A Day at the Races

I haven't seen enough of the Marx Brothers' films to say which is their best and which is their worst. I have seen Duck Soup, which I would say has to be at least one of their best, seeing that I believe it to be one of the funniest comedies ever. I have also seen A Night at the Opera, which is also often considered one of their best, often the best. I myself found it much less funny than Duck Soup. I wanted to kill myself during the musical numbers of that film.

Now I've seen A Day at the Races, the Brothers' follow up to A Night at the Opera, a smash hit in theaters. Generally, Races is considered a weak follow-up to a great film. I disagree. I liked A Day at the Races much more than A Night at the Opera (but a bit less than Duck Soup). All three Brothers are firing bullseye after bullseye. Harpo could stand to do a little bit more. He may have had the funniest role in Duck Soup. He was an utter maniac with total disregard for human life. When the Marx Brothers left Paramount for MGM, their edge was dulled down a bit. Oh well, Races still succeeds.

Also, except for the boring opera voice, even the musical numbers work here. I love to watch Chico play the piano. That's hilarious. Harpo's harp number is less good, but still not bad. The ballet sequence is also quite good. There's one more musical number that's just fantastic: the poor black folk singing "Who's that man?" as Harpo runs around playing the flute. It's somewhat shocking to see a scene like this. It does not exploit them (it may seem to now, but it was probably quite inclusive and progressive in its day), and it's a smash.

Judy Standish (Maureen O'Sullivan) owns the failing Standish Sanitarium. Her rich most important patient Mrs. Upjohn (Margaret Dumont) is leaving. Judy's boyfriend Gil Stewart (Allan Jones) spends all his money to buy a horse and win big for her. She is dismayed that he abandons his singing. Tony (Chico Marx) overhears Upjohn's praise for Dr. Hackenbush (Groucho Marx) and sends for him who turns out to be a veterinarian. Banker J.D. Morgan (Douglas Dumbrille) is trying to buy out the sanitarium with the help of the scheming manager Whitmore (Leonard Ceeley). Gil gets Stuffy (Harpo Marx) to ride his horse Hi-Hat.

Groucho is as snappy as ever. Harpo's physical gags are hilarious. There are some fun long setups like the ice cream bit. When all three get together in the examination, it's a great skit. As always in their movies, there are old fashion musical numbers. Those are not my taste but it's expected. I personally like the musical segments where they inject comedy into them. There is even one with a big cast of black singers and dancers. There are some big laughs although the movie is a bit long.

Well, here's one more zany uniquely-Marx Brothers film, one noted for being the longest feature movie they made at 111 minutes.

Even with the longer running time, it's still not the story but all the gags and musical talent of the Marx Brothers that is on parade here and is the selling point of the film. That was normal procedure for them. In this edition, the gag scenes were longer and the amount of music was much greater.

The major skits involve a race track tout (Chico conning Groucho) , a physical exam (Margaret Dumont, who else?), a delay of the big horse race and a bunch of other crazy skits. Some are good, some go on too long.

Maureen O'Sullivan, of Tarzan fame among other films, gives the film some beauty and Dumont is treated with more respect here than in the other Marx Brothers films. Groucho takes it easy on her because her character has the money that will save the day, so to speak.

This MB film has a ton of music, from Chico on piano, to Harpo with harp and flute solos plus a flute number with a group of black folks. Then there is Allan Jones crooning away to O'Sullivan with several ballads. Also, there are several group numbers featuring the aforementioned group of blacks . I liked their rousing gospel numbers best of all the music.

The ending of this movie reminded me of Horse Feathers, in which the most outrageous football game was ever filmed. Here, it was a horse race, unlike any you would ever see. It is so ridiculous, you just laugh out loud....and that's the idea of the movie.

Overall, this is a good Marx Brothers feature that is sometimes a little uneven, but that looks pretty good as long as you don't compare it with their very best pictures. The basic setup is amusing, and it provides some good material for the cast to work with. Groucho, Chico, and Harpo all get their moments, with Margaret Dumont once again joining in the fun.

The sanitarium setting and Groucho's attempt to run it are used pretty well.

There is a very funny scene when one of the heavies tries to check on Groucho's credentials, and another one when Dr. Hackenbush has to compete with an outside expert (Sig Ruman, who is always fun in this kind of role) for Dumont's confidence.

Not all of it works quite that well, and one or two of the musical numbers could have been skipped with no loss at all. But there are plenty of good moments and creative sequences, and a satisfyingly chaotic finale as good as those in any of their films.

I love the Marx Brothers, and I like/love their movies. While A Day at the Races is one of my least favourites of theirs, as it is somewhat uneven, it is still very entertaining and definitely worth watching.

Why I didn't like A Day at the Races as much as an outing like A Night at the Opera, Horse Feathers or Duck Soup is because it does have some inconsistent support playing. I am not talking about Margaret Dumont for she is sterling as always, I am talking about Allan Jones and Maureen O'Sullivan whose romantic wooings came across as a little too sappy. What hurt the film more though was some of the musical interludes, some work but others miss more than they hit not because they are terrible but because they are too long and slow the film down pretty considerably. Also I would have shortened the film by about 5 or so minutes.

Criticisms aside, it looks great with fine cinematography, lighting and scenery and has good incidental scoring that is both quirky and charming. The dialogue is also very inspired and quotable, and the gags are hilarious. The "Tootsie frootsie ice cream" sketch is for me the best of Groucho/Chico's wordplay routines. And speaking of the Marx Brothers, all three are splendid particularly Groucho who is still quick-witted and a lot of fun to watch.

In conclusion, an entertaining film but not absolutely wonderful. 7/10 Bethany Cox