Hello, everyone! Well, here it is: our final “Marx Brothers” film. We put “Marx Brothers” in quotation marks because is this really a Marx Brothers film? Answer: sort of? Other answer: Not a very satisfying one! But David and Ian still have some opinions about it and you should really give them a listen.
Thanks for listening.
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Two notes:
1) “Moss Kaufman” is indeed a reference to Hart and Kaufman. Hart famously lived in Bucks County (where Harpo played Banjo in “The Man Who Came to Dinner” alongside the writers). Kaufman abhorred the country, and said of Hart’s extravagant “farm:” “This is what God would have done if he’d had the money.”
2) The cop who detains Harpo is played by Edward Gargan, who has 315 IMDb credits, 250 of which must have been playing cops. As with so many other character actors, a 1949 audience seeing him would instantly have typecast him.
Marx Brothers question
I once heard or read somewhere that Margaret Mitchell, author of Gone with the Wind, said that she preferred Groucho Marx for the role of Rhett Butler in the film adaptation of the novel.
True or not, this makes me think that Groucho had a huge untapped potential as a leading man in dramatic roles. I would like to know whether you think this is true, and if so, what dramatic or cinematic roles can you imagine Groucho as plausibly having played in his lifetime?
All the best,
Chris
I remember hearing this too, I think that Butler was more of a wise-cracking character in her book and she immediately thought of Groucho. Gable had more sex-appeal, I’m sure and was more the image the studio wanted. Can you imagine that big orange poster with Groucho instead of Clark Gable holding Vivien Leigh in his arms?
I think your Love Happy episode made me laugh more than any of the other Full Marx episodes, particularly Dave’s Lou Costello impersonation….I think I peed myself.
Love Happy has become something of an oddity to me over the years due to it’s “uniqueness.” My daughter, being in dance for many years, loved it at a young age because of the ballet dancing in it. I loved it because of the Harpo emphasis and his musical theme he was given. I don’t know, I watch this film unlike I watch any of the others, maybe because it’s as close to a modern look at the Marxes as we’re going to ever get. Maybe it’s because it’s their last time together on film which is bittersweet to me. Whatever it is, you two sure delivered a GREAT podcast for Love Happy.
Just so you know…Harpo was left handed too.
Also, concerning the scene where Harpo is being starved with the water dripping on his head. Harpo’s stomach starts to growl and he begins punching it with his fist as if he’s trying to stop it. It sounds so much like Donald Duck! Ands Dave mentioned that the cat later on was given it’s sounds by Clarence Nash, who was the voice of Donald Duck. Could Nash also done the noises for Harpo’s stomach growling?
Rats, it seems like the copy I obtained through completely legitimate channels was the 85-minute cut missing Groucho & Egelichi’s pictures, Harpo & the hammy Assman, and the washing machine torture. According to Wikipedia, the restored 91 minute was only released in 2015.
Some random thoughts:
– Despite being smack in the middle of the Code, this is the horndoggiest Marx movie, with a lot of skin in the Sadie Thompson dance, the whammy, and a backlit Egelichi giving Chico’s hat a boner. I assume this is Tashlin’s influence and they got away with it because of the live-action cartoonishness of the film. Ditto the violence; I half-expected Raymond Burr to threaten to open up that cat.
– Speaking of the cat, Harpo’s stomach growls in the torture scene is (Confusingly) full-on Donald Duck, too.
– TWO of those damn Harpo/Chico charades, neither of which have Chico guessing a snake, which is the only funny thing about those bits. Effectively replacing Groucho/Chico back-and-forths with Harpo/Chico charades works as some sort of metaphor for the series, I suppose.
I loved it and thank you. I needed the counseling 30 years ago after watching this. I’m ok now. I was wondering about David’s opinion about the Marx Brothers seperate appearance in The Story of Mankind and their final appearance together in The Great Jewell Robbery. Maybe bring it up in your wrap up episode. If you can’t find these obscure films I can Vimeo them to you. Look forward to your further podcasts.
Wonderful sidecast — wonderful series. You guys did a superb job on these films, with Dave’s research and Ian’s insights. I must agree that you DID sound rather punchy in this one – which made it all that much more fun.
FYI – the cop who brings Harpo to Madam’s apartment was last seen as the ticket agent selling Groucho a ticket West in GO WEST.
I’m sorry to see this come to an end, and I look forward to the “recap” episode. Thanks again for the laughs.