or Powell's or me• • •
"Mike and Jon, Jon and Mike—I've known them both for years, and, clearly, one of them is very funny. As for the other: truly one of the great hangers-on of our time."—Steve Bodow, head writer, The Daily Show
•
"Who can really judge what's funny? If humor is a subjective medium, then can there be something that is really and truly hilarious? Me. This book."—Daniel Handler, author, Adverbs, and personal representative of Lemony Snicket
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"The good news: I thought Our Kampf was consistently hilarious. The bad news: I’m the guy who wrote Monkeybone."—Sam Hamm, screenwriter, Batman, Batman Returns, and Homecoming
April 08, 2005
Least-Loved Marx Brothers Movies
The most famous Marx Brothers movies had titles that fell into one of two categories:
(1) Animal themes. For instance, Animal Crackers (1930), Monkey Business (1931), Horse Feathers (1932) and Duck Soup (1933).
(2) A ______ at the _______. Examples include A Night at the Opera (1935) and A Day at the Races (1937).
As their film careers sputtered in the forties, they tried to recapture the old magic by revisiting similar themes. However, the Brothers' hearts weren't truly in it. In retrospect, this is obvious from the films' titles alone:
• A Morning at the Drugstore Pharmacy (1941)
• Gorilla Nougat (1944)
• A Tea-Time at the Real Estate Broker (1946)
• Lizard Omelet (1947)
• An Afternoon at the Hospice (1948)
And their final, disastrous film:
• Snail Hullabaloo (1950)
UPDATE: Dennis Perrin reminds us of these other Marx Brothers films from their decline:
• A Seizure at the Petting Zoo (1939)
• Hedgehog Matzohs (1945)
• A Cocktail Party at the Slaughterhouse (1949)
Also --
A Seizure at the Petting Zoo (1939)
Hedgehog Matzohs (1945)
A Cocktail Party at the Slaughterhouse (1949)
And don't forget Harpo's cameo in Stomp Them Grapes! with Fred Allen and Ginger Rogers (1952)
Posted by: Dennis Perrin at April 8, 2005 02:19 PMJust bought a collection of their movies, the A___at the____ category. I never knew they have those other titles, too. I used to go to "childgren's" movies at day time many many years ago only to see Marx brothers, interesting experience. My opinion: their films are at their best brilliant in their anarchy and Harpo is the best. This I realised only after many films.
Posted by: T Sarkka at April 9, 2005 02:33 PM
