The Cocoanuts (1929) Director: Robert Florey and Joseph Santley As the first feature length Marx Brothers film, The Cocoanuts is a wonderful film filled with classic Groucho zingers and absurd mockery of status quo aristocratic culture. Groucho plays a character named Mr. Hammer runs a hotel in Florida called the Hotel de Cocoanut, as the … Continue reading The Cocoanuts
marx brothers
A Night At The Opera
A Night At The Opera (1935) Director: Sam Wood 'A Night At The Opera' is the first Marx Brothers film with MGM, after their departure from Paramount. After a long string of screenwriters and much back room editing, the film was completed and became a success. This was Groucho's favorite Marx brothers film. Otis B. Driftwood … Continue reading A Night At The Opera
Duck Soup
Duck Soup (1933) Director: Leo McCarey The Marx Brothers' Duck Soup is a film of enduring delights. Whereas Horse Feathers is a parody of the elite nepotism integral to the status of higher education, Duck Soup is a parody of the fascistic dictatorships of the 1930s. Lamentably, the film was considered a commercial and critical failure … Continue reading Duck Soup
Horse Feathers
Horse Feathers (1932) Director: Norman Z. McLeod Horse Feathers is one of the greatest Marx Brothers films. It was their fourth film, following Animal Crackers, The House That Shadows Built, and Monkey Business. It was also a film released before the censorship codes were introduced in Hollywood in 1934. The plot of the film follows … Continue reading Horse Feathers
Animal Crackers
Animal Crackers (1930) Director: Victor Heerman Animal Crackers is the second movie from the Marx Brothers and one of their best films (the first was The Cocoanuts in 1928). It was made by Paramount Pictures and was the last of the Marx Brothers films to be taken directly from their stage performances. It is often characterized … Continue reading Animal Crackers
