The Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection

The Marx Brothers (Groucho, Chico, Harpo, and Zeppo) were already Broadway musical-comedy stars when Hollywood came calling at the dawn of the sound era, and their patented brand of anarchic comedy translated well to the “talkies.” This new box set collects all five feature films that the madcap Marxes made for Paramount in the early Depression years. Unlike some screen comics, who required years to develop their distinctive screen presences, the four brothers made the leap from stage to screen with their personas fully formed: Groucho was already the wisecracking opportunist, Chico the always-scheming trickster, Harpo the eye-rolling skirt-chaser, and Zeppo the dull-witted straight man. Whatever their character names, or the setting of the films, they always played the same lovable lunatics. The Cocoanuts (1929), a fairly literal translation of their mid-'20s stage sensation, reflects its origins in a stodgy staginess with an emphasis on crudely interpolated production numbers (performed live to on-the-set musical accompaniment, as was the fashion in late-‘20s movie musicals). But the boys are more than equal to the challenge posed by this new medium, and Groucho and Chico perform their classic “why a duck” routine with brio. Animal Crackers (1930), another stage adaptation, introduces Groucho's theme song, “Hooray for Captain Spaulding,” and spotlights popular torch singer Lillian Roth. Rapid advances in sound technology makes Monkey Business (1931) more cinematic than its predecessors, with the Marxes playing stowaways aboard an ocean liner, while also providing Groucho a delightful comic foil in sexy Thelma Todd, who returned opposite the foursome in Horse Feathers (1932), a spoof of the then-popular college pictures. Like the others of its type, Horse Feathers climaxes with a big football game, which Harpo and Chico turn into a surrealistic free-for-all. This is a rapid-fire outing that gives the boys some of their best routines to date, and it's surpassed only by Duck Soup (1933), the last and best of the Paramount quintet, a riotous political spoof set in the mythical country of Freedonia, featuring Groucho as the world's most inept chief executive, with Chico and Harpo playing knuckleheaded spies who double-cross their boss, would-be dictator Louis Calhern. The gags fly fast and furious, and the brothers' trademark musical interludes are particularly good. Although the five Paramount films are loaded with topical references--it pays to be familiar with Depression-era politics and pop-culture--they're delightful and far more freewheeling than the Marxes' later movies for MGM, which were saddled with rigid plots and sappy romantic subplots. DVD extras include three Today Show interviews with Harpo, Groucho, and William Marx (Harpo's son). Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (E. Hulse)[Blu-ray Review—Oct. 18, 2016—Universal, 408 min., not rated/G, Blu-ray: $59.98—Making their first appearance on Blu-ray, 1929's The Cocoanuts, 1930's Animal Crackers, 1931's Monkey Business, 1932's Horse Feathers, and 1933's Duck Soup all sport great transfers and a DTS-HD 2.0 mono soundtrack. Extras on Duck Soup include audio commentary by critic Leonard Maltin and historian Robert S. Bader, a “Hollywood's Kings of Chaos” documentary (80 min.), and “Inside the NBC Vault” interviews from The Today Show (17 min.). Extras on The Cocoanuts include audio commentary by film scholar Anthony Slide. Extras on Animal Crackers include audio commentary by film historian Jeffrey Vance. Extras on Monkey Business include audio commentary by historian Robert S. Bader and Bill Marx (son of Harpo Marx). Extras on Horse Feathers include audio commentary by film critic F.X. Feeney. Also included is a booklet. Bottom line: a great comedy classic collection shines on Blu-ray.]