I have now seen both Marx Brothers films on the top 100 list, and even though I liked A Night at the Opera, I didn't really care for this one. Groucho definitely has some good double entendres, if you listen closely enough to hear them. Chico was cheesy and didn't hold my attention, Harpo was annoying and flat out mean, and I'm not sure if Zeppo was even meant to be funny.
The "plot" of this movie is that a wealthy widow Mrs. Tisdale promises to give twenty million to her country Freedonia only if Rufus T. Firely (Groucho) is appointed dictator. Harpo and Chicko are spies of the neighboring country, and Zeppo is ambassador to that same country. Honestly, there really isn't much of a discernible plot. It's mostly just little skits one after the other.
Even though this movie was only 67 minutes long, and I watched it in the middle of the afternoon, I fell asleep fifteen minutes in and had to restart it. I found myself only half paying attention, and by the end of the movie, I was playing on my phone. Oops.
For the time period, Groucho's jokes really push the envelope, and I'm sure Chico and Harpo's cheesy physical comedy would be entertaining to 1930's audiences. In 2012, though, it's not working for me.
Rating: 4/10
Big Lines:
This made me laugh:
Prosecutor: Something must be done! War would mean a prohibitive increase in our taxes.
Chicolini: Hey, I got an uncle lives in Taxes.
Prosecutor: No, I'm talking about taxes -- money, dollars!
Chicolini: Dollars! There's where my uncle lives! Dollars, Taxes!
Big Names: Groucho, Chico, Harpo, and Zeppo Marx; Margaret Dumont (she was in A Night at the Opera, too, and I read that she was cast as a foil to the Marx Brothers in many of their films mostly because she didn't get their humor. They bash her for being ugly and fat, so for her sake, I'm glad she didn't understand their jokes.)
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