Marx Brothers 5 Best Movies of All Time

What I loved most about Saturday's wasn't the cartoons but watching old movies with my Grandfather. Among my favorite entertainers were the Marx Brothers who are among the most talented entertainers in the history of Hollywood. They don't make comedy like they used to. Even if they did, no one could come close to what made the Marx Brothers great.

Marx Brothers 5 Best Movies of All-Time:

'The Cocoanuts'(1929) is considered by many to be the Marx Brothers first comedy and was their first feature film. The movie starred Groucho, Harpo, Chico, and Zeppo. Harpo and Chico played themselves; Groucho played the role of Mr. Hammer, and Zeppo portrayed Jamison, Mr. Hammer's assistant.

New York Times movie reviewer Mordaunt Hall said of the Marx Brothers performance in 1929, "Groucho's flow of repartee comes out clearly and naturally. He and the microphone get along well. Chico and Zeppo also succeed in their utterance, and, so far as the fourth Marx is concerned, it matters little to him whether pictures talk or not, for he is the illustrious Harpo who is content with a silence that has proved golden."

'Animal Crackers' (1930) proved to be a big success for the Marx Brothers - Groucho, Harpo, Chico, and Zeppo - who provided an abundance of one-liners, gags, and comedy sketches in true Marx form.

One of my favorite lines in 'Animal Crackers' came from Groucho. I can still hear his voice. After a brief exchange with Roscoe Chandler, the men shake hands. Groucho (in character) says:

"My name is Spaulding. I've always wanted to meet you, Mr. Chandler. As I say, we tried to remove the tusks. But they were embedded so firmly we couldn't budge them. Of course, in Alabama, the Tusk-a-Loosa, but that is entirely ir-elephant to what I was talking about."

'Duck Soup' (1933) starred Groucho (Rufus T. Firefly), Harpo (Pinky), Chico (Chicolini) and Zeppo (Lt. Bob Roland). 'Duck Soup' is a noisy production but it isn't as mirthful as some of the brothers other movies.

This movie takes place in the mythical kingdom of Freedonia where Rufus T. Firefly has been made dictator of the small country. He is in pursuit of the wealthy widow Mrs. Teasdale. Trouble is, Ambassador Trentino from the neighboring country of Sylvania is also pursuing her.

Pinky and Chicolini have been sent to gather information of the top-secret variety. Throw them all together and you get mayhem and chaos the likes of which only the Marx Brothers can provide.

At one point, Pinky and Chicolini don mustaches and glasses to impersonate Groucho, er, Firefly. Enter the famous mirror scene in which Pinky, dressed as Firefly, pretends to be Firefly's reflection in a mirror. However, the whole thing is foiled when Chicolini, also disguised as Firefly, comes face-to-face with both of them.

Fun Fact: In 1951, Harpo Marx appeared on an episode of 'I Love Lucy.' He reprised this scene with Lucille Ball but instead of being dressed like Groucho's character in 'Duck Soup,' they donned Harpo's signature wig and trench coat.

'Horse Feathers' (1932) stars Groucho, Harpo, Cico, and Zeppo. The movie also starred Thelma Todd who would die three years later.

This movie has been cited as having one of the greatest football-related scenes in the history of movies. Our four Marx Brothers (in character, of course) win their football game against Darwin College when they take the football to the end zone in a horse-drawn wagon driven by Pinky (Harpo) chariot-style.

The image used with this article is from the end of 'Horse Feathers.' It appeared on the cover of Time Magazine in 1932.

'A Night at the Opera' (1935) starred just three Marx Brothers - Groucho, Harpo, and Chico. Zeppo sat this one out. Fans would agree, however, that the brothers who starred in this movie are the funniest and zaniest.

The New York Time's Andre Sennwald said in a review the Marx Brothers "...have arrived in town with the loudest and funniest screen comedy of the Winter season."

Indeed, this is certainly one of their funniest films and one of my personal favorites.

Of Harpo, he said the movie "...finally does justice to Harpo, whose pantomimic genius sometimes has a habit of getting lost behind Groucho's machine-gun patter. The whimsical little fellow, half pagan and half innocent child, manages to be in the approximate centre of all the film's best moments."

'A Night at the Opera' was a turning point in the Marxes film career and there were fans that weren't thrilled with the changes made - namely making their characters more "helpful" rather than characters that went after anyone they came across, though one would have to admit it was pretty funny. However, despite this change, the movie was a huge success and featured some of the funniest routines the brothers had to offer.

Favorite Scene: The stateroom scene is a favorite among Marx Brothers fans. In this scene, Groucho says, "Is it my imagination, or is it getting crowded in here?"

Just for fun: Harpo turned down $50,000 to say one word in the movie, 'A Night in Casablanca': 'Murder!' Had it been me, I would have no problem obliging. But Harpo stayed true to his word and never mumbled a single word in the movies.

Sources:
Marx Brothers Fan and Researcher
Movie Review - The Cocoanuts - THE SCREEN - NYTimes.com
Movie Review - A Night at the Opera - Article 2 -- No Title; Three of the Four Marx Brothers in 'A Night at the Opera,' at the Capitol -- 'Miss Pacific Fleet' - NYTimes.com
Duck Soup (1933) - IMDb