Harpo Marx

Animal Crackers

temporalparadoxLeave a comment
Animal Crackers. Paramount Pictures 1930.

Before watching the movie:

Once again, this movie is not in the public domain yet, but thanks to being based on a stage musical, the score and song lyrics are. Though apparently not the script of that stage show, which I don’t know the legal mechanisms behind. Aside from Marx Brothers Vaudeville schtick, I don’t really know what to expect here.

When I think “Animal Crackers” and musical, I think of the song made famous by Shirley Temple, but it seems not even the song is here, let alone Temple, so I’m already going in a little disappointed.

Continue reading →

A Night at the Opera

temporalparadoxLeave a comment

A Night at the Opera. Metro Goldwyn Meyer 1935.
A Night at the Opera. Metro Goldwyn Meyer 1935.

Before watching the movie:

I was a little confused by the box description of the Marx Brothers skewering the “schemes” of a pompous opera singer when an arts patron is already going to pay him the exorbitant amounts just because he’s such a big star and great singer. It makes a lot more sense to think about it more like a feature-length Bugs Bunny cartoon, with the Marx Brothers skewering the powerful to empower the lowly.

This is widely regarded as the best Marx Brothers movie, but I don’t remember it being on the same list of great comedies that brought Duck Soup to my attention. A spot of research shows that it’s on there, I just didn’t remember it.

Continue reading →

Duck Soup

temporalparadoxLeave a comment

Duck Soup. Paramount Pictures 1933.

Before watching the movie:

This was a consideration for May’s classics theme, and probably would have been a better fit than one of them. I was actually planning to include it before I realized that May might have had five Thursdays (the day I write on), but only four Fridays (the day I publish).

Anyway, here’s the Marx brothers doing political satire. On what? I don’t recall, but I think it’s about contemporary US foreign policy.

I had fun keeping up a theme for a month. I’m thinking about doing another themed month soon, but it won’t be July.

Continue reading →