They were relentlessly funny
You had excellent taste
Harpo remains one of my absolute favorite performers but when i was a kid he was the TOP THREE that inspired me to become an actor
Chaplin, Keaton, Harpo Marx
i adored buster keaton. my grandma loved 'em all.
grandpa and i were more into keaton than chaplin - the deadpan, which is the hallmark of our family...
i started writing 'bits' because of the marx brothers.
harpo's genius...*sigh* glorious.
Agreed. I watched “A Night in Casablanca” not that long ago. I had seen it on a CBS late movie once and liked it. But I don’t think it holds up quite as well.
Very cool. I saw it at NYC’s Film Forum while at school in the late 80s. I never met Mrs. Hart, but was walking past Jo Allen’s one evening on the way to the theater as she exited the restaurant with a gentleman. I felt I knew her from the nightly game shows I watched as a kid.
My uncle Henry introduced me to the Marx Bros, when I was little. That phone scene had me falling off my chair! Henry's 98 yrs old ❤️ & watching them this afternoon! 🥸 #laughter #TCM
Remember when TV was FREE? And they played tons of old movies all the time? I grew up on the Marx Brothers. Now I never get to see them ... any idea what is THE priciest channel to get via cable, dish, whatever? TCM!!
I've been showing my 12 year old daughter clips -- Susquehanna Hat company, the overcrowded state room, the password scene in Horsefeathers. She's not willing to watch a full movie yet, but I'm breaking her down.
Excellent movie. The Marx Brothers are a favorite escape of mine. Another, when I really need a kind of "nothing, in its most violent form" is re-reading P.G. Wodehouse. Just pure escape into frivolity, perhaps in its most violent form.
Interesting they took this script out on the road and had the stage manager time the laughs so they could duplicate the timing in the edit
Like a preemptive test screening
Glad you noted this. My mother — who died this summer at 103 — used to tell me about seeing them on stage back in St. Louis working on these routines, polishing them so they’d only use what worked best with an audience. I feel like she raised me right.
Such splendid bits. Most remember: “Isn’t that large for a pill?”
“Well, it was too small for a basketball, and I didn't know what to do with it. Say, you're awfully large for a pill yourself.”
But I love: “Why, I've never been so insulted in my life!”
“Well, it's early yet.”
It's got an unfortunate blackface scene at the end of the house party/Lindy hop bit - the Brothers slather their faces in axle grease to try to blend in with a crowd of Black people and avoid the sheriff. As early 20th century movie racism goes it's on the milder end of the spectrum, but it's there.
I think I shed a tear when Robert Osborne has died. He taught his audience so much. I could never understand some friends who would tell me they did not like “old movies.”
I think Clarence Thomas should have won an Academy Award as Mammy in “Doge With the Wind.” His portrayal of a subservient, corporate welfare queen was touching and memorable - another great film on TCM.
Every Mother’s Day, TCM broadcasts "Mildred Trump”. Another angry, 1940s, trans woman with an ungrateful daughter named Veda Taylor-Greene. Mildred verbally abuses pediatric oncology patients, unplugs their ventilators for DOGE. She serves household pets at her filthy, fried chicken franchise.
Marx Brothers were hilarious. Have you seen “Whatever Happened to Baby Donald”? About a pinch-faced, bitter, trans woman (botched, bargain-basement transition surgery). She finds out her sister voted for Kamala. Feeds her dead rats, kicks her, pushes her in a wheelchair down a flight of stairs.
Comments
possibly too much so. i am as god made me.
You had excellent taste
Harpo remains one of my absolute favorite performers but when i was a kid he was the TOP THREE that inspired me to become an actor
Chaplin, Keaton, Harpo Marx
I worshipped his anarchy
grandpa and i were more into keaton than chaplin - the deadpan, which is the hallmark of our family...
i started writing 'bits' because of the marx brothers.
harpo's genius...*sigh* glorious.
Truly mindblowing.
(I'm jealous. I don't think I've ever met anyone who actually worked with the Marx Brothers!)
No full episodes survive, but the scripts were in the Library of Congress, so they commissioned a new version - it’s *very* well done…
“Nothing in its most violent form “
Clever script in addition to being a great vehicle for the brothers
Do Coconuts now.
The story behind Florida land manipulation
Ever watch WC Fields?
Ok, before I put on my fascinator for the Derby I’ll check it out.
“Put a piece of cheese down there and you’ll find out”
I read most of the Jeeves and Bertie books to my kids
Really fun to read aloud
Like a preemptive test screening
6 writers over the course of a year developed the script
Worth it
Their biggest hit to date
Well, that was a fun way to spend the morning
Confusing who to root for.
“Well, it was too small for a basketball, and I didn't know what to do with it. Say, you're awfully large for a pill yourself.”
But I love: “Why, I've never been so insulted in my life!”
“Well, it's early yet.”
Yeah that was bad but i will say the specialty dancers were really great
And Ivy Anderson was excellent
My bad