themes & topics          THE MARX BROTHERS

 Chico, alias Leonard (March 26,1886, New York - Oct.11,1961, Hollywood)

Harpo, alias Adolphe (Nov.21,1888, New York - Sept. 28,1964, Hollywood)

Groucho, alias Julius (Oct.2, 1890, New York-Aug. 19, 1977, LA )

Gummo, alias Milton (Oct.21,1893, New York-Apr.21, 1977, Palm Springs, Cal.) who didn't appear in the movies.

Zeppo, alias Herbert (Feb.25,1901 New York-Nov.29, 1979) He only  appeared in the first five movies.

Their parents  

Their father, Sam Marx, was a jewish taylor  of Alsatian origin who had set himself up in New York. 

Their mother, Minnie, belonged to a music hall family, and she  played an important role in the artistic education and training of the five brothers. Minnie's father was a conjurer ventriloquist and she had a brother who was an entertainer.

Their career

They all learnt how  to play music: Chico used to play the piano, and Harpo was as good a harpist as Groucho was a good  guitar player. 

Over a period of 20 years, they performed Vaudeville  shows  in every parts of the United States. They became famous in Broadway with Cocoanuts, their first film. They appeared in 13 movies and took part in many radio programes and TV shows 

Some aspect of their comic

All over these years, they had finalized the formula of their sketches - hilarious and ludicrous situations  based on very simple main ideas, and punctuated with musical interludes. One of the aspects of their comic, which non English-speaking persons are so hard put to take in, was characterized by hilarious and quick frenzied dialogues, numerous puns, a discontinuity of register and tone, and a lot of language deconstruction. 

Here is an example in which Chico mocks Groucho's use of an idiomatic expression by taking it in its literal sense  : 

(Groucho) "Keep that under your hat!"

(Chico)"Sorry, I don't have any hat. I've only got a cap!" 

Same vein in Duck Soup, when  Groucho addresses a lady and says : 

"I could dance with you till the cows come home, on second thoughts, Id rather dance with the cows till you came home."

LISTEN 

Political satire and Marxist views

Much of the Marx Brothers' humour came from their bare-faced lack of respect for authority and their subversion of the codes of social behaviour. Some of their movies are even political satires. Duck Soup, for example, is a tremendously satirical play on politics and war.(1) This movie can be be read as an indictment of the insanity of war and a critique of the relationship between wealth and political power. It makes fun of political arrangements and patriotic icons (2), and it was banned in fascist Italy by Mussolini because it seemed to be a statement against dictatorship. A Night at the Opera, the first one without straight-man Zeppo (3), is a sheer  masterpiece in organized chaos. 

Autobiographies

You can read Groucho and me and Harpo speaks!

Some of their films :

Too Many Kisses (1925)

Duck Soup (1933)

A Night at the Opera (1935)

La Fiesta de San Barbara (1936)

Hollywood canteen (1944)

Hollywood canteen (1944)

Copacabana (1947)

M. Music (1950)

Double Dynamite (1951)

A Girl in Every Port (1952)

The Story of Mankind (1957)

FOOTNOTES

(1) Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho) is the dictator of a small nation called Fredonia. The country is a disaster and in financial disrepair. The wealthy Mrs Teasdale (Margaret Dumont) is its benefactor and the object of Firefly 's shrewd affection. When the leader of the neighboring Sylvania decides he's in love with Mrs Teasdale, Firefly declares war.

(2) Firefly says to a hapless soldier, "You're a brave man. Go and break through the lines. And remember while you're out there risking your life and limb through shot and shell, we'll be in here thinking what a sucker you are."

(3) Groucho later pointed out, Zeppos roles were thankless. It was not that Zeppo lacked talent, but rather that he was the unfunny one and he had three older brothers.

NB You can learn more if you visit the official site at  http://members.tripod.com/Cleo256/marx/main.html 

Top of page