hold where they are sing Sweet Adaline in four part harmony. Just wonderful stuff......

Regards,
J.S.

This was the only time Harpo's voice was ever heard in one of their films. He was the baritone.

 

[skyvue]

The first two Marx Bros. movies, The Cocoanuts and Animal Crackers, were originally Broadway plays. Monkey Business, Horse Feathers, and Duck Soup were all written for the screen.

When Duck Soup proved something of a flop and Paramount dropped the Marxes, Chico got them a deal with Irving Thalberg at MGM, and Thalberg agreed to let them take selected scenes from A Night at the Opera on the road, to hone them before live audiences in theatres. They did the same with A Day at the Races.

The stateroom scene in Night at the Opera, for example, was said to be almost entirely a product of the road, as the Marxes improved their way to a classic scene, trying different stuff each night and keeping what worked.

But with Thalberg's premature death, that practice ended. And it shows in the rest of their movies.

 

[John in Covina]

Maxine Mark, daughter of Chico would often sit there with her chin resting on her hand, and then roll here eyes sideways. In that moment she would be totally channeling Groucho, without even realizing it. It was uncanny and hilarious.

It made me think of the mirror scene in Duck Soap at one point both Harpo and Chico are dressed and made up to look like Groucho and they both really looked like Groucho! That was when the family resemblence shows.

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

NOW YER' TALKIN'! The Marx Brothers were the absolute best. The Stooges couldn't hold a candle. (There, that ought to get some people spun up! )

Here's a great book on the subject, written by a fellow with the right sense of humor to properly, improperly, take it on:

"Groucho, Harpo, Chico and sometimes Zeppo" (there you go, Lizzie!)
Joe Adamson
Simon and Schuster

 

[Vintage lover]

NOW YER' TALKIN'! The Marx Brothers were the absolute best. The Stooges couldn't hold a candle. (There, that ought to get some people spun up! )

WHYYYY I OTTA...

In all seriousness I don't think you can compare the two, it's apples and oranges.
A few of my favorite scenes:

[YOUTUBE]Ql0oVWpcTDc[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]sK0we5PXYuU[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]8ZvugebaT6Q[/YOUTUBE]

 

[rmrdaddy]

Hello I Must Be Going: Groucho and His Friends is another great book. It's written by a woman named Charlotte Chandler who seems to have established a warm friendship with Groucho in his later years. Originally copyrighted 1978, the copy I have is published by Citadel Press with 568 pages, all full of stories and anecdotes from Grouch, as well as many of his cronies and stage mates.
It's great stuff

 

[Kiri]

I love, love, love The Marx Brothers! My Papa (dad) introduced them to me about a year ago and now I can't get enough. I think I've seen almost all of the movies. My favorites at the moment are A Day At The Races, A Night At The Opera and Night in Casablanca.
And my favorite guy is Harpo and then Groucho, then Chico and Zeppo. It's kind of hard to pick a favorite, but Harpo is so endearing, and I love working in Groucho lines and eyeroll eyebrow wiggles into my daily life. Then of course, my brothers and I are always joking about how there's no such thing as a Sanity Clause.

 

[skyvue]

Harpo fans should check out the web site his son Bill created. It's a delightful tribute to his dad.

http://harposplace.com/

 

[Kiri]

That's a wonderful website, I'll have to show my Papa. Now we just have to team up and get my mom liking The Marx Brothers! lol