Barnes & Noble

The Marx Brothers (Groucho, Chico, Harpo, and Zeppo) were already Broadway musical-comedy stars when Hollywood came calling at the dawn of the sound era, and their patented brand of anarchic comedy translated well to the “talkies.” This new box set collects all five feature films made by the madcap brothers for Paramount in the early Depression years. Unlike some comics, who required years to develop a distinctive screen presence, the quartet made the leap from stage to film with their personas fully formed: Groucho was already the wisecracking opportunist, Chico the always-scheming trickster, Harpo the eye-rolling skirt-chaser, and Zeppo the dull-witted straight man. Whatever their character names or the setting of the films, they always played the same lovable lunatics. The Cocoanuts (1929), a fairly literal translation of the brothers' mid-‘20s stage sensation, reflects its early-talkie origins: the film feels stage-bound, and its crudely interpolated production numbers are performed live, with on-the-set musical accompaniment (as was the fashion in late-‘20s movie musicals). But the boys are more than equal to the challenge posed by this new medium, and Groucho and Chico perform their classic “why a duck” routine with brio. Animal Crackers (1930), another stage adaptation, introduces Groucho’s theme song, “Hooray for Captain Spaulding,” and spotlights popular torch singer Lillian Roth. The brothers portray stowaways aboard an ocean liner Monkey Business (1931), a more cinematic film than its predecessors, thanks to rapid advances in sound technology. It gave Groucho a delightful comic foil in sexy Thelma Todd, who returned opposite the foursome in Horse Feathers (1932), a spoof of the then-popular college pictures. Like the others of its type, Horse Feathers climaxes with a big football game, which Harpo and Chico turn into a surrealistic free-for-all. This is a rapid-fire outing that gives the boys some of their best routines to date, and it’s surpassed only by Duck Soup (1933), the last and best of the Paramount quintet. Set in the mythical country of Freedonia, it’s a riotous political spoof starring Groucho as the world’s most inept chief executive, with Chico and Harpo playing knuckleheaded spies who double-cross their boss, would-be dictator Louis Calhern. The gags fly fast and furious, and the brothers’ trademark musical interludes are particularly good. Although the five Paramounts are loaded with topical references -- you really have to be familiar with Depression-era politics and pop culture to get them all -- they’re still delightful. More freewheeling than the Marxes’ later movies for MGM, which were saddled with more rigid plots and sappy romantic subplots, these films are bona-fide comedy classics that can be watched over and over again. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

In the 1933 Marx Brothers classic Duck Soup, the mythical country of Freedonia is broke and on the verge of revolution. Mrs. Teasdale (Margaret Dumont), Freedonia's principal benefactress, will lend the country $20 million if the president withdraws and places the government in the hands of the "fearless, progressive" Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho Marx). At his inauguration, Firefly shows up late, insults everyone in sight, and sings a song about how he intends to abuse his power. Naturally, the crowd cheers wildly. Meanwhile, Ambassador Trentino (Louis Calhern) of neighboring Sylvania schemes to oust Firefly and take over Freedonia himself. To gather enough evidence to discredit Firefly, he sends his most trusted spies, Chicolini (Chico Marx) and Pinky (Harpo Marx). Five minutes after they show up in Freedonia, both spies become important members of Firefly's cabinet, though Chicolini keeps his day job as a peanut vendor. Firefly eventually declares war on Sylvania, an absurd farrago with Firefly changing uniforms from scene to scene, Chicolini going to the other side because the food is better, and Pinky parading around the battlefield with a sandwich board reading "Join the Army and See the Navy." Hal Erickson

All Movie Guide

If ever there was an archetypal Marx Brothers comedy, it was the team's 1932 offering Horse Feathers. Groucho Marx is cast as Professor Quincy Adams Wagstaff, the newest president of Huxley College. As he delivers his introductory speech before the assembled student body ("As I look out among your smiling, eager faces, I can readily understand why this college is flat on its back"), he maps out his plans for the future by singing those deathless hits "Whatever It Is, I'm Against It" and "I Always Get My Man." He then has a powwow with his son Frank (Zeppo Marx), who has been a Huxley student for 12 years. Frank tells his old man that Huxley has had a new president every year since 1888, the year the college won its last football game. The only way to save the establishment is to hire a couple of good football players, Mullen and McHardie (Jim Pierce and Nat Pendleton), who hang out at the local speakeasy. With his usual efficiency, Professor Wagstaff signs up the wrong men for the Huxley team: Baravelli (Chico Marx), the ice man/bootlegger, and Pinky (Harpo Marx) the dog catcher. Meanwhile, gambler Jennings (David Landau), who has all his money bet on Darwin College in the upcoming Thanksgiving Day football game, instructs his girlfriend Connie Bailey (Thelma Todd), the college widow, to get her hands on Huxley's secret football signals. This leads to a frenetic four-way courtship in Connie's apartment, as Wagstaff, Baravelli, Pinky and Frank duck in and out of doors and windows to romance the heroine. Later on, Baravelli and Pinky try to kidnap Mullen and McHardie to keep them out of the Big Game, only to end up kidnapped themselves. Miraculously, all four of our heroes show up at the Huxley-Darwin game in time, achieving victory through some of the most creative cheating in gridiron history. Written by such renowned wits as S. J. Perelman, Will B. Johnstone, Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby, Horse Feathers is a comedy smorgasbord, offering generous doses of all four Marx Brothers performing some of their best-ever material. Who could not love a film in which, just before Chico Marx launches into his obligatory piano solo, Groucho saunters up to the camera and growls "I've got to stay here, but that's no reason why you folks can't go into the lobby until this thing blows over"? Hal Erickson

All Movie Guide

The first Marx Brothers film to be written directly for the screen (its authors included S. J. Perelman, Arthur Sheekman and Will B. Johnstone), Monkey Business is also the merry Marxes' first Hollywood production. Groucho, Harpo, Chico and Zeppo are brilliantly cast as four stowaways on an ocean liner, bound for New York. As our heroes endeavor to elude dimwitted First Mate Gibson (Tom Kennedy), each of the brothers gets involved in an adventure of his own. Groucho finds himself in a menage a trois with gangster Alky Briggs (Harry Briggs) and Briggs' sexy wife Lucille (Thelma Todd); Harpo joins a "Punch and Judy" puppet show, driving the ship's crew into a frenzy of confusion; Chico hires himself out as bodyguard to retired bootlegger Joe Helton (Rockliffe Fellowes); and Zeppo romances Joe's pretty daughter Mary (Ruth Hall). Once they've arrived in New York, the Marx boys head to Helton's Long Island mansion, where, after the obligatory harp-and-piano musical interludes, the fearsome foursome team up to rescue Mary from her kidnappers. There are far too many wonderful moments in Monkey Business to detail here, but highlights include Groucho's initial confrontation with Alky Briggs ("With a little study, you'll go a long way, and I wish you'd start now!") and his romantic tete-a-tetes with Lucille ("Come with me, and we'll lodge with my fleas in the hills -- er, flee to my lodge in the hills"); Harpo and Chico's attempts to shave a sleeping barbershop customer ("You know what, partner? I think we give-a him one snoop too much"); and the classic setpiece, "borrowed" from the team's early Broadway hit I'll Say She Is, in which all Four Marx Brothers try to slip past the customs officials by posing as Maurice Chevalier! Though not the best of their Paramount features, Monkey Business is still among the funniest Marx Brothers comedies ever made -- and one of the funniest comedies, period. Hal Erickson

Product Details

• UPC: 025192125027
• Source: UNIVERSAL STUDIOS
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Pre-1954 Standard (1.33.1)
• Presentation: B&W
• Language: English, Español
• Subtitles: Français, Español
• Time: 6:43:00
• Sales Rank: 8,160

This set contains DVDs which may be available separately:

• Horse Feathers
• Monkey Business
• Animal Crackers
• The Cocoanuts
• Duck Soup

Features:

DVD MENU