Groucho Marx was born on 2 October 1890. He was born Julius Henry Marx. Groucho was his stage name from fellow performer Art Fisher, who coined all the brothers’ names. Groucho is the only name that made much of sense. His character wasn’t grouchy exactly — more caustic. But it’s close enough.
Of the main three Marx Brothers, Groucho was the youngest. It seems odd. But it is probably due to his tendency to play older characters. He was also the biggest star of the group.
The Marx Brothers started as a musical act. And you can see that later in their films. I do like Groucho’s funny songs and Chico’s circus-like piano playing. I could do without Harpo’s harp act. He was very good but… You know, harp. The singing and piano playing was at least amusing. The harp scenes just killed the comedic momentum.
In total, the Marx Brothers made 14 films. They all featured the older three brothers. Zeppo was in the first five of the films. Gummo wasn’t in any of the films. He didn’t like performing but went on to be a talent agent, later representing Groucho.
I have always loved Groucho Marx. I even enjoyed reruns of You Bet Your Life when I was a kid. But I loved him then and now mostly for the films. Not that the films are great. They are normally filled with boring romances featuring unremarkable characters. Margaret Dumont was the only non-brother to stand out in the films. She was in seven of them.
The best things in the movies are Groucho’s scenes with Dumont and Chico. They still make me laugh.
People have their favorite Marx Brothers films. And I’m not here to say they are wrong. Well, they are wrong about Duck Soup. Not because the film is bad but because it almost certainly indicates that they were told by modern “critics” that it is “great.”
Regardless, my favorite today is the same as it was when I was a kid. So let’s celebrate Groucho Marx by watching Animal Crackers.
Groucho Marx image via Wikipedia. It is in the public domain.
Dumont forever! She’s a hoot. I guess she had gotten fairly rich via marriage and quit acting, but her husband died from the flu epidemic and she needed to get back on stage. Where she soon paired up with the brothers. Per Wiki, Groucho called her the fifth Marx Brother.
I expect the movies are so uneven because they did so many, all variations on the same plots. They’re still better, in their high points, then most comedy teams would do. Probably because a lot of the best material had been worked out in live performances.
I also love the songs (the funny ones). Hooray for Captain Spalding, Whatever it is I’m Against it, Lydia the Tatooed Lady. That last with lyrics by Y.A. Harburg, a dedicated leftist who also wrote Over the Rainbow. As a dream of a fair future.
She really is wonderful. And I hate that this myth has developed that she didn’t get the jokes. It’s provably untrue. But people so want to believe that actors are the characters they play. And that just isn’t it.
Truly, I’m not sure how you could make such films good. It would always be the case that the main narrative would compare poorly to these amazing skits. And you couldn’t make the films only the skits. People would be exhausted by the end! But this is true of so many comedies. Looking back, none of the Monty Python films really work that well as films. But Holy Grail comes damned close. If only they had written an ending!
Who are the dingbats saying Dumont didn’t get the jokes? I’LL FIGHT ‘EM! She was in on the stage shows, she did rehearsals and knew these guys in the way theater people bond together, she knew EXACTLY what the jokes were, and played the perfect straight man (the hardest bit in any comedy routine).
I kinda see these things the way I see stuff like “Stormy Weather,” with the insane Nicholas Brothers dancing scene (and Cab Calloway, and Fats Waller). They’re not good movies; they’re the best record we have of AMAZING talents showing us what they could do. And that’s good enough.
You nailed it. We have a record of the Marx Brothers’ vaudeville act.