• Right there for the Marx Brothers behind Duck Soup and A Night at the Opera– I think it’s pretty clear 1933 is their peak with Duck and you move your circle around that by a few year or two and you hit their 2nd and third (probably this) best
  • 3 absolutely brilliant comedians—Groucho, Chico and Harpo— they all have their standout sequences and bits here
  • Higher education spoof and parody— it’s really aggressive comedy—for example the film ends with the 3 comedians mauling Thelma Todd (the campus widow—haha)
  • Anarchy and spontaneity
  • Depression era is taken on here- we have prohibition and a speakeasy and lots of related humor
  • Famous for at least 3-4 renditions of “everyone says I love you” which of course Woody Allen would go on to name a movie after (and feature the song)- it’s a silly but catchy little song
  • It’s not just the humor and jokes that are extemporaneous—we have other characters in their world breaking into song and dance
  • Great back and forth like the lion in winter with all 4 brothers in and out of the widow’s bed chambers
  • We have Groucho’s trademark breaking the 4th wall talking to the audience reflexivity—he says “I’ve got to stay here, but there’s no reason you people shouldn’t go to the lobby until this thing blows over” during Chico’s piano solo
  • Darwin vs. Huxley football game- anarchy and slapstick—clearly influential on Altman and the finale of MASH—love the horse-drawn carriage in the football game and Groucho coming off the sidelines to make a tackle
  • R/HR border- top 10 or borderline quality film- excellent