Um Dia nas Corridas

Superb comedy that puts our heroes in a sanitorium to help out owner O'Sullivan and an ailing Dumont. Groucho is the doctor brought in to help things along and it equals hilarious results. He and Chico share a wonderful sequence at the racetrack with Chico, in need of quick cash, looking for a sucker to con...Groucho just happened to walk by. The telephone scene between Groucho (as numerous voices) and Leonard Ceeley is also priceless. Allan Jones appears as O'Sullivan's love interest and even sings a bit. A bit too much for me, but he still sings lovely. The long dance numbers are uninspired and lose the comic flavor after a few minutes. We get it back in the wooing scene between Groucho and beautiful Esther Muir and in the rollicking good finale. The film, under Wood's direction, is well paced, with exception to the barnyard musical numbers. They drag it down for a bit. A comedy classic nonetheless.

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

A DAY AT THE RACES (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1937), directed by Sam Wood, capitalizes on the current trend of horse-racing movies done by the numbers during the 1937-38 cycle, notably MGM's own 1937 releases of "Saratoga" and "Broadway Melody of 1938" as well as "Stablemates" (1938). Starring those three Marx Brothers, in their second collaboration for MGM, following the enormous success of A NIGHT AT THE OPERA (1935), this horse opera, being the longest running feature film of their screen career, stop-watched at 111 minutes, did prove quite successful then, and because of its good track record, still remains a sure bet comedy today.

The first Marx Brother to be introduced in the story is Chico. He plays Tony, a chauffeur for Judy Standish (Maureen O'Sullivan), whose sanitarium is in financial trouble. Morgan (Douglass Dumbrille), the owner of a nearby racetrack and hotel, along with his associate, Whitmore (Leonard Ceeley) want to take over the sanitarium so to convert it into a gambling casino. He offers Judy the option of accepting $5,000 from them or face a mortgage foreclosure, but she prefers to wait the 30 days. Gil Stewart (Allan Jones) her fiancé, has purchased Hi-Hat, Morgan's race horse, for $1,500, gambling her life savings hoping to win enough money to get Judy out of debt. However, Mrs. Emily Upjohn (Margaret Dumont), an exclusive patient of the sanitarium, expresses her need for a doctor, even though there is really nothing physically wrong with her. Realizing that Mrs. Upjohn's financial support could save the hospital from ruin, Tony notifies Dr. Hugo Z. Hackenbush (Groucho Marx) of Palmville, Florida, who is well acquainted with Mrs. Upjohn, unaware he is a horse doctor, and making him chief of staff. Then there's Stuffy (Harpo), Morgan's jockey, with a natural flair for horses, who gets to ride Hi-Hat, who turns out to be a jumper, as well as quite fearful to the sight and sound of Morgan himself.

The Music and Lyrics by Bronislau Kaper, Gus Kahn and Walter Jurmann: "On the Blue Venetian Waters" (Sung by Allan Jones/ danced by Vivian Fay,recently restored to its original sepia tone); "Tomorrow is Another Day" (sung by Jones); "Blow That Horn, Gabriel," "All God's Chillin' Got Rhythm," "All God's Chillin' Got Rhythm" (reprise/finale), along with "A Message From the Man in the Moon" (sung briefly by Groucho Marx/ otherwise cut from final print, and heard instrumentally during opening credits). "Tomorrow is Another Day" is quite a good tune with Jones in fine voice singing to charming heroine O'Sullivan that shifts into a parade from the black community singing and dancing to "All God's Chuillin Got Rhythm" with the Marxes, headed by Harpo playing a flute like the Pied Piper, with one of the vocalists being future star Dorothy Dandridge.

As already mentioned, A DAY AT THE RACES is quite long, in fact, everything about the movie is long: the song numbers, the comedy routines, the narrative, and the horse racing finale (so clever that it's been reused several times since then in other hydrazine), resulting to perfectly timed structures, although the water carnival ballet number performed by Vivian Fay near the beginning could have been shortened, in fact substituted into another movie categorized as a musical. One of MGM's debits is having this look more like a lavish scale musical than a Marx Brothers comedy, with the trio off screen for long intervals, with occasional cutaways during the ballet as a reminder that this is a Marx Brothers comedy and not a ballet musical choreographed by George Ballachine. After it is all over, Chico and Harpo get to do their traditional musical bits with piano and harp at length. Groucho doesn't do a song solo, which is unfortunate, because his style of singing and dancing always brings pleasure during these musical interludes.

With this being the seventh Marx comedy, it's evident that some of their routines are rehashes yet improvements from their earlier outings. At this point, could anything new be added to their comedy material? In fact, something has: Harpo's mimed message through constant whistling, facial and hand gestures, telling Chico about Groucho falling victim to Flo Marlowe (Esther Muir), as schemed by Morgan. The Groucho and Chico exchanges are highlights, the best being their seven minute Tootsie Fruitsie ice cream bit where Chico posing an ice cream vendor actually a race tract tout making a sucker out of Groucho by selling him racing tips that ends up being a stack of hardbound books taken from his pushcart. The madcap examination room sequence involving Harpo and Dumont are notable attention grabbers as well. In true Marx tradition, Margaret Dumont falls victim to their shenanigans, usually being the prime insult by Groucho through one of his classic re-marx: "Emily, I have a little confession to make. I really am a horse doctor, but marry me and I'll never look at any other horse." Sig Rumann should not go unnoticed as Doctor Steinburg, a pointed beard Viennese specialist who arrives to examine Mrs. Upjohn, thus preventing Hackbush from performing his own examination on Emily.

In spite of long stretches, A DAY AT THE RACES does have its doses of winning streaks thanks to the staff and performers combined, several recalls from A NIGHT AT THE OPERA. The film in general is not perfect, but worthwhile comedy thanks to the Marx Brothers expert horsemanship. Recommended viewing during the late evening hours before "hitting the hay." Formerly available on video cassette, a format that had been in circulation since the 1980s, which has since been discontinued in favor of the much improved DVD format, A DAY AT THE RACES can be seen intact whenever shown on Turner Classic Movies. (***)

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.

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.