Marx Bros. VS episode

[JohnQ 3]

I would love to see Devin and Amy argue over a Marx Bros. film. Since at least one of their films belong in the canon, I think a really interesting twist would be to do a versus episode, pitting one of their anarchic Paramount comedies against of their later MGM films. The obvious MGM choice is A NIGHT AT THE OPERA, arguably their best film, but one that represents a clear delineation from their manic early films. They would never make a film that well made or funny again.

 

Choosing a Paramount film is much more difficult. The obvious choice seems to be DUCK SOUP, but I actually prefer ANIMAL CRACKERS or HORSE FEATHERS. Maybe even MONKEY BUSINESS.

[FilmFanMan 15]

Choosing a Paramount film is much more difficult. The obvious choice seems to be DUCK SOUP, but I actually prefer ANIMAL CRACKERS or HORSE FEATHERS. Maybe even MONKEY BUSINESS.

 

I'm with you on this. I vote for A NIGHT AT THE OPERA and ANIMAL CRACKERS.

[Muthsarah 124]

 

I'm with you on this. I vote for A NIGHT AT THE OPERA and ANIMAL CRACKERS.

 

Absolutely not. Duck Soup, all the way. We all know it's widely considered their best, among their fans. The best of the "pure" Marx Bros versus the best of their "studio" fare. It can't be any other way.

[JohnQ 3]

Duck Soup, all the way. We all know it's widely considered their best, among their fans.

 

That's actually really arguable. There are a number of Max Bros fan who don't think DUCK SOUP is their best film. Matthew Coniam makes a great argument in his book "The Annotated Marx Brothers."

 

DUCK SOUP is a great film, but how can any Marx Brothers film that doesn't include Chico playing piano or Harpo playing his harp be their best film? Groucho's songs in DUCK SOUP are also not his best, definitely not compared to "Whatever It Is, I'm Against It" in HORSE FEATHERS or "Hooray For Captain Spaulding" in ANIMAL CRACKERS (which would be Groucho's theme song for the rest of his life.)

 

The most memorable sequence in DUCK SOUP is the brilliant mirror sequence. Like I've said, it's great and very funny, but it is a Marx variation on a standard comedy routine, rather than a totally original routine, unlike something like the classroom scene in HORSE FEATHERS or Groucho recalling the African safari in ANIMAL CRACKERS.

 

Here's a supercut of mirror routines, btw: http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2014/03/21/the_mirror_routine_in_movies_supercut_from_duck_soup_the_marx_brothers_and.html

[Muthsarah 124]

 

That's actually really arguable. There are a number of Max Bros fan who don't think DUCK SOUP is their best film. Matthew Coniam makes a great argument in his book "The Annotated Marx Brothers."

 

DUCK SOUP is a great film, but how can any Marx Brothers film that doesn't include Chico playing piano or Harpo playing his harp be their best film? Groucho's songs in DUCK SOUP are also not his best, definitely not compared to "Whatever It Is, I'm Against It" in HORSE FEATHERS or "Hooray For Captain Spaulding" in ANIMAL CRACKERS (which would be Groucho's theme song for the rest of his life.)

 

The most memorable sequence in DUCK SOUP is the brilliant mirror sequence. Like I've said, it's great and very funny, but it is a Marx variation on a standard comedy routine, rather than a totally original routine, unlike something like the classroom scene in HORSE FEATHERS or Groucho recalling the African safari in ANIMAL CRACKERS.

 

Here's a supercut of mirror routines, btw: http://www.slate.com...others_and.html

 

Oh, I disagree. I think Groucho is on fire from beginning to end of Duck Soup. He's fantastic with Margaret Dumont, but his summation near the end is one of the most telling quotations of the era, being that it reflects WWI, and (ironically) what was to come, for some nations, in WWII:

 

"You're a brave man. Go and break through the lines. And remember, while you're out there risking your life and limb through shot and shell, we'll be in be in here thinking what a sucker you are."

 

80+ years later, it still resonates, if you look at how the political class treats the commoner/common soldier. It's a sentiment that transcends national boundaries, even. It applies everywhere.

 

EDIT: Out of curiosity (possibly long-standing), do you know who that is at 1:10 of the clip you posted? She looks not only familiar, but like someone I've been trying to ID for some time.

[JohnQ 3]

It looks like the clip that movie is from is GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE FUN, but I don't know who the actress is. Sorry.

[Muthsarah 124]

Just to update, Duck Soup links here:

 

iTunes

https://itunes.apple...oup/id293839271

 

Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000N6OLB0

 

YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjW4kjXiLgo

 

Apparently Vudu and Google Play have it as well, but I don't know them, so I don't trust 'em

 

 

It's an easy movie to find, because it's soooooo justly famous. It's about politics, it's about war, it's about how stupid the world is. It's mid-Depression, it came out the year of Hitler (he may have had multiple years, to be fair). It's about as 1930s as any movie's gonna get.

[JohnQ 3]

A NIGHT AT THE OPERA is also streaming on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Night-at-Opera-Groucho-Marx/dp/B004SCMGSU